Studying in New Zealand with your family means the student travels on a student visa while a partner and children get relationship-based visas of their own, supported by that study. One thing decides almost everything else: the level of the programme. If you study for a master's (level 9) or a doctorate, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) rules allow your partner to apply for an open work visa and work for any employer. Your children can then get student visas through the partner's visa and attend a state school as domestic students. Below that level a partner generally gets only a visitor visa.
Updated 30 September 2026. Visa and cost figures are taken from official sources on that date.
At a glance: which visa each family member can get
Summary of the INZ page Bringing family on a student visa as at September 2026:
| Your programme | Partner | School-age children |
|---|---|---|
| Master's (level 9) or doctorate (level 10) | open work visa — Partner of a Student Work Visa | student visas supported through the partner's work visa; state school as domestic students |
| Level 7–8, if the qualification is on the Green List or the list of qualifications eligible for a post-study work visa | open work visa | through the partner's work visa |
| Other level 7–8 study, diplomas, English courses | visitor visa | visitor visa, or their own student visa paying international school fees |
| PhD, government exchange programme, Manaaki (MFAT) scholarship | for a PhD, an open work visa; otherwise it depends on the level of study | Dependent Child Student Visa supported directly by the student |
Any student visa holder can support visitor visas for a partner and children. What differs is whether your family can work and study at no cost, and that depends only on the level and type of your programme.
When a partner gets an open work visa
The visa is the Partner of a Student Work Visa. According to the INZ page (updated 2 March 2026), a student can support it if they study:
- at level 9 or 10 (master's or doctorate);
- at level 7 or 8 in a qualification listed for a Green List occupation;
- at level 7 or 8 in a qualification on the list eligible for a post-study work visa.
What it gives and what it requires:
| Item | What applies |
|---|---|
| Rights | any work for any employer anywhere in New Zealand (with any professional registration the job needs); self-employment is allowed, employing others is not |
| Length | the same as the student's visa |
| Age | both partners at least 18 |
| Funds | at least NZD 4,200 |
| From the student | support form INZ 1146 |
| Fee | from NZD 1,630 |
| Processing | 80% of applications within 5 weeks (INZ guide) |
The partner's application can be lodged at the same time as the student visa, but it is granted after the student visa. Since 21 June 2024, partners of students on Green List bachelor's and honours programmes that lead to professional registration also get open work visas (INZ news, 21.06.2024).
How to prove your relationship
For INZ, partners are two people living together, whether married, in a civil union or de facto. Living together means a shared home, not flatmates, a holiday together or separate homes, and the relationship must be genuine and stable (INZ, September 2026).
Useful evidence includes:
- joint ownership or a mortgage;
- a joint tenancy agreement and utility bills;
- birth certificates of your children together;
- joint bank accounts and cards;
- a marriage certificate;
- photos, messages and social media;
- letters of support from family and friends who know you as a couple.
What changed on 25 September 2026. For nine partnership-based visas, including the Partner of a Student Work Visa and the Partner of a Worker Work Visa, both partners must be 18 or older when they apply, and relationship evidence only counts from the time both were 18 (INZ news, 25.09.2026). Temporary partner visas have no minimum period of living together, but you must show that you do live together. The 12-month living-together requirement applies to residence partnership visas, not to a visa for the duration of study.
A practical tip for couples from Russia and the CIS: documents in Russian must be translated into English, and if you are not married, start collecting evidence of shared life early: a joint lease, shared accounts, and messages over a long period.
Children: visas and school
The Dependent Child Student Visa is for children aged 19 or under at primary or secondary school (INZ, updated 2 March 2026):
- it lasts as long as the supporting parent's visa;
- the fee is from NZD 750, and the International Visitor Levy does not apply;
- 80% of applications are decided within 9.5 weeks;
- INZ lists funds of NZD 17,000 a year or NZD 1,417 a month;
- a chest X-ray is needed for stays over 6 months for citizens of countries not on the INZ low-tuberculosis list (Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are not on it);
- police certificates are needed from age 17 if total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or more.
Who can support it. Children get this visa directly through a parent studying a PhD, on a government exchange or on a Manaaki/MFAT scholarship. A master's student cannot support a child's student visa directly. Instead, the partner gets a Partner of a Student Work Visa, and the partner supports the children's student visas (INZ).
When school is free. Children of a current work visa holder who is in New Zealand are domestic students and attend state school on the same terms as local children (INZ Operational Manual, U3.35). INZ confirmed this for children of students' partners: "dependent school-aged children of newly eligible partners can be treated as domestic students" (news, 21.06.2024). The visa page still mentions NZD 17,000 a year, so check how it will be applied in your case before you lodge.
If free schooling does not apply, you pay international fees. Education New Zealand estimates state primary school from NZD 11,000 a year, secondary from NZD 14,000 and private schools from NZD 25,000 (studywithnewzealand.govt.nz, figures marked March 2025).
Two more rules: children under 10 must be in New Zealand with a parent or legal guardian, and a child starting tertiary study needs an ordinary Fee Paying Student Visa.
An online start: the family moves for the on-campus stage
Joint programmes at Nairi International University (NIU) begin online and continue on campus at a New Zealand partner institution. For a family, that changes the order of the move:
| Stage | Student | Family | Visas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online stage with NIU | at home | at home | no visas needed; the student studies, prepares for IELTS and gathers documents |
| Preparing for the on-campus stage | at home | at home | offer from the New Zealand provider; student and partner visas lodged together |
| Decisions | at home | at home | the student visa is granted first, then the partner's; then the children's |
| On-campus stage | New Zealand | New Zealand | the partner can work from day one, the children start school |
The advantage is that the family is not paying New Zealand living costs during the online stage and the children do not have to leave school mid-year. There is also time to sort out housing at home and to collect and translate marriage and birth documents.
Because children lodge after the partner's visa is granted and processing can take up to 9.5 weeks, allow 4–5 months for the family's visa stage before on-campus study begins.
The family budget: what it is made of
INZ sets minimum funds for the visas; real family spending is higher. Below is a one-year example for a couple with one child studying on campus in Auckland. The figures come from official sources; the totals are our calculation, not a forecast of your costs.
| Item | NZD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Funds for the student for a year | 20,000 | INZ |
| Funds for the partner | from 4,200 | INZ |
| Funds for the child (as stated on the visa page) | 17,000 a year | INZ |
| Visa fees: student + partner + child | 850 + 1,630 + 750 = 3,230 | INZ visa pages |
| Two-bedroom flat, central Auckland, median | 550 a week ≈ 28,600 a year | Tenancy Services, February–July 2026 |
The rent is the median for central Auckland; other suburbs and cities differ. For comparison, the central Auckland median is NZD 250 a week for a room and NZD 442 for a one-bedroom flat (Tenancy Services).
The partner's income. The adult minimum wage from 1 April 2026 is NZD 23.95 an hour before tax (employment.govt.nz), so a 40-hour week is NZD 958 before tax. That roughly covers the rent on a family flat plus some other costs, but INZ looks at the money you have when you apply, not at expected earnings. The student can also work up to 25 hours a week during study (INZ).
A detailed budget for a single student is on the Cost of study and living page.
After graduation: your family on a post-study work visa
Once you finish and get a post-study work visa, your family can stay: a holder of that visa can support a partner's work visa and children's student visas (INZ). The partner applies for a Partner of a Worker Work Visa: open work, the same length as the worker's visa, fee from NZD 1,630, 80% decided within 6 weeks (INZ).
One important exception: the new Short-Term Graduate Work Visa, launching on 16 November 2026 for level 5–7 qualifications, does not support partner or children's visas; they can only get visitor visas (INZ news, 10.09.2026). If your family is the main reason for moving, choose a programme that leads to a full post-study work visa. More on the Post-study work visa page.
Which programmes suit a move with family
The deciding factor is the level. Every master's in the NIU catalogue is at level 9, so a student's partner can generally get an open work visa:
- Master of Business Informatics (NIU + ICL) — NIU's joint programme: first semester online, then a year on campus in Auckland;
- Master of Management — ICL Graduate Business School, Auckland;
- Master of Business Administration (MBA) — AIS, Auckland;
- Master of Information Technology — NMIT, Nelson, a smaller city than Auckland with different rents.
For level 8 programmes (postgraduate diplomas) and bachelor's degrees, a partner work visa is only possible if the qualification is on INZ's lists, so check the specific programme. The joint NIU and ICL Bachelor of Business Information Systems (level 7) does not automatically give a partner a work visa; ask an adviser. All programmes are in Programs and courses.
How it works on the MBI
The joint master's by NIU and ICL Graduate Business School is level 9, 180 credits and about 16 months long. The first semester (60 credits) is online with NIU, followed by an academic year on campus at ICL in Auckland. The first stage costs USD 2,499 per semester; the New Zealand stage is costed individually.
For a family, this means everyone stays at home during the online semester, and before the on-campus year you lodge the student visa and the partner's visa. At level 9 your partner can get an open work visa and your children student visas through it, provided INZ requirements are met. Immigration New Zealand makes every decision and no one can guarantee it, which is why we recommend having your family's documents checked before you apply.
Sources
All links checked on 30 September 2026.
- INZ — Bringing family on a student visa: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/process-to-apply/once-you-have-a-visa/bringing-family-to-new-zealand/bringing-family-on-a-student-visa/
- INZ — Partner of a Student Work Visa: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/visas/partner-of-a-student-work-visa/
- INZ — Update to work rights for partners of a student (21.06.2024): https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/update-to-work-rights-for-partners-of-a-student/
- INZ — Partnership and how to prove it: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/process-to-apply/once-you-have-a-visa/bringing-family-to-new-zealand/partnership-and-how-to-prove-it/
- INZ — New age and evidence requirements for some partnership-based visas (25.09.2026): https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/new-age-and-evidence-requirements-for-some-partnership-based-visas/
- INZ — Dependent Child Student Visa: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/visas/dependent-child-student-visa/
- INZ — Operational Manual U3.35: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/84134.htm
- INZ — Student fund requirements: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/process-to-apply/applying-for-a-visa/providing-evidence-and-documents-to-support-your-visa-application/student-fund-requirements/
- INZ — Working on a student visa: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/study/once-you-have-a-student-visa/working-on-a-student-visa/
- INZ — Post-Study Work Visa: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/visas/post-study-work-visa/
- INZ — Partner of a Worker Work Visa: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/visas/partner-of-a-worker-work-visa/
- INZ — New Short-Term Graduate Work Visa launching on 16 November 2026 (10.09.2026): https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/new-short-term-graduate-work-visa-launching-on-16-november-2026/
- Tenancy Services (MBIE) — Market rent, Auckland Central: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/rent-bond-and-bills/market-rent/?location=Auckland+Central
- Employment New Zealand — Minimum wage rates: https://www.employment.govt.nz/pay-and-hours/pay-and-wages/minimum-wage/minimum-wage-rates-and-types
- Education New Zealand — Cost of living: https://www.studywithnewzealand.govt.nz/en/plan-your-studies/cost-of-living