As an international student, it is advisable to start your application process as early as possible. Hence, you have enough time to apply for the visa. This advice is strongly recommended if applying from Nigeria due to the extra-long visa processing times (you’ll know why soon, read on). Application closing date is mainly by the programme of study in New Zealand.
I must emphasize that it is best to contact your institution for details and up-to-date information. Find below some key application dates for some universities.
| University | Undergraduate | Postgraduate | Doctorate |
|---|---|---|---|
| UoA | S1 Dec S2 Jul | S1 Oct-Dec; S2 Apr – Jul | Any time of the year, excluding Doctor of Education (May) and Doctor of clinical psychology (Nov) |
| AUT | S1 Mar S2 Jul | The application will be processed up to the start of the semester, depending on programme availability. | Any time of the year. It applies to MPhil too |
| Massey | S1 Oct of the previous year; S2 May of the same year; Summer school: Oct of the same year | Anytime during the year. It applies to MPhil too | |
| Waikato | SA Jan, SB May, SC Oct | ||
| Victoria | S1 De 1; S2 May 1; S3 Sep 1 | Oct – Nov | Three streams per year (Mar 1, Jul 1, Nov 1). For other doctoral and master’s degrees, check the webpage for information. |
| Otago | S1 Oct 31; S2 Apr 30 |
Application for admission is made directly to the University at which you want to study. The process and requirement for application may vary slightly per University. As a general guide:
- Check entry requirements and fees.
- Gather documents.
- Submit application (now online for many schools).
- Receive an offer of place.
- Pay fees (you’ll receive a confirmation of fee payment letter).
- Apply for a study visa.
- Contact university to help with organizing housing and airport pick-up.
Are you still confused? It’s normal. Go ahead and:
- Contact the student centre directly or contact the group service coordinator (or group service administrator or departmental secretary). From experience, you may or may not get a response (it’s a 50/50 chance🤷🏽♀️). Don’t let that stop you.
- Visit the international student page on your University of interest’s homepage for information on how to apply. If in doubt, send your queries to the email given on the webpage.
Too much burden for your precious head?🤴🏽👸🏽 You most probably need an agent. They can provide advice on learning, living, and working in New Zealand.
Gather documents
You may be asked to provide certified copies of certain documents. If the document is not in English, you will be asked to provide certified translations for each “non-English” document.
A certified copy is a photocopy of the original documents that have been verified by someone as a true copy (a list of acceptable authorities will be given).
In my time, an officer of the court with legal rights to take official declarations certified my document. You will need to take the original document along with a clear and legible copy for this purpose. After that, you send these certified copies to Uni. I had to post mine to the university (Baby girl was broke at the time sha! 😪). Nowadays, you can submit them online.
For research masters and doctoral candidates, you may be required to find a supervisor first before applying for admission. Most universities have this link under the Research tab of their home page.
To summarize, typical documents required:
- academic documents – secondary school results or previous tertiary study certificate and/or transcripts
- identity documents – birth certificate, evidence of citizenship, proof of change of name
- A written statement in support of your application
- Evidence of English language proficiency. (Check to see if your country is exempt. Naija, my country, we no dey exempt oo!! Even with our speak spake spoke!!!).
Additional for doctorate and masters by research:
- CV
- Research proposal
- Supervisor details and evidence of contact with the supervisor (Most universities have a “find a supervisor” link under the Research tab of their home page.)
More information of student visa supporting documents.
Offer of place
Once they’ve checked through your application, you may receive an email with an offer of place confirming your acceptance to the programme. The offer letter (or email) will have the name and logo of the course provider, start dates, course details, minimum completion time, a fee schedule or invoice, and an award of scholarship (if the application was with a scholarship). The offer of place may be conditional or unconditional.
UNCONDITIONAL
Congratulations!!! You’re ready to accept your place, pay your fees and process your visa.
CONDITIONAL
Congratulations!!! You’re one step closer. Check the conditions and the timeline to meet them. Once these conditions are met, an unconditional offer of place will be sent to you.
It will be best if you meet these requirements early. Suppose you cannot meet these conditions on time. In that case, you must inform the admission department, state your reasons why you can’t possibly meet the timeline and propose a new timeline. Contact details are usually provided in the offer of place email.
For doctoral students, discuss with your supervisor first. You two must agree on a plan/timeline before you contact the admission department. The admission department will consider your proposal and accept or deny the new timeline (PS: they will most likely accept it, speaking from experience).
Very key to note: International PhD students in New Zealand pay the same annual tuition fee as New Zealand PhD students. In summary, international PhD students pay domestic fees. Such a waoh!!!
Once again, visit the university webpage for details on how to apply. More info here.
Need a scholarship? Click here.
