Working on a New Zealand Student Visa: Your Work Rights
Student visas granted on or after 3 November 2025 allow up to 25 hours of work a week during term time, up from 20. Full-time work is allowed in scheduled holidays. Students aged 15 or younger cannot work, and 16 and 17 year olds need written permission from their provider and a parent.
Quick Facts
| Term-time limit | 25 hours a week for visas granted on or after 3 November 2025 |
| Previous limit | 20 hours a week — still published widely, and out of date |
| Scheduled holidays | Full-time work permitted |
| Age 15 or younger | Cannot work at all |
| Age 16–17 | Work rights need a letter of permission from the provider and from a parent |
| Course placements | Practical work experience that forms part of the course is in addition to the hours limit |
| Which visas | Fee Paying, Pathway, Exchange and Foreign Government Supported Student Visas |
| Where the rule lives | As a condition printed on your visa — not a general entitlement |
| Figures checked | 20 August 2026 |
The 25-hour rule, and why so many pages still say 20
New Zealand raised the term-time work limit for students from 20 hours a week to 25 hours a week. The change applies to student visas granted on or after 3 November 2025.
This is worth stating bluntly because the internet has not caught up. Aggregator sites, agent blogs and study-abroad guides published in 2026 still print 20 hours, and several of them are the pages that rank. If a page quotes 20 hours without mentioning a change, it was written before November 2025 or copied from something that was.
The rule that matters for you is not what a website says. It is the condition printed on your visa. Work rights are granted as a visa condition, and the conditions on your approval letter are the authoritative statement of what you may do.
Does the increase apply to a visa granted before 3 November 2025?
The change is expressed by grant date. A visa granted before that date carries the conditions it was granted with. This is the most-asked question in this area and one of the worst-answered, so here is the honest position: the entitlement follows the visa, and the visa states its own conditions.
If your current visa says 20 hours and you want 25, the mechanism that changes visa conditions is a variation of conditions, which costs NZ$325, or a further student visa granted after the change date. Whether either is available in your case is a question about your circumstances, which means it is a question for INZ or a licensed adviser, not for a website.
What "25 hours a week" actually means
It is a maximum during term time, measured per week. It is not an average across a month and it is not a target.
Working more than the hours on your visa is a breach of visa conditions. New Zealand treats condition breaches seriously: they are grounds for deportation liability, and they surface in later visa applications, including residence applications years afterwards. INZ has publicly announced compliance action against students breaching visa conditions.
Two practical points follow. Keep your own record of hours worked, because you are the one who has to evidence compliance. And be careful with employers who ask you to work "just a few extra hours this week" — the consequence sits on your visa, not theirs.
Full-time work during holidays
During scheduled course holidays, students may work full time. "Scheduled" means the breaks published by your provider in its academic calendar — the summer break, mid-year break and semester breaks — not a week you personally are not attending class.
Students aged 18 and over need no written permission for holiday work. Younger students remain subject to the age rules below.
For students on courses that run all year with no scheduled break, there is no holiday period to use. That is a real difference between a two-semester university year and a rolling-intake private course, and it is worth checking against the academic calendar before you plan your income.
Age and school-year rules
| Situation | Work rights |
|---|---|
| Aged 15 or younger | Cannot work at all |
| Aged 16 or 17 at a tertiary provider | Work rights only granted with a letter of permission from the provider and from a parent |
| In school years 12 or 13 | Work rights only granted with a letter of permission from the school and from parents |
| Aged 18 or over | Term-time hours as per visa conditions; no written permission needed for holiday work |
School students in years 12 and 13 are the group most likely to be told by classmates that "everyone works". The permission letters are a real requirement and they are checked. There is more on the school pathway in our guide to international students at New Zealand schools.
Course placements do not count against your hours
Practical work experience that forms part of the course is in addition to the permitted work hours. A required clinical placement, industry practicum or internship built into the qualification does not consume your 25 hours.
The words that matter are "forms part of the course". A placement your provider requires and assesses is part of the course. A job you found in the same industry is not, however relevant it is to your study.
If in doubt, the document that settles it is your provider's course outline, because that is what INZ would look at.
Which student visas carry work rights
The 25-hour term-time limit applies across the Fee Paying, Pathway, Exchange and Foreign Government Supported Student Visas for visas granted on or after 3 November 2025.
- The Pathway Student Visa allows 25 hours during study and full-time work in scheduled holidays.
- The Exchange Student Visa allows up to 25 hours a week, plus holiday work depending on age and study length.
- The Dependent Child Student Visa is for school-age children, so the age rules above do the work.
Work rights are not uniform across every student and every course. Very short courses, part-time enrolment and non-approved qualifications can all produce a visa with no work condition at all. Read the conditions you were granted.
What you cannot do, whatever the hours
- You cannot work more hours than your visa allows.
- You cannot provide or invest in commercial sexual services. This is a condition on New Zealand temporary visas generally.
- You cannot treat work rights as a job offer. A work condition permits work; it does not create an employer or a wage.
New Zealand employment law protects you regardless of visa status. The minimum wage, holiday pay, a written employment agreement and safe conditions apply to student workers exactly as they apply to New Zealanders. An employer who tells you otherwise, or who offers cash "because you are on a student visa", is breaking New Zealand law, not helping you around it. Our guide to employment rights for migrant workers explains the minimum you are owed.
Working and the funds requirement
Money you expect to earn in New Zealand is not the answer to the funds test. INZ requires evidence of NZ$20,000 a year for tertiary and English language study, or NZ$17,000 a year for school years 1–13, plus tuition, before it grants the visa. Part-time earnings are not that evidence.
Twenty-five hours a week at a part-time wage is real money and it changes how a year feels. It does not change what you have to show up front. See proving funds.
After study: from 25 hours to open work rights
The step up from limited student work rights to unrestricted work is the Post Study Work Visa. For an eligible degree at level 7 or above it gives open work rights — any job, any employer, anywhere in New Zealand — for up to three years depending on the qualification.
For a non-degree qualification at level 7 or lower on INZ's approved list, the work rights are restricted to a role related to the field studied. That difference is decided by the qualification you enrol in, years before you apply. See the Post Study Work Visa explained.
Where to confirm this
- Fee Paying Student Visa conditions: immigration.govt.nz/visas/fee-paying-student-visa
- Your own visa conditions: the approval letter INZ sent you, and your Immigration Online account
- Employment minimums: employment.govt.nz
This page explains published rules. It is general information, not immigration advice, and it cannot assess your visa or your conditions. If you think you have worked more hours than your visa allows, that is a situation where a New Zealand lawyer or licensed immigration adviser should be involved early rather than late.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours can international students work per week in New Zealand in 2026?
Up to 25 hours a week during term time, for student visas granted on or after 3 November 2025. The previous limit was 20 hours. Full-time work is allowed during scheduled course holidays.
Do the new 25-hour work rights apply if my visa was granted before 3 November 2025?
The increase is expressed by grant date, and your visa carries the conditions it was granted with. The condition printed on your visa is the authoritative statement. Changing conditions on an existing visa is done through a variation of conditions, which costs NZ$325, or through a further student visa.
Can international students work full-time during holidays in New Zealand?
Yes, during scheduled course holidays. Students aged 18 and over do not need written permission for holiday work. "Scheduled" means the breaks in your provider's published academic calendar.
Do PhD students have a work hour limit in New Zealand?
Work rights are granted as conditions on the individual visa, and doctoral study is treated differently from taught courses in several parts of the system — including a longer window to apply for a Post Study Work Visa. The conditions on your own visa are what govern your hours.
Do year 12 and 13 students need parental and school permission to work?
Yes. Students in school years 12 or 13, and students aged 16 or 17 at a tertiary provider, only get work rights with a letter of permission from the provider and from parents. Students aged 15 or younger cannot work at all.
Does a course placement count towards my 25 hours?
No. Practical work experience that forms part of the course is in addition to the permitted hours. The test is whether the placement is part of the qualification, which your provider's course outline will show.
What happens if I work more hours than my student visa allows?
Working beyond your visa conditions is a breach of those conditions. Breaches are grounds for deportation liability and are visible to INZ in later applications, including residence applications. INZ has publicly confirmed compliance action against students breaching conditions.
Can I be self-employed or run a business on a student visa?
Work rights on a student visa are a permission to work within stated hours and conditions, and self-employment is treated separately across New Zealand's visa system. What your visa permits is set out in its conditions, and anything beyond that needs to be confirmed with INZ before you start.
