This web page replaces Circular 2020/08.

Purpose#

This page defines the basis on which students are eligible to enrol in New Zealand (state, state-integrated, private and charter schools) and provides guidance on what documents may be requested to confirm their eligibility. It also explains the details that must be recorded on ENROL by all registered schools.

Who's eligible#

Every domestic student has an entitlement to free enrolment and free education in (state, state-integrated, private and charter schools) beginning on their fifth birthday and ending on 1 January after their 19th birthday.

A domestic student is a New Zealand citizen, a person who holds a residence class visa under the Immigration Act 2009 or a person described in the Education (Domestic Students) Notice 2026.

The Education (Domestic Students) Notice 2026 – New Zealand Gazette

Anyone who does not fall within one of these categories is an international student with no automatic entitlement to free education in New Zealand.

Students who are ORS funded or who have specialist education agreements to attend a state specialist school are eligible until the end of the year that they turn 21 years of age.

Schooling is compulsory for all domestic students between the ages of 6 and 16 (unless there is an approved exemption). But if a student enrols in school before the age of 6, they are required to attend school regularly, in accordance with the Education and Training Act 2020 s36.

Students who are not eligible to enrol as domestic students may be able to enrol as international students.

International students can only be enrolled at (state, state-integrated, private and charter schools) that are signatories to the Education Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners Code of Practice 2021 (the Code).

Tertiary and International Learners Code of Practice – NZQA

Why it's important to determine eligibility on enrolment#

Eligibility establishes a student’s entitlement to a free education and how the school will be funded to provide it. Refer to Appendix A below for a flowchart to help determine whether a student is eligible for enrolment as a domestic student.

Domestic students and international students#

A student who is not a New Zealand citizen is treated either as a domestic student or an international student depending on their circumstances and documents, they hold giving them the right to be in New Zealand. Although they may be from overseas, they may have the same eligibility as a NZ citizen, and they may be classed as a domestic student.

Students who are not entitled to the domestic student classification are, by default, international students.

Domestic students are funded by the Ministry of Education, and international students are not.

To establish whether a student should be treated as a domestic student or an international student, refer to the appendices.

Types of enrolment#

Domestic students#

Domestic students have an entitlement to free State-funded education at any state, state-integrated and charter school. Some domestic students are entitled to free education throughout their schooling, while others are entitled for a period, as shown in a visa or other documents.

Domestic students (permanent)#

Domestic students (permanent) have ongoing entitlement to free state-funded education at a state, state-integrated and charter school. The following are categories of domestic (permanent) students:

• New Zealand citizen
• New Zealand resident
• Australian citizens.

For more information about managing school records, go to:

Managing school records

For more details, and information about the evidence a school must obtain, go to Appendix B.

Domestic students (time-bound)#

Domestic students (time-bound) are generally students from overseas who hold a current student visa with conditions and fall into one of the categories in The Education (Domestic Students) Notice 2026 of the New Zealand Gazette. The visa does not name the school. They are entitled to free enrolment and free education in New Zealand (state, state-integrated, private and charter schools) as domestic students for a finite period of time.

The Education (Domestic Students) Notice 2026 – New Zealand Gazette

While almost all domestic (time-bound) students will hold a student visa, some students will have other documents such as an interim visa which extends the time period of their previous visa. Some students will have an official document setting out their eligibility.

For more details and information about verification documents, see appendix C.

International students#

The Education and Training Act 2020 requires that all students who are not domestic students must be enrolled as international students if they are attending school for more than 2 weeks or are paying a fee for education services. They may hold a visitor visa, or a student visa that names the school.

Students participating in a school-to-school or sister-school exchange that has not been approved by the Ministry of Education are international students if they attend school for more than 2 weeks.

International students are not funded by the Ministry and are sometimes referred to as foreign or fee-paying students. For more details, and information about student verification documents for international students go to Appendix D (see below).

Documentation#

Appropriate verification documents need to be sighted, copied, and retained, and ENROL updated, when a domestic student (time bound):

• first enrols in a New Zealand school
• moves to enrol at another New Zealand school
• provides updated documents (new proof of eligibility) to continue their enrolment.

Funding of international students#

All domestic students and those on a government approved exchange scheme in (state, state-integrated, private and charter schools) are funded by the Ministry through the school’s operations grant.

The Education and Training Act 2020 (s521) specifies that international students (state, state-integrated, private and charter schools) must pay fees to cover all costs including tuition, course fees and administration, use of capital facilities, as well as the Export Education Levy.

Schools enrolling international fee-paying students must pay either the International Student Levy or the Export Education Levy. Information about these levies and the process for collecting these from schools is available on the following pages:

• International Student Levy (ISL) (which includes the Export Education Levy) – applies to state, state-integrated, private and charter schools.
• Export Education Levy (EEL) – applies to private schools.

Information on international students, and the payment of international student levies, can be accessed on our website.

International Education

Waivers: 28-day waiver and extended waiver#

The Education and Training Act 2020 s519 allows principals the discretion to waive the fees for an international student for a period of no more than 28 consecutive days. This is sometimes used while a visa application is being organised and processed by Immigration New Zealand or a domestic student application (previously unlawful application) is being processed by Ministry of Education. State, state-integrated, private and charter schools can apply this without our consent.

The Ministry does not fund these students. In very exceptional circumstances, we may extend this waiver while a complex situation is being resolved.

Applying the 28-day waiver

When schools are enrolling international students or applying the 28-day waiver, they need to check whether they are signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 (the Code).

Extended waiver

A request for an extension of a 28- day waiver will require the following documents:

• Evidence of what the student’s current immigration status is, for example visa.
• Evidence that an application has been lodged with Immigration New Zealand (email or letter from Immigration New Zealand confirming whānau have applied for a more permanent visa.

For more details, a principal should contact the regional office of the Ministry.

The Tertiary and International Learners Code of Practice – NZQA

Only state, state-integrated, private and charter schools who are approved signatories to the Code can enrol international students or request an extension to a 28-day waiver.

Recording the student categories in ENROL#

Having students enrolled and recorded under the appropriate categories and supported by the required documentation, ensures that there can be confidence in the integrity of the attendance, enrolment, and funding processes that underpin our education system. Keeping the ENROL and system records accurate and up to date not only important for allocating funding and audit purposes but also complies with the privacy act requirements.

Checking on visa status#

Students from overseas may be able to provide a school with evidence of their visa status – such as a visa label in their passport, an email or letter from Immigration New Zealand, or, if the student has an Immigration online account, they may log in and show the record of their visa status.

Checking on visa status – using Visa View#

Visa View is provided by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) so that state, state-integrated, private and charter schools can check on the visa status of their students. With the development of online systems, some students now have eVisas or label-less visas with limited physical evidence of their visa status. Schools can check on their students’ visa status, and, if necessary, print off records to save on the student’s file as evidence of that status.

The service does not confirm identity. Schools need to check that using other means. But it provides up-to-date information about a student’s visa status and can provide a printed record for the student’s file. The VisaView guide for education providers on the INZ website provides information about VisaView.

VisaView Guide for Education Providers – Immigration NZ [PDF, 615KB]

Before you start with Visa View, you will need to have a Real Me account, and to register your school’s details. This is explained in the guide.

Managing enrolment records: New temporary care records protection order#

Student records created, collected, or held by the school are subject to the temporary care records protection instruction issued by the Archives New Zealand. This means that once the student has been recorded on ENROL or any other system that captures student enrolment details for domestic, domestic time bound and international students, information must be protected and retained indefinitely, or until such time as a relevant new retention and disposal order is confirmed. The protection order extends to hard-copy and digital records, including Student Management Systems and internal filing systems.

This protection instruction overrules the school records: retention and disposal schedule for schools.

School records – Retention and disposal schedule for schools

Care records are:

• all records the school holds about the students and staff in all their systems
• how the school operates, including governance
• the school's history.

More information on school’s legal requirements to manage records is available on our website.

Managing school records

Archives New Zealand has information about the protection instruction and the care records definition.

Temporary care records protection instruction – Archives New Zealand

Care records definition – Archives New Zealand

Additional information#

Visas#

Visitor Visa holders can:

• go to any school as a visitor for up to 2 weeks, at the school’s discretion. No tuition fees are paid, and they are not entered on ENROL
• attend a Code signatory school as an international fee-paying student for up to 3 months in any 1 year. School-aged children cannot split their study across 2 calendar years. To stay in a school for longer than 3 months, they will need to be offered a place in the school and hold a valid student visa
• be on a short-term government approved exchange programme and attend school as a domestic (time-bound) student.

Interim Visas are issued so that a person can stay in New Zealand while Immigration New Zealand assesses their application for another visa.

• If the interim visa continues the conditions of their previous visa, it has the same status as the original one. So, a student who had a student visa and now has an interim visa (that continues the same conditions) still holds a student visa.
• The ENROL category (Visa Domestic)will remain the same but the document expiry date should be updated with the expiry date of the new visa.

New Zealand Citizenship#

There are 3 main types of New Zealand citizenship: by birth, by descent and by grant.

People born in New Zealand before 1 January 2006 are New Zealand citizens by birth.

People born in New Zealand on or after 1 January 2006 are a citizen if, when they were born, at least 1 parent:

• was a New Zealand citizen, or
• had a visa that allowed them to reside in New Zealand indefinitely.

People born overseas to New Zealand citizens may be eligible for citizenship by descent. Citizens by descent must register their citizenship to make it official.

People born in New Zealand on or after 1 January 2006 to parents who were not New Zealand citizens or permanent residents may be eligible for citizenship by grant.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has a self-check tool to find out if you are eligible for New Zealand citizenship.

Check you meet the requirements for NZ citizenship – New Zealand Government

New Zealand Birth Certificates#

Birth certificates for new entrants born in New Zealand since 1 January 2006 will show whether the student is a New Zealand citizen by birth. Schools may ask to see a birth certificate or New Zealand passport as evidence of New Zealand citizenship.

Contact us#

Regional offices

School administration staff who need guidance about the enrolment process, and documents required as evidence for enrolment can contact the e-Admin Contact centre.

Phone: 04 463 8383

Email: [email protected]