How Long a Post Study Work Visa Lasts, and When to Apply
The Post Study Work Visa is not a flat one, two or three years. A master's or doctorate studied full time for at least 30 weeks gives 3 years. Anything at level 8 or below gives a visa equal to the time you spent studying. The deadline to apply is short and there is no second chance.
Quick Facts
| Master's (level 9) or doctorate (level 10), full time, at least 30 weeks in New Zealand | 3 years |
| Level 8 or below, including a level 8 postgraduate diploma | Equal to the time spent studying, confirmed by your provider |
| Non-degree level 7 or lower on the approved list | Equal to time studied, capped at 3 years, occupation-restricted |
| Standard deadline | Apply no later than 3 months after your student visa expires |
| Doctoral graduates | 6 months, and may apply after submitting the thesis |
| Cost | From NZ$1,670 = $320 + $1,350 immigration levy |
| Processing | 80% within 3.5 weeks |
| How many times | Once, ever |
| Figures checked | 20 August 2026 |
Duration is calculated, not chosen
The most common misunderstanding about this visa is that it comes in fixed bands. It does not.
| Qualification | Visa length | Who confirms it |
|---|---|---|
| Master's (level 9) or doctorate (level 10) studied full time for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand | 3 years | INZ, against the qualification |
| Level 8 or below, including a level 8 postgraduate diploma | Equal to the time spent studying | Your education provider confirms the study time |
| Non-degree level 7 or lower on INZ's approved qualifications list | Equal to time spent studying, capped at 3 years | Your provider, plus the approved list |
Only the top row produces a flat three years. Everything else is arithmetic on your actual study period.
What "equal to the time spent studying" means in practice
A qualification taking one academic year produces roughly a one-year visa. A qualification taking eighteen months produces roughly eighteen months.
The number comes from your education provider's confirmation of how long you studied — not from the nominal length of the course, and not from your enrolment dates if they differ. That makes the provider's records part of your visa outcome, which is a good reason to check they are correct before you apply.
The 30-week rule
The three-year entitlement requires a master's or doctorate studied full time for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand. Thirty weeks is roughly two semesters.
The words "in New Zealand" matter. Study completed elsewhere does not count toward the 30 weeks, which affects students on split or joint programmes.
The deadlines
There are four published timing rules. Which applies depends on how your qualifications followed one another.
The standard deadline
Apply no later than 3 months after your student visa expires.
Note what that is measured from: the expiry of the student visa, not your graduation date, not your final exam and not the day your results were published. Those dates are usually different, and the one that binds you is the visa.
Doctoral graduates
Doctoral students get 6 months, and can apply after submitting the thesis rather than waiting for the examination result. That recognises the gap between submission and conferral, which can run to many months.
An eligible qualification followed by a shorter, higher one
If an eligible qualification is immediately followed by a higher qualification completed in under 30 weeks, you apply on the first qualification, within 12 months of that first student visa expiring.
This exists to stop a short top-up qualification from destroying the entitlement earned by the longer one underneath it.
Bachelor's plus honours or a postgraduate diploma
Where a bachelor's degree is immediately followed by honours or a postgraduate diploma on consecutive student visas, apply within 3 months of the second visa's end date.
Step 1: Find your student visa expiry date
Not your graduation date. Not your course end date. The expiry printed on your student visa, which is visible in your Immigration Online account and on your approval letter.
Step 2: Work out which deadline rule applies to you
Standard three months, doctoral six months, or one of the two consecutive-qualification rules. The rules turn on the order and length of your qualifications, so a student who did a bachelor's then an honours year is on a different clock from one who did a single master's.
Step 3: Get your provider's confirmation of study time
For anything at level 8 or below, the provider's confirmation of how long you studied is what determines your visa length. Request it early; provider administration has its own turnaround, and it is not fast in December and January.
Step 4: Assemble funds evidence and apply online
At least NZ$5,000 in documented funds is required. The fee is NZ$1,670, and processing is 80% within 3.5 weeks — which sounds comfortable until you notice it is one in five applications that takes longer.
What happens if you miss the deadline
You lose the visa, and because you can only hold a Post Study Work Visa once, ever, you do not lose it temporarily.
There is no extension mechanism for a missed deadline. The routes that remain are entirely different products with their own requirements — an employer-sponsored work visa if an accredited employer offers a job, or a further student visa if you enrol again.
That asymmetry is the argument for treating the deadline as immovable. Three months sounds generous until you add a provider waiting on results, a document you cannot get quickly, and a fee you had not budgeted for.
Staying lawfully while you apply
A gap between your student visa expiring and a new visa being granted is not a neutral space. If your student visa expires while you are in New Zealand and you hold nothing else, you are in New Zealand unlawfully — which has consequences well beyond this visa.
Applying before the current visa expires may lead to an interim visa while a decision is made. Applying after it expires does not.
The people this catches are usually the ones waiting for a provider document. If the document is late, the visa expiry does not move to accommodate it.
The length feeds everything that comes next
Post Study Work Visa length is not an abstract number. It is the amount of time you have to find skilled work, hold it, and move onto the next visa.
New Zealand's main skilled residence route requires New Zealand skilled work experience on top of a primary points claim, and skilled work is defined against published wage thresholds. A one-year visa and a three-year visa give very different amounts of runway for that. The chain is set out on study to residence.
That is the practical reason the qualification decision — which level, which provider, how long — is also a visa decision, made years before anyone thinks of it that way. See the Post Study Work Visa explained for the work rights each track produces.
Where to confirm this
- Post Study Work Visa: immigration.govt.nz/visas/post-study-work-visa
- Staying to work after study: immigration.govt.nz after you finish study
- Your own dates: your visa approval letter and Immigration Online account
General information about published rules, not immigration advice. Which deadline applies to your particular sequence of qualifications is a question for INZ or a licensed immigration adviser.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the New Zealand Post Study Work Visa?
Up to three years. A master's or doctorate studied full time for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand gives three years. A qualification at level 8 or below gives a visa equal to the time spent studying, confirmed by your provider. Non-degree level 7 or lower qualifications on the approved list give time equal to study, capped at three years.
When do I have to apply for a Post Study Work Visa?
No later than three months after your student visa expires in the standard case. Doctoral graduates have six months. Where an eligible qualification is immediately followed by a higher one completed in under 30 weeks, you apply on the first qualification within 12 months of that first student visa expiring.
Is the deadline measured from graduation or from my visa expiry?
From the expiry of your student visa. Graduation dates, course end dates and results publication dates are usually all different, and none of them is the date that matters.
Can doctoral students apply before their thesis is examined?
Yes. Doctoral students may apply after submitting the thesis, and they have six months rather than three. That reflects the gap between submission and conferral.
What happens if I miss the Post Study Work Visa deadline?
You lose the entitlement, and because the visa can only be held once, you do not get another chance at it. The remaining routes are different visa products with their own requirements.
Does a one-year master's give a three-year Post Study Work Visa?
The three-year entitlement applies to a master's or doctorate studied full time for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand. Thirty weeks is the threshold, not a full year, and the study must have been done in New Zealand.
Who decides how long I studied?
Your education provider confirms the study time for qualifications at level 8 and below, and that confirmation is what the visa length is calculated from. It is worth checking the provider's records are accurate before applying.
Can I leave New Zealand while my Post Study Work Visa is being processed?
Travel while an application is pending affects your immigration status and any interim visa. What is safe depends on the visa you currently hold and what you have applied for, which is a question for INZ rather than a general rule.
