How much money do I need for a New Zealand student visa?

A published yearly living figure plus full tuition for the year. Immigration New Zealand sets the living amount and it is quoted per year, or per month for courses under a year. Check the current figure on the Immigration New Zealand site.

What does genuine intent mean?

That you are coming to study and intend to comply with your visa. It is judged from the whole application rather than from one document, so the course, the finances and your stated plans afterwards all have to agree.

Do I need a medical examination?

Often, depending on the length of your course and your circumstances. Along with a police certificate from Nepal it should be started months before you apply, not after.

Is New Zealand easier than Australia?

Different rather than easier. Fewer applications means your file is more likely to be read carefully, which helps a coherent application and does not help a weak one.

Can I work while studying?

Many student visas allow limited work during term and more during scheduled breaks, subject to the conditions on your visa. It is not counted as part of the funds you must show.

Yes. It is Nepal's requirement, it lets your bank remit tuition legally, and it is separate from anything New Zealand asks for.

Officeak

🇳🇿 Fee Paying Student visa

Studying in New Zealand from Nepal

Fewer Nepali students go to New Zealand than to Australia, and that is the interesting thing about it. The volume is lower, the institutions are smaller, and the file gets read rather than processed. Immigration New Zealand weighs genuine intent heavily, which favours a student with a coherent reason for being there and works against one whose application looks like a template.

Work out your own figure Check if you are eligible

A published rule, not an estimate

What the visa asks you to show

NZ$20,000

Living costs to evidence

NPR 16.4 lakh

NZ$36,000

Plus first year tuition still owed

typical masters, NPR 29.5 lakh

NPR 45.9 lakh

So, roughly, in the bank

at NZ$1 = NPR 82, August 2026

NZD 20,000 per year of living costs + full tuition for the year

Bank statements or an approved scholarship; funds must be verifiable.

Source: Immigration New Zealand, 2026 (NZD 1,667 per month for courses under a year). Check the current figure on the government's own site before you rely on it; it changes, and a page is not an authority.

Estimates, for planning

What it actually costs

These are ranges for planning, not a quote. Once you hold an offer letter, type your own tuition into the calculator and ignore the middle column.

	Lower	Typical	Higher
Tuition, masters, per year	NZ$26,000NPR 21.3 lakh	NZ$36,000NPR 29.5 lakh	NZ$48,000NPR 39.4 lakh
Tuition, bachelors, per year	NZ$22,000NPR 18.0 lakh	NZ$30,000NPR 24.6 lakh	NZ$40,000NPR 32.8 lakh
Tuition, diploma, per year	NZ$18,000NPR 14.8 lakh	NZ$23,000NPR 18.9 lakh	NZ$30,000NPR 24.6 lakh
Living, per year	NZ$16,000NPR 13.1 lakh	NZ$20,000NPR 16.4 lakh	NZ$27,000NPR 22.1 lakh
One offvisa fee, health and travel insurance, flight	NZ$750 visa · NZ$700 a year · NPR 1.1 lakh flight from Kathmandu

Converted at NZ$1 = NPR 82, set August 2026. Rates move; the calculator uses the same figures and shows the date it was last updated.

Put your own numbers in

From Kathmandu

When to do what

Dated backwards from the intake, because that is the only fixed point. The step people leave too late is marked.

10 to 12 months beforeSit IELTS or PTECheck the score the specific programme wants rather than the institution's general minimum.
8 to 10 months beforeApplyNew Zealand institutions are smaller and often respond faster than Australian ones, but intakes are fewer, so missing one costs more.
6 months beforeAccept and pay the depositThe offer of place is what the visa application is built on.
5 months beforeStart the police certificate and medicalBoth come from Nepal and both take longer than people plan for. Starting these early is the single biggest time saving on a New Zealand file.
4 months beforeAssemble funds and apply for the NOCA year of living costs plus full tuition, evidenced so it can be verified. The NOC runs alongside.
3 months beforeApply for the Fee Paying Student visaAnswer the intent questions yourself and make sure they agree with your statement and your history.

Why files fail

What gets a Nepali application refused here

Genuine intent, which is judged on the whole file

Immigration New Zealand asks whether you are genuinely coming to study and genuinely intend to comply with your visa. There is no single document that proves this. It is assembled from your course choice, your academic history, your finances and what you say about afterwards, and an application where those four do not agree is where the doubt comes from.

Funds that are present but not verifiable

The yearly living figure plus full tuition has to be shown, and it has to be capable of being checked. A statement from an account with no history, or a sponsor letter with nothing behind it, satisfies the arithmetic and not the requirement.

A course chosen for the pathway rather than the subject

New Zealand is explicit that a student visa is for study. A course picked because it is the cheapest route to a work right, with no connection to anything you have done, is the pattern officers are looking for and it is visible.

Medical and character requirements left too late

Depending on the length of your course you may need a medical examination and a police certificate from Nepal. Both take time, and both are commonly started after the visa application rather than before it, which is how a September intake becomes a February one.

Questions families ask

How much money do I need for a New Zealand student visa?: A published yearly living figure plus full tuition for the year. Immigration New Zealand sets the living amount and it is quoted per year, or per month for courses under a year. Check the current figure on the Immigration New Zealand site.
What does genuine intent mean?: That you are coming to study and intend to comply with your visa. It is judged from the whole application rather than from one document, so the course, the finances and your stated plans afterwards all have to agree.
Do I need a medical examination?: Often, depending on the length of your course and your circumstances. Along with a police certificate from Nepal it should be started months before you apply, not after.
Is New Zealand easier than Australia?: Different rather than easier. Fewer applications means your file is more likely to be read carefully, which helps a coherent application and does not help a weak one.
Can I work while studying?: Many student visas allow limited work during term and more during scheduled breaks, subject to the conditions on your visa. It is not counted as part of the funds you must show.
Do I need an NOC?: Yes. It is Nepal's requirement, it lets your bank remit tuition legally, and it is separate from anything New Zealand asks for.

Compare destinations side by side →The NOC, start to finish →Work out the whole cost →

Running a consultancy? OfficeYak keeps every student's file, documents and deadlines in one place.

Start free

One moment