#10 destination for Nepali students
New Zealand
Smaller and slower-moving than Australia, with similar work rights and a longer post-study visa at degree level. NRB does not quote the New Zealand dollar, so rupee figures here are converted at the Australian rate and are indicative only.
Odds
No refusal rate is published for this destination
Immigration New Zealand does not break decisions out by nationality often enough to quote a rate. Genuine intent is assessed the same way Australia does it, and refusals read similarly.
What gets through
Applicants aiming at something New Zealand actually needs. Genuine intent is assessed much as Australia does it, so the same rules apply, and the Green List makes it unusually explicit which qualifications lead somewhere. Pick a course on it, evidence the funds properly, and this is the most straightforward of the five.
Money
What it costs, in rupees
Before you fly
2.7 lakh
Tests, papers, government fees and the flight.
Must be in the bank
21.9 lakhest
NZD 20,000 a year of living costs, plus tuition, evidenced.
Everything, year one
49.5 lakh
Including tuition at the lower end and twelve months of living costs.
At NPR 109.51 per AUD, Nepal Rastra Bank, 2026-09-20.
Life there
What NZ is actually like once you land
Wages, rent, the first job you will realistically get, and whether staying is a plan or a hope. All of it in the local currency, because that is what you will be thinking in by month two.
What you can earn
NZD 23.95 /hourest
Adult minimum wage from 1 April 2026.
Legal hours
25 hours a week during term, raised from 20 in November 2025, and full time in scheduled holidays.
Which comes to, per month
NZD 2,595
Working the full legal hours at the minimum rate, before tax.
Against living costs of
NZD 1,200 /month
Work covers your living costs with about 116 percent to spare. It does not touch tuition.
A room costs
NZD 250–400est
a room in a shared flat in Auckland, quoted weekly as New Zealand does.
New Zealand advertises rent by the week. NZD 250 to 400 a week is roughly NZD 1,080 to 1,730 a month, and being caught out by the weekly figure is a standard first-month shock.
The best hourly rate against the lowest cap of the five, and 25 hours is the most generous term-time allowance on this list. It is also the smallest job market, so getting the first job takes longer than anywhere else here.
The first job
What people actually get in the first six months
- Hospitality and cafés, which Auckland runs on
- Supermarket and retail
- Fruit picking and packhouse work, seasonal and outside the cities
- Cleaning and hotel housekeeping
- Aged care, if you have the right programme
Who is already there
The Nepali community
6,832
Nepalis in New Zealand, as of 2024.
Where. Auckland, and a little in Wellington and Christchurch.
The smallest Nepali community of the five by a long way. If landing among a lot of other Nepalis matters to you, this is not the place; if getting out of that circle and into New Zealand matters more, it is the best of the five for exactly the same reason.
Afterwards
Can you stay?
Post-study work. Post Study Work Visa, up to three years at degree level, open, no employer needed.
The route to residency. Skilled Migrant Category, or straight through the Green List if your occupation is on it.
The most transparent of the five. The Green List names the occupations that lead to residence, so you can read it before you choose a course rather than finding out afterwards. The catch is scale: a small country has fewer vacancies, so the plan has to be a Green List occupation rather than a general degree and a hope.
Staying is what families are really paying for, so it is the line most worth being straight about. What is above is the route and what actually moves it, and it changes on this page when the rules change.
Worth knowing before you go
Everything is quoted weekly
Rent, and often pay. Multiply by 4.33 and not by 4, or your budget is out by a week's rent every month.
Distance is the real cost
A return flight to Kathmandu is more expensive and much longer than from anywhere else on this list. Assume you are not coming home for a family event.
Houses are cold
Older New Zealand housing is poorly insulated and often unheated. Winter indoors is a genuine and widely reported shock.
Twenty-five hours a week, the most generous cap of our five
Raised from twenty in November 2025, at the highest minimum wage on this list. A student here can cover living costs from work more comfortably than anywhere except Australia.
Requirements
What it asks for
IELTS 6.0 for undergraduate, 6.5 for postgraduate.
Immigration New Zealand funds requirement, NZD per year.
Compulsory travel and health insurance.
Work
During study. 20 hours a week during term, full time in scheduled breaks.
Afterwards. Post-study work visa, up to 3 years.
Work rights are what you may do once you are there. No country on this site will grant a visa on the strength of money you have not earned yet, so the first year has to be funded without them.
Intakes
When to apply
July 2027main intake
130 days
Teaching starts Jul 2027. Offer in hand by 28 January 2027.
February 2028main intake
345 days
Teaching starts Feb 2028. Offer in hand by 31 August 2027.
Before the NOC
The No Objection Certificate cannot be applied for until the offer exists. It costs NPR 2,000, is paid through ConnectIPS, eSewa or Khalti, and takes three to seven working days. Since 2024 the whole thing is online and the certificate comes back as a signed PDF with a QR code on it.
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