Processing times by education provider
Find out how long it takes us to process student visas.
These processing times show the combined time for the most common student visas used by international students. They are:
- Fee Paying Student Visa — including English language students
- Pathway Student Visa
- MFAT-funded NZ Scholarship Student Visa, and
- Exchange Student Visa.
The processing time is broken down by the type of education provider:
- universities
- Te Pūkenga
- Private Training Establishments (PTE), and
- schools.
Note
We recommend that you apply at least 3 months before you intend to travel to New Zealand.
This is due to it being difficult to predict the volume of applications we will receive from students intending to study in 2025. The October to February period is when most students apply for a visa.
Apply early and make sure all the necessary information and documents are included with your application. Incomplete applications may be declined.
The times below are based on applications decided in October 2024. Your application may take longer, as we are now in our summer processing peak and expect an increase in student visa applications for study in 2025.
| Education provider | Wait time |
|---|---|
| Te Pūkenga | 7 weeks |
| PTEs | 6 weeks |
| Universities | 4 weeks |
| Schools | 3 weeks |
Find other visa wait times
To find the wait time for a visa that is not listed on this page you can use our fees, decision times and where to apply tool.
Fees, decision times and where to apply
Check your application status
To find out information on your visa application you can log in to your Immigration Online account and check your visa status.
Checking your visa application status
Some applications can take longer to process
Some visa applications may take longer to process than others. If your application is taking longer than what is shown on this page you can find out what factors may affect visa wait times.
Why some visa applications take longer to process than others
