The Dependent Child Student Visa, Explained
The Dependent Child Student Visa lets the child of a parent holding an appropriate New Zealand work or student visa attend primary or secondary school. It expires with the parent's visa, requires NZ$17,000 a year in funds, and the child may be treated as a domestic student. Tertiary study needs a different visa.
Quick Facts
| Who it is for | Children of a parent holding an appropriate New Zealand work or student visa |
| What it covers | Primary or secondary school |
| Tertiary study | Requires a Fee Paying Student Visa instead |
| Length | The same as the parent's visa — it expires when the parent's does |
| Cost | From NZ$750 = $485 + $265 immigration levy, IVL-exempt |
| Processing | 80% decided within 10 weeks |
| Funds | NZ$17,000 for a full year, or NZ$1,417 a month |
| School fees | The child may be treated as a domestic student |
| Age test, fee purposes | 19 or younger, unmarried and dependent |
| Age test, residence class applications | Runs to 24, with conditions |
| Figures checked | 20 August 2026 |
What it is
This is the school visa for the children of people who are already in New Zealand on a temporary visa.
It is not the visa an international student uses to come to New Zealand for school in their own right — that is the Fee Paying Student Visa. This one exists because a parent on a work visa or a student visa has brought their family, and the children need to attend school.
The distinction has a large financial consequence. The child may be treated as a domestic student, which removes international school tuition. That is usually worth far more than the difference in visa fee.
What it costs
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee | $485 |
| Immigration levy | $265 |
| Total | from NZ$750 |
The visa is IVL-exempt, which is where the NZ$100 difference from the Fee Paying Student Visa's NZ$850 comes from.
Processing: 80% decided within 10 weeks. That is slower than most student bands — school applications average 2 weeks and universities 2.5 — so a family arriving together should not expect the child's visa to keep pace with the parent's arrangements. See student visa processing times.
It expires when your parent's visa does
The Dependent Child Student Visa is granted for the same length of stay as the parent's visa, and it ends with it.
That is a dependency in the real sense. If the parent's visa ends early — a job lost, an application declined, a course abandoned — the child's visa is affected too. The child's status is not independent of the parent's.
Families planning around a school year should line the dates up deliberately. A parent's visa expiring in September leaves a child's visa expiring in September, in the middle of a school year.
Funds
NZ$17,000 for a full year of study, or NZ$1,417 a month.
That is the compulsory schooling rate, the same figure used for school-age students on a Fee Paying Student Visa, and it is lower than the NZ$20,000 tertiary rate.
It is also a separate requirement from the parent's. Family funds requirements do not merge into a single household figure — each applicant evidences their own. See proving funds.
Primary and secondary school only
Tertiary study requires a Fee Paying Student Visa instead. This visa does not cover university, polytechnic or private training establishment study.
That is the transition families most often mishandle: a child who has been at school in New Zealand on a Dependent Child Student Visa, finishing year 13 and enrolling at university, is applying for a different visa at a different price with a different funds test — NZ$20,000 a year plus tuition, at the international rate.
Nothing about having been schooled in New Zealand changes that. It is worth planning for a year ahead, not in January.
The two age tests
New Zealand applies different dependent-child age tests in different parts of the system, and this is one of the most persistent sources of confusion in the whole family area.
| Context | Age test |
|---|---|
| Fee purposes, on visitor, transit and limited visas | Dependent children must be 19 or younger, unmarried and dependent |
| Residence class applications | The dependent child test runs to age 24, with conditions |
These are not two versions of one rule. They sit in different parts of the system and they do different work. A young adult who is a dependent child for a residence application may not be for a temporary visa fee purpose, and the reverse.
Read the test that applies to the application in front of you. See what is a dependent child.
What changes on a Post Study Work Visa
There is one important improvement further down the study journey.
A Post Study Work Visa holder's dependent children can study as domestic students. That means the parent who moves from a student visa to a Post Study Work Visa after graduating carries a real benefit for their children's schooling.
The Post Study Work Visa costs from NZ$1,670, lasts up to three years depending on the qualification, and can only be held once, ever. Its family effects are part of why the qualification decision matters years before anyone applies.
Other routes for children
A Fee Paying Student Visa — where the child is coming to New Zealand to study in their own right, as a fee-paying international student. See international students at New Zealand schools.
A Child of a Worker Visitor Visa — for dependent children of a work visa holder to visit, with study of up to three months. From NZ$341, IVL-exempt, 80% decided within 10 weeks. INZ notes that not all work visa holders can support an application for it.
A Guardian Visitor Visa — the reverse case, where a parent accompanies a child who is the student. From NZ$441. See the Guardian Visitor Visa explained.
Which of these fits a family depends on the parent's visa and the child's circumstances, which is a question for INZ or a licensed immigration adviser.
Health and character
Children are assessed against health and character requirements like any other applicant, adjusted for age.
INZ's own change record shows health requirements being strengthened for children of temporary visa holders in March 2025. We are not going to describe the substance of that change, because it is not something we could verify from a primary source — and a confident summary of an unverified rule is worse than none.
What families should do is confirm the current health requirement for dependent children directly with INZ before applying. That is the honest answer, and it is more useful than a guess.
Where to confirm this
- Dependent Child Student Visa: immigration.govt.nz/visas/dependent-child-student-visa
- Bringing family to New Zealand: immigration.govt.nz bringing family
- Our work-visa family page: dependent children of work visa holders
General information about published rules. Not immigration advice, and not a statement about any child's eligibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Dependent Child Student Visa in New Zealand?
A student visa for the child of a parent holding an appropriate New Zealand work or student visa, allowing the child to attend primary or secondary school. It costs from NZ$750, expires with the parent's visa, and may allow the child to be treated as a domestic student.
How much does the Dependent Child Student Visa cost?
From NZ$750 — a $485 application fee plus a $265 immigration levy. The visa is exempt from the $100 International Visitor Levy.
Can a dependent child study at university on this visa?
No. It covers primary and secondary school only. Tertiary study requires a Fee Paying Student Visa, with the tertiary funds rate of NZ$20,000 a year plus tuition.
How long does a Dependent Child Student Visa last?
The same length as the parent's visa. It expires when the parent's does, which means a change in the parent's immigration position affects the child's.
Do dependent children pay school fees in New Zealand?
The child may be treated as a domestic student, which removes international school tuition. That is usually the largest financial effect of this visa.
How much money is needed for a Dependent Child Student Visa?
NZ$17,000 for a full year of study, or NZ$1,417 a month. It is assessed separately from the parent's own funds requirement.
What age can a dependent child be in New Zealand?
It depends on the application. For fee purposes on visitor, transit and limited visas, a dependent child must be 19 or younger, unmarried and dependent. For residence class applications the test runs to age 24 with conditions.
Can children of a Post Study Work Visa holder study in New Zealand?
Yes, and they can study as domestic students. That is one of the practical family benefits of moving from a student visa to a Post Study Work Visa after graduating.
