Organising your visa

Once your visit is confirmed, it's time to arrange your visa. This must be organised in advance. You can request a letter of invitation from your host researcher to support your application.

During your visit, you will continue to be enrolled as a masters or doctoral candidate in your home university and will not be enrolled as a student at the University of Auckland. This means that you cannot apply for a student visa.

As a visiting postgraduate research student, your visit will be to undertake research or work on a project. The research or project work you undertake in New Zealand must relate directly to your study in your home country, and you must provide evidence to prove that this is the case.

The visa you need is the Student and Trainee Work Visa. This visa is required because you are receiving a gain or reward in the form of the research work you undertake. Receiving a gain or reward includes library and internet access, office resources. Additionally, in some cases, you may receive a stipend from the faculty or be a recipient of a grant or funding.

Please note that if you will be in New Zealand for more than six months, you may be required to provide a medical and/or x-ray certificate with your application.

View more information on the Student and Trainee Work Visa.

Does the Student and Trainee Work Visa enable me to work in New Zealand?

No. Although it is a work visa, the Student and Trainee Work Visa does not allow you to undertake paid employment, either at the University of Auckland in a position which is not included in your original visa application or for another employer. In your case, the visa will be granted for the reasons in your letter of invitation.

Is there an alternative visa I can apply for?

You may be eligible for a working holiday visa under the working holiday scheme. However, it is important to note that you can only be granted a working holiday visa once. If you obtain a working holiday visa and, later on, wish to return to New Zealand, you will not be granted a second working holiday visa.

View more information on working holiday visas.

Processing times for these visas may vary. Find out more information here: How long it takes to process your visa application.

You can find further information about visas online at Immigration New Zealand.

Ready for the next step? Click the button below to get some tips on organising your visit.

Alternatively, you can go back to the main page by following this link: Visit us for a postgraduate research collaboration