Work in New Zealand
Under present immigration regulations international students on long termstudent permits are entitled to work up to 20 hours per week during term timeand 40 hours during the summer break.
Internationalstudents may be eligible to work up to 20 hours per week if they are:
- Enrolled in a full-time course lasting at least two academic years;
- Studying towards a New Zealand qualification that would gain points under New Zealand residence policy; or
- Studying a full-time course to develop English language skills – to qualify, you must have an IELTS (General or Academic Module) overall band score of at least 5.0
Students must notundertake employment in New Zealand until they have permission from the NewZealand Immigration Service. This permission stating rights to work isautomatically printed on student visa label provided the student applies forvariation of conditions to student permit while visa application.
Work Permits forPartners of International Students
The partners of postgraduate students may apply for a work permit valid for thesame period of time as their partner’s student permit. If your partner isinterested in working they should approach the New Zealand Immigration Serviceand make an application.
The partners of postgraduate students may apply for a work permit valid for thesame period of time as their partner’s student permit. If your partner isinterested in working they should approach the New Zealand Immigration Serviceand make an application.
Work aftergraduation
International students who have graduated with a NZ qualification are noweligible to apply for the Graduate Job Search Work Permit. This one yearpermit/visa allows International Graduates to work for any employer in NewZealand.
International students who have graduated with a NZ qualification are noweligible to apply for the Graduate Job Search Work Permit. This one yearpermit/visa allows International Graduates to work for any employer in NewZealand.
If during the oneyear period, students find employment relevant to the qualification studied,they may then apply to New Zealand Immigration to have the work permit/visaextended for up to 2 years.
To be eligible toapply for the Graduate Job Search Work Permit, students should havesuccessfully completed, in New Zealand, a qualification that would gain pointsunder New Zealand Immigration Skilled Migrant Category.
Before you start work, you need an IRD (Inland Revenue Department) number. Itnormally takes 8-10 days to process your application.
As soon as studentsreceive income from your part-time job or from other New Zealand incomesources, they are legally obliged to pay tax to the government. This is usuallyautomatically deducted from the wages by the employer. The tax deducted mayvary from 15 cents to 39 cents per dollar, depending on the earnings. However,this deduction can go up to a high, non-declaration rate of 45 cents per dollarif the student does not fill a Tax Code Declaration Form given by the employerat the beginning of work.
If students workonly for part of the year, they are probably entitled to a tax refund. To checkthe eligibility for a refund, students have to contact the IRD for a personaltax summary.