A visa is needed for every trip
Bangladesh is not on New Zealand’s visa waiver list, so a Bangladeshi citizen needs a visa before travelling, whatever the reason for the trip. The New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) is not available on a Bangladeshi passport.
Choose the course for what comes after it
For students, the most important decision is made before the visa application. The level of the qualification, whether it is a degree, and how long you study it full time in New Zealand decide whether you can get a post-study work visa, and what work you can do on it.
Many diplomas do not lead to a post-study work visa at all. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) keeps a short list of non-degree qualifications that do, and each one is tied to a named job. A cheaper diploma is often cheaper because it leads to less. Read our guide on choosing a course for the seven things to check before you pay a deposit.
Genuine intention and evidence of funds
INZ assesses whether you genuinely intend to study. The question it asks is whether the course makes sense for you. A course with no connection to your earlier study or work, or a lower-level course after a degree, needs a clear explanation.
Funds are examined for their source as well as the amount. Show statements over a period, explain any large deposits, and include evidence of where the money came from. If a parent or relative is supporting you, show the relationship and a letter explaining the support. A balance reached a few weeks before you apply, with no history behind it, invites questions.
English: your provider and INZ
Your education provider sets the English score it needs for admission. For a student visa, INZ sets no minimum score, but it now treats English ability as a key factor and can ask for evidence, such as a test result. Our student visa page explains the change.
For work and residence visas, INZ does set minimum scores. A degree taught in English in Bangladesh does not meet INZ’s study-based English conditions, which apply only to degrees from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Most Bangladeshi applicants therefore sit a test such as IELTS or PTE Academic, in person at a test centre.
Qualifications
Recognition of a Bangladeshi qualification is decided by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), through an International Qualification Assessment (IQA). INZ says most overseas qualifications need one. Engineering degrees accredited under the Washington Accord are an exception, if Bangladesh was a signatory when your degree was awarded. Check that on the International Engineering Alliance’s list before you assume either answer.
Documents to start on first
Start your police certificates and medical examination early. Both come from someone else, and both are a common cause of delay. If you have worked in Malaysia, Singapore or a Gulf country, check whether you need a certificate from there too, because the requirement follows where you have lived. Any document not in English needs a translation.
Who may advise you
Giving immigration advice about New Zealand requires a New Zealand licence or a legal exemption, wherever the adviser is based. Education agents in Dhaka and elsewhere are not automatically licensed to advise on visas. Check any adviser’s licence on the public register before you pay them.
Where to start
Routes Bangladeshi applicants most often use
Ordered by how commonly they are used, not by how easy they are. Each one is assessed on different evidence.
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01
Student visas
The qualification you choose decides what work rights you have after it.
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02
Accredited Employer Work Visa
Requires an accredited employer and an approved job check before you can apply.
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03
Residence through skilled work
Usually reached after skilled work in New Zealand, not from overseas experience alone.
Start these first
The four things that hold applications up
All four come from someone other than you, and all four run on their own timetable. Beginning them late is the most common self-inflicted delay.
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Police certificates
From every country you have lived in for long enough to trigger the requirement, which is often more than one. Slow, and outside your control.
Find your country’s issuing authority -
Medical examination
Has to be done by a doctor on the approved panel. A medical from your own doctor does not count, however thorough it is.
Find an approved doctor -
Qualification assessment
NZQA decides whether an overseas qualification is recognised and at what level. Immigration New Zealand does not, and professional bodies decide separately again.
How NZQA assesses qualifications -
English evidence
Check which tests and scores are currently accepted before you book one. Sitting the wrong test is a common way to lose a month.
Accepted tests and scores