A guide for applicants in Sri Lanka - STUDENT VISA APPLICATION CHECKLIST

STUDENT VISA APPLICATION CHECKLIST

          A guide for applicants in Sri Lanka

Thank you for your interest in studying in New Zealand.  This checklist has been designed to assist you when lodging your application for a Student Visa with Immigration New Zealand in Bangkok.  Application forms and other forms can be downloaded and other relevant information may be found from our website: www.immigration.govt.nz 

Important

It is important that you provide all the relevant information requested below so we can accept and process your application promptly.  The processing of your application will be delayed if you do not provide all the documents listed.

Please submit original or certified copies of documents with the application. We will return any original documents to you after processing the application.  Certified copies must be stamped or endorsed as being true copies of the originals by a person authorised by law to take statutory declarations.

Documents not in English must be accompanied by an English translation from an independent and recognised translation company.

TO APPLY FOR A STUDENT VISA, YOU MUST SUPPLY:

1. Valid passport or complete certified copy of your passport                                               □

2.  A fully completed and signed application form including the Supplementary Form

     to accompany the application for a student visa                                                               □

3.  Application fee                                                                                                                   □

4.  Two recent passport-sized photographs                                                                            □

5. Offer of a place                                                                                                                  □

6. Evidence of funds or completed and signed Financial Undertaking for a Student Form  □

                                                                                                

7. Health requirement, if applicable                                                                                        □

8. Character requirement, if applicable                                                                                  □

Please note that your application will be returned unprocessed if any item mentioned above is missing.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:

9. Covering letter/statement of purpose                                                                                 □

10. Certified copies of your birth/marriage certificates                                                          □

11. Academic documents                                                                                                       □

12. English language ability                                                                                                    □

13. A full work history (if applicable)                                                          □

14. A completed Family Declaration form                                                                             □

ADDITIONAL NOTES  

1. Passport

Your original passport or a complete certified copy of your passport - each passport page must be copied. If you have travelled overseas previously on a different passport please also provide a copy of each page of that passport. Passports must be valid for 3 months beyond the intended date you plan to leave New Zealand.

2. Application Form

You must fully complete and sign the “Student Visa Application” form (INZ 1012). The latest version is May 2012.  Download the latest version from our website:

www.immigration.govt.nz

Please ensure that your own contact phone number (mobile and landline) and e-mail address are clearly stated in your application form. Agents please list your address at A14 and complete Section N on page 13 if you have helped fill in the application form.

Applicants please also complete the supplementary information form. This should give us the background to why you are applying for this particular course and how the course will help you in the future.

3. Application Fee

An application fee of Thai baht 7,100 or US $225 is payable for student visa applications. Please note that this fee is a processing fee and the fee is non-refundable, regardless of the outcome of the visa application.

Acceptable modes of payment are credit card (Master card/Visa card) or a USD bank draft of $235 (includes a USD bank draft clearance fee of USD $10) payable to Immigration New Zealand.

Cash is NOT accepted by this office

4. Photograph

The form must include two recent passport photos of the applicant.

5. Offer of Place at a School

Your intended course of study must be a course approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. You can check this at their website www.nzqa.govt.nz.

We require the original letter from the educational institute that offers you a place at their school. The letter must specify:

• The name of the course and the minimum time required to complete the course
• The tuition fee payable.
• When the fee or a deposit needs to be paid

Fee-paying foreign students who are under the age of 18 must provide, with their student visa application, a statement from their education provider confirming that the student’s accommodation is compliant with the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students.

6. Evidence of funds  

Financial documents - originals to be provided to IOM for pre-verification

• Financial Undertaking for a Student form/s (INZ 1014). The latest version is March 2012. It is permitted to have more than one guarantor; OR
• Affidavit/s of support from guarantors (also stating exact nature of relationship with the applicant)
• The students should provide evidence of funds up front for the first 12 months of their study inclusive of tuition fees and living expenses (NZ $15,000) in New Zealand. If the duration of the course is longer than one year students should provide a plan of payment to show that they have access to funds and have the ability to meet the rest of the course cost and living expenses. We accept the following evidence of funds;

Original or certified copies of bank statements for the last 6 months showing all banking activities. Please ensure that statements are also accompanied by confirmation of balance letters issued by the bank concerned.

Letter(s) from the employers of your parent(s) or the person responsible for your financial support. This letter must be written on company letterhead, bearing the company seal and the signature of the head of the company or by the authorised person of the personnel/human resources department. This letter should include annual income (including bonuses and any commission earned) and length of employment and position(s) held.

Fixed deposits. Please ensure that as much detail as possible regarding the deposit is included.

Public Provident Funds Accounts/Employers Provident Fund Accounts

Chartered Accountant reports

Education Loan Letters

• Large deposits made within the past 6 months should be accompanied by appropriate documents to prove the history and the source of the funds such as interest slips, transfer receipts, etc. Please include a written explanation of the history and the source of those funds.

If your parents are the sole owner and/or shareholders of a business (and this is the source of your funds), the following documents are required;

• Notarised copy of business license
• Statement from the business owner on official company letterhead indicating the date the business has been established, the type of business and the number of employees
• Notarised articles of association listing all shareholders, the percentage of individual shareholding and their position held in the business
• Business tax returns for the past 2 years
• Income statement for the last financial year

Please note that applicants are required to provide documentary evidence of income and source of income of their parents, even if the cost of study is being sponsored by another person.

Funds Transfer Scheme (FTS)

Bangkok branch has put in place a system whereby the students may choose to transfer 12 months living expenses to a bank account in New Zealand, in addition to paying the tuition fee for 1 year. The amount deposited in the bank is locked for a period of 12 months and then drip fed to the student on a prearranged basis.

The funds transfer option is to facilitate student visa applications from those students who genuinely intend to study in New Zealand but may not have access to funds older than six months. Students who opt for this process will not be required to provide verifiable documentary evidence to demonstrate the source of recent funds amounting to living expenses only. INZ may still require the client to provide verifiable documentary evidence of funds used towards tuition fee payment.  

This option does not preclude the applicant from submitting satisfactory evidence of funds and source of income for their financial guarantors. Therefore we still wish to continue to see financial documentation which shows the financial situation of the applicant and/or those family members who are financially supporting their studies. Please ensure funds have been held in a bank account for at least 30 days and any large deposits are accompanied by an explanation.

More information about the Funds Transfer Scheme is available on the Bangkok Branch homepage – www.immigration.govt.nz/bangkok.

7. Health requirements

Applicants must have an acceptable standard of health.

Applicants intending to spend more than 12 months in New Zealand are required to supply a full Medical Certificate and Chest X-Ray Certificate (INZ 1007). The latest version is November, 2010

Applicants intending to be in New Zealand for more than 6 months but less than 12 months have to undergo TB screening and provide a Temporary Entry X-Ray Certificate (INZ 1096). The latest version is November, 2010.

Pregnant women and children below the age of 11 years are not required to have an x-ray.

*Medical and X-ray certificates should be less than 3 months old at the time of lodgement, completed by any NZIS Panel Doctor

Panel Doctors are listed on our website www.immigration.govt.nz

8.  Character requirements

Applicants over 17 years of age, who are intending to remain in New Zealand for 24 months or longer, are required to provide an original Police Clearance Certificate from their country of citizenship and any other country they have lived in for five years or more since turning 17 years of age. A Sri Lankan Police Certificate must be a National Police certificate and should be lifetime clearances.

Police Clearance certificates must be addressed and sent to:

Immigration New Zealand

15^th Floor M-Thai Tower

All Seasons Place

87 Wireless Road

Pathumwan

BANGKOK 10330

*Police Clearance certificates should be less than 6 months old at the time of lodgement

9.  Covering letter/statement of purpose

The cover letter should

• Set out the documents enclosed with the application
• Explain the financial support and the applicant’s background

10.  Certified copies of your birth marriage/certificates

11. Academic documents

All educational certificates should be provided which include;

• O and A level certificates - originals to be provided if pre-IOM verification has not been undertaken
• Degree certificates
• Post-graduate certificates
• Other short course and diploma certificates related to the field in which you are going to study

12. English language ability

Provide the evidence of English language you submitted with your admission application to the education provider in New Zealand. Although an IELTS certificate is not a mandatory, it is strongly recommended.

13.  A full work history

A full work history should outline all periods of employment including the name, address and telephone number of all past employers. This information should be included in the covering letter (see no. 9 above)

14. A completed family declaration form

This should include all family members regardless of their location – whether in Sri Lanka, New Zealand or elsewhere overseas

IMPORTANT NOTES

Please note that your Immigration Officer may ask you to supply additional documents to those listed above, to assist in deciding your application, and/or a phone interview with us.

Providing the information above does not guarantee your visa will be approved. All applications are subject to an assessment which includes looking at your reasons for travelling to New Zealand, and whether or not you will abide by the conditions of any visa that may be granted to you.

If you withhold relevant information, or provide false or misleading information to us, your application will most likely be declined.

APPLICATIONS APPROVED IN PRINCIPLE

Once all the requirements have been met, you will be advised in writing that your application has been approved in principle. You will be given a month to submit the fee receipt from the education provider showing that the fees for the course, or the first year of the course, have been paid. We will accept confirmation directly faxed or e-mailed from the New Zealand Education Provider. Upon successful receipt of this we will issue the student visa. Please note that student visas will only be issued for the length of time that you have paid course fees, and normally a maximum of one academic year. You will have to apply for a further student visa, along with the necessary documents, in New Zealand.

ENDORSEMENT OF YOUR STUDENT VISA LABEL

We will return all passports and original documents by courier. Please include the courier fee (THB 900 or US $32) with your application fee. If you do not wish to send your passport to us we will work with you to make arrangements for your visa to be endorsed in your passport in Bangkok or another INZ office if that is more convenient.

You may travel to Bangkok for the endorsement of your Visa in your passport after obtaining confirmation from this office that your application has been approved.   Please allow one working day to be in Bangkok for the endorsement of your visa.  

LODGING YOUR APPLICATION

Your application should be submitted via mail/courier to:

Immigration New Zealand 15th Floor M-Thai Tower All Seasons Place 87 Wireless Road Pathumwan BANGKOK 10330

Contact details via email:         nzisbangkok@dol.govt.nz via telephone:+662 654 3444 via fax:            +662 654 3445 website:                          http://www.immigration.govt.nz/bangkok

Our office is open from 9am – 12pm and from 1.00pm to 3pm from Monday to Friday.  NB. Office is closed from 2pm on Wednesdays.

Supplementary Information form to accompany the application for a Student visa  (Please complete the following questions in detail)

What is your educational background?
Up to Year 10 or Year 12:				date of graduation:
Pre-University: (if undertaken):				date of graduation:
Undergraduate:				date of graduation:
Postgraduate:				date of graduation:
Have you studied English before? Yes/No			If “yes”, for how long?

                                                                                               

Why do you wish to study in New Zealand rather than another English speaking country?

Why have you chosen this particular course at this particular college/university? What do you plan to do after completing the course, both in the short-term and long-term? What are the benefits of this course? Please include the benefits in terms of job prospects and potential salary increases?

Please provide brief details of your family background.
Please tick the type of accommodation you have been told you will be staying in when you first arrive in New Zealand:
–   Apartment, shared with other students	–   Student Hostel
–   Home stay with a New Zealand family	–   Family
It is unlawful to work in New Zealand if you have a Student Permit and have not gained permission to work.  If you are found working unlawfully your student permit may be revoked, you may face removal action and may be barred from re entry to New Zealand in the future.  Do you understand this?
Living costs in New Zealand are expensive compared to your home country.  It is important that you have enough money to live on.  In addition to your accommodation costs, you will need at least an additional NZ$400 per month for books, stationery, bus fares, living expenses and health insurance.  If you pay for your own accommodation in New Zealand, you may need up to NZ$1,250 per month for accommodation and the living costs above.  Do you understand this?

I confirm that I have read, understood and answered ALL the questions contained in this questionnaire.

Name of applicant (printed):
Applicant’s signature:
Date: