Child of a Refugee Claimant Student Visa
This visa lets children study at primary or secondary school in New Zealand while their parents' claim for refugee or protection status is being decided.
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Length of stay
Up to
4 years
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Processing time
80% within
2 weeks
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Age range
19 years or younger
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Cost
NZD $0
To apply you must:
- be claiming refugee or protection status and applying for your school-aged child to study at primary or secondary school in New Zealand.
This visa lets you:
- have your child study at primary or secondary school in New Zealand while your claim for refugee or protection status is being decided
- work up to 20 hours a week during the school year in the Christmas and New Year holiday period, if they are in year 12 or 13, the last 2 years of secondary school.
Children of refugee or protection status claimants do not have to pay an immigration levy or visa application fee.
Who can apply
Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.
Identity
As proof of your child's identity, you must provide:
- 2 acceptable photos of the child
- the
or
If your photo does not meet all of our requirements we will ask you for a new photo. If you are applying for a visa, we will stop processing your application until we receive an acceptable photo. If you are requesting an NZeTA, your request may be delayed or refused. Use the photo examples on this page to check your photo is correct and meets our requirements. Alert Do not use the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs website or other online tools to check your photo as those tools are for passport photos only. Your photo is more likely to be accepted if you use a professional photographer or business that takes passport photos. Give the photographer our instructions to make sure you get a photo that meets our requirements.
The photo you submit with a paper application must be 35 mm wide and 45 mm high. Further instructions are on the paper application forms. Note You can only apply for an NZeTA online. The photo you submit with an online application must be: Alert We are unlikely to accept your photo if it is not the right size. If you request an NZeTA using the web app, you can either upload an existing photo or take one using your device's camera. If you use the mobile app, you can only take a photo using your device's camera. Your photo must be: If you take a photo with your device, the camera must have a minimum resolution of 540 x 720 pixels. Large photos will be automatically formatted. If there is an issue with your photo you will receive an error message when you submit your visa or NZeTA photo online. To help you, we have provided a list of online errors and how to fix them. Your photo must: It may be easier to remove them.
Visa and NZeTA photos
Your photo must be less than 6 months old and clearly identify you. It must also meet all of our technical requirements.
Meeting our photo requirements
Visa and NZeTA photos are not passport photos
Using a professional photographer
Paper applications for visas
Online applications for visas
Online requests for NZeTAs
Online photo error messages
Taking your visa photo
Be in portrait, not landscape
Be of you, not a photo of a photo or your travel document
Have even lighting with minimal shadowing
Be in colour, showing natural skin tones
Be in focus, not blurry
Not contain red-eye
Be an original photo, not changed by photo-editing software
Not be a selfie
Be taken 1.5 metres from the face
Be taken against a plain, light-coloured — but not white — background with no patterns or objects
Only contain plain clothing patterns
Be of one person
We need to clearly see your face
Face the camera and keep your head straight
Keep your eyes open and mouth closed
Do not smile or frown
Show your face clearly and that long hair is tucked behind your ears
Position yourself in the middle of the photo
Remove sunglasses and hats
If you wear prescription glasses
Make sure your eyes show clearly through the lenses, with no reflected light
If you wear a head covering for religious or medical reasons
Make sure that your face and hairline can be seen in the photo
If the passport or certificate of identity is unavailable, the original or certified copy of the birth certificate or another identity document may be provided.
Citizens of China applying from China
You must also provide a copy of:
- your child's Hukou (household registration book)
- your child's identity card.
Applicants from Hong Kong or Macao applying within Hong Kong or Macao
You must also provide a copy of your child's identity card.
Citizens of Indonesia
You must also provide your child's
Applicants applying within New Caledonia
You must also provide a copy of your child's livret de famille.
Health
Your child must be in good health.
Your child may need to have a chest X-ray, a medical examination, or both, as proof of their good health.
To get a New Zealand visa, applicants must be in good health. To show us that you have an acceptable standard of health, you may need to have a medical examination, chest X-ray or both. If you do, you will need to include a medical certificate or an eMedical reference number in your application. Why you need to provide evidence of your good health How to get an X-ray or medical examination There are 3 types of medical certificate: What you need to provide depends on the type of visa you are applying for, how long you intend to stay in New Zealand, what country you are from, and whether you have provided a medical certificate to us with an earlier application. Children under 11 years of age and pregnant women do not need to have a chest X-ray unless a special report is needed. If you will be staying in New Zealand between 6 and 12 months, you must have a chest X-ray if: Countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis If you will be staying for more than 12 months, you must have a chest X-ray no matter where you are from. If you apply for another visa while in New Zealand, the time you have already spent here counts towards the 12 months. Different rules apply if you are: Information for asylum seekers If you are applying to stay in New Zealand permanently, and do not already have a resident visa, you must have a chest X-ray no matter where you are from. You do not need to get a chest X-ray if you are applying for a student visa and staying for less than 6 months. You must have a chest X-ray if you are applying for a student visa and: You do not need to get a chest X-ray if you are staying for more than 6 months as a foreign fee-paying student, and you are: You do not need to provide a chest X-ray certificate if you are: If you are from a country that does not have a low incidence of TB, you must have a chest X-ray no matter how long you will stay in New Zealand. You must send us another X-ray if: You do not need to send us another chest X-ray if you provided a chest X-ray with an earlier visa application and you are applying for a visa on or after 5 August 2021 based on your relationship to an existing Essential Skills Work Visa holder (that is, you are their partner or dependent child). Once you have made your application, we may come back to you and ask for medical documents. If you have already obtained an X-ray certificate for your visa application, you can choose to still submit it. If you are applying for a Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa, you must provide a chest X-ray certificate with your application. Find out if you need to include a medical certificate with your application. If you will stay in New Zealand for up to 12 months, you normally do not need to have a medical examination unless the visa you apply for will allow you to stay for more than 12 months, or we ask you to have one. You must have a medical examination if you will stay in New Zealand for more than 12 months. If you are already in New Zealand, the time you have already spent here will count towards the 12 months. There are different rules when applying for a student visa. If you are applying to stay in New Zealand permanently, and do not already have a resident visa, you must have a medical examination no matter where you are from. If you stay for more than 12 months, you must have a medical examination if you: If you are applying for a Fee-Paying Student Visa or Pathway Student Visa, you do not need to have a medical examination, no matter how long you are staying in New Zealand, unless: Even if you had a medical examination with an earlier visa application, you need to have another medical examination if: You do not need to send us another medical examination if you provided a medical examination with an earlier visa application and you are applying for a visa on or after 5 August 2021, based on your relationship to an existing Essential Skills Work Visa holder (that is, you are their partner or dependent child). Once you have made your application, we may come back to you and ask for medical documents if these are required to process your application. If you have already obtained a medical certificate for your visa application, you can choose to still submit it. If you are a woman over 45 you may need to have a physical breast examination. Your physician will tell you if you need one. If you are applying for a Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa, you must provide a general medical certificate and chest X-ray certificate. If you need to have a medical examination or a chest X-ray, you must use a
Panel physicians are doctors and radiologists who are approved to complete medical examinations and chest X-rays for New Zealand visa applications.
Who needs an X-ray or medical examination
If you are applying for a visa, you may need a chest X-ray or medical examination as evidence of your good health.
Proving you are in good health
Types of medical certificate
Who needs a chest X-ray
If you will be staying between 6 and 12 months
If you will be staying for more than 12 months
If you are applying to stay in New Zealand permanently
If you are applying for a student visa
Foreign fee-paying students
If you are applying for a Recognised Seasonal Employer Limited Visa
If you had a chest X-ray for an earlier visa application
If you are applying for a Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa
Who needs a medical examination
If you will be staying up to 12 months
If you will be staying for more than 12 months
If you are applying to stay in New Zealand permanently
If you are applying for a student visa
If you had a medical examination for an earlier visa application
If you are a woman over 45
If you are applying for a Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa
Arranging an examination or X-ray
Note
Children aged 10 or younger do not need to have an X-ray unless a special report is needed.
Applicants from China, Hong Kong or Macao applying within China, Hong Kong or Macao
You must provide a chest X-ray completed in the last 3 months, even if you have provided one to us previously, if:
- your child has spent 6 months in a row in China since the last X-ray certificate was issued, and
- your child is now coming to New Zealand for more than 6 months.
Character
Your child must be of good character.
You may need to provide police certificates as proof of their good character if they are aged 17 or older.
Anyone applying for a New Zealand visa must meet the character requirements. When you apply, you must tell us about any issues or activities, both current and in your past, that could affect our decision, including whether you have been: If there is an issue, we may: You can request a character waiver or special direction when you apply. If your request is approved, we can give you a visa if your application meets all other requirements. Visas are given by special direction only in rare circumstances. You may need to provide us with police certificates to show your good character. Whether you need to give these certificates depends on how long you plan to stay in New Zealand and the visa you are applying for.
Character requirements for New Zealand visas
To be given a New Zealand visa, you must be of good character. If you have a criminal history, have provided false or misleading information, or could be a risk to New Zealand, we can decline your application.
Being of good character
Providing police certificates
Genuine intentions
You must genuinely intend for your child to meet the conditions of their visa.
When we decide if your intentions are genuine, we consider all the information:
- you provide to support your application
- we have about your personal circumstances
- you provided in any previous applications.
When you travel to New Zealand on a temporary visa, your intentions must be genuine. This means that you: We use all the information we have, including the information you give us in your application, to confirm that you have genuine intentions. Alert You must answer truthfully when you complete your visa application or NZTD. If you are travelling on a visitor visa or visiting from a
If you have a visitor visa for a specific reason, you must be coming to New Zealand for that reason. For example, if you have a Medical Treatment Visitor Visa, your reason for visiting must be getting medical treatment. If you are travelling on a student visa, you must have genuine intentions to study in New Zealand. You can only work if the conditions of your student visa allow you to. If you are travelling to New Zealand to work, you must have a visa that will allow you to. Unless your visa allows you to work in any job, you must plan to work in the job, for the employer, and in the location specified in your visa. You may be asked to provide evidence of your genuine intentions: Here are some examples of evidence to show that you have genuine intentions in coming to New Zealand. To show your travel history, you could show a copy of your current and recent passports, including: If you live in a country that is not your country of citizenship, provide a copy of the visa allowing you to live in that country. If you have ever had a visa application declined by any other country, provide: If you plan to visit family or friends in New Zealand, provide their: Evidence of your travel plans while in New Zealand could include copies of: You may also need to show that you have plans to leave New Zealand at the end of your stay. This evidence could include: If you are applying for a student visa, you could provide evidence that you have: If you do not need to pay tuition fees, or if you can pay by instalment — where you make smaller payments over a period of time — you must provide confirmation from your education provider. You can also write a cover letter or statement of purpose explaining why you want to study in New Zealand. This will help us decide if you are a genuine student. If you are using an education agent or licensed immigration adviser, they cannot write the letter for you. Examples of things you could write about in your letter or statement include: If you plan to apply for another visa — for example, a work visa — after you finish your studies, include this in your cover letter or statement of purpose.
To show that you have genuine intentions to work, you will in most cases need to provide: If your visa requires you to have enough money to live on during your stay, you will need to provide evidence. This could include: Depending on your situation, you may need to provide: We consider each application based on the information and evidence we receive. If you do not provide enough evidence, it may take us longer to process your application, or we may decline your application. You must provide genuine evidence. If you or your agent provide evidence that is false or misleading, we may also decline your application. False, misleading or withheld information in visa applications Check the translation requirements for the visa you are applying for. All non-English documents must be translated when you apply for visitor and resident visas. Providing English translations of supporting documents If you are applying online, make sure your evidence is in an acceptable file format. To decide if your intentions are genuine, we look at: We look at evidence you provide with your application to check that it: When we consider information about your personal circumstances, we look at: We also look at information from your previous applications and travel to New Zealand. This can show us if you have: We might not give you a visa or allow you to enter New Zealand if we:
Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in New Zealand
Before you can get a visa or enter New Zealand to visit, work or study, we check that your reasons for coming here are genuine.
What it means to have 'genuine intentions'
Visitor visas
Student visas
Work visas
Evidence to show you have genuine intentions
Evidence of your travel history
If you live in a different country to your citizenship
Declined visa applications
Evidence you are visiting family or friends
Evidence of your travel plans
Evidence of your study plans
Evidence of your work plans
Evidence you have enough money
Evidence of your home country circumstances
evidence of your relationships with close relatives in your home country
Providing good-quality evidence
How we decide if your intentions are genuine
Evidence you provide with your application
Your personal circumstances
Your previous applications
If we decide your intentions are not genuine
How to pay and submit
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While your child is in New Zealand
These are the conditions that must be met once your child has their visa. Your child's visa conditions are recorded in their eVisa.
Study
School-aged children can study at primary or secondary school.
Work
Students studying in year 12 or 13, the last 2 years of secondary school, can work up to 20 hours a week during the school year and full time in the
Students aged 17 or younger must have written permission from their school, and parents or legal guardian to work.
Students aged 18 or older do not need permission to work in the summer holidays.
Note
Everyone who has a job in New Zealand pays tax on what they earn. An IRD number can be applied for online through
Apply online for an IRD number — Inland Revenue
We do not grant work rights to students under 16.
The children are not allowed to be self-employed. They have to work as an employee with an employment agreement and not as an independent contractor.
Visa expiry
The children must leave New Zealand before their visas expire.
Note
Visa expiry dates are printed on a visa label or included in a visa letter.