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:
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
15th 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
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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
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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?
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Up to Year 10 or Year 12:
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date of graduation:
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Pre-University: (if undertaken):
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date of graduation:
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Undergraduate:
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date of graduation:
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Postgraduate:
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date of graduation:
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Have you
studied English before? Yes/No
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If “yes”, for
how long?
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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?
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Please provide
brief details of your family background.
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Please tick
the type of accommodation you have been told you will be staying in when you
first arrive in New
Zealand:
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– Apartment, shared with
other students
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– Student Hostel
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– Home stay with a New Zealand
family
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– Family
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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?
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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?
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I confirm that I
have read, understood and answered ALL the questions contained in this
questionnaire.
Name of applicant (printed):
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Applicant’s signature:
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Date:
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