OVERVIEW

New Zealand offers scholarships to eligible citizens from developing countries to study abroad at a New Zealand education institution or university or at a Pacific university.

There are various scholarships offered by the New Zealand Government as listed below:

• New Zealand Scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate study,
• New Zealand Short Term Training Scholarships for Pacific and Timor-Leste citizens,
• New Zealand Short Term Scholarships for citizens of Southeast Asia and Timor-Leste, and
• New Zealand English Language Training for Officials Scholarships (NZELTO).

In this article, the focus is put on the New Zealand Scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate study. For others scholarships, please click on each of them for further information.

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NEW ZEALAND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE STUDY

These are full tertiary scholarships for eligible international students to study fulltime at a New Zealand education institution or a Pacific university.

ELIGIBILITY QUESTIONNAIRE

The Eligibility questionnaire will check in detail if you meet all of the eligibility criteria. The Eligibility questionnaire will check things such as:

• Which country you hold citizenship in
• How long you have been living in your home country
• How much work experience you have
• Whether we provide scholarships to your country

You must complete the eligibility questionnaire before you can apply for a Scholarship.

Complete the New Zealand Scholarships online eligibility test

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Age requirements for New Zealand Scholars

To apply for a full New Zealand Scholarship, you must be 18 years old or older when you start your scholarship. This means if you are 17 years of age when you apply, you must have your 18th birthday before you start your scholarship in semester one.

Exception for Samoa: Applicants applying for the Samoa Foundation intake can be 17 years of age when they commence their scholarship.

There is no upper age limit for applicants. This means if you are 18 and over, you can apply. However, we do prefer applicants who are under 40 years of age for New Zealand Scholarships for university or tertiary students.

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IMMIGRATION AND VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW ZEALAND SCHOLARS

Only people who successfully get a New Zealand Scholarship need to apply for a student visa. But all applicants should check if they are likely to meet the student visa requirements before applying for a scholarship.

Check visa requirements before you apply for a scholarship

You only need to apply for a student visa, if we offer you a New Zealand Scholarship and you accept that offer. But before you apply for a New Zealand Scholarship, we strongly recommend that you check the student visa requirements on the relevant immigration website, listed below. This is because you can only study abroad on scholarship, if you successfully get a student visa.

ACADEMIC AND ENGLISH REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW ZEALAND SCHOLARS

Successful scholarship applicants must meet both the academic entry requirements and the English language requirements determined by each education institution.

Check you meet academic entry requirements and English language requirements

As part of the New Zealand Scholarships application process, you need to choose your preferred education institution and preferred courses. Scholarship applicants don’t need to apply for admission to their preferred education institution and courses until they are notified that they are a preferred candidate for a New Zealand Scholarship.

But scholarship applicants do need to check that they are likely to meet the minimum academic requirements and the minimum level of English required for their courses.

Course entry requirements are set by your chosen education institution so you must check minimum entry requirements on their website before you apply for a New Zealand Scholarship.

PhD applicants should look for a supervisor as soon as possible

From an early stage, PhD scholarship applicants should look for and email suitable PhD supervisors at New Zealand universities. PhD scholarship applicants who make it to the interview stage will need to provide evidence at the interview that they have either secured a supervisor or are in active discussions with a potential supervisor.

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Only shortlisted applicants need English language test scores

You do not need to sit an English language test or provide English language test scores when you apply for a New Zealand Scholarship.

If we select you for the applicant short list during our scholarship selection process, then you will need to provide your English language test scores.

We accept test scores from these four English competency testing systems:

• IELTS (the International English Language Testing System) OR
• TOEFL (the Test of English as a Foreign Language) OR
• PTE Academic (the Pearson Test of English Academic) OR
• Cambridge Academic English (advanced).

If you have passed an IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic or Cambridge Academic English (advanced) test to the required level during the last 12 months, then your university or education institution may accept these test scores.

If you do not have IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic or Cambridge Academic English (advanced) test scores from the last 12 months, we will tell applicants on the short list, if and when they need to sit one of these English competency tests.

General level of English expected for post-graduate and under-graduate study

Each university or education institution sets the minimum level of English you need for your preferred courses, so check their website.

Generally, to study for a postgraduate qualification, you must have at least:

• an overall IELTS score of 6.5 and no band less than 6.0
• a TOEFL score of 90 on the internet-based test with a writing score of 21
• an overall PTE Academic score of 58 with no communicative skills score less than 50
• a Cambridge Academic English (advanced) overall score of 176 with no bands less than 169.

Generally, to study for an undergraduate qualification, you must have at least:

• an overall IELTS score of 6.0 and no band less than 5.5
• a TOEFL score of 80 on the internet-based test with a writing score of 21
• an overall PTE Academic score of 50, with no communication skills score less than 42
• a Cambridge Academic English (advanced) overall score of 169 with no bands less than 162.

Note: Some courses have higher minimum English level entry requirements than those outlined above. The information above is a guide only. It is your responsibility to check with the relevant New Zealand institution what the minimum English language entry requirements for the course that you want to study.

Who organises and pays for the English language tests?

English language testing takes place during the final stages of our scholarship selection process. Only applicants on our scholarships short list, need current IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic or Cambridge Academic English (advanced) test scores.

In most cases, shortlisted applicants will need to organise and pay for their own IELTS, TOEFL or PTE Academic tests. Shortlisted applicants will need to book a test with a company who does English language testing close to their location.

If you are on our applicants’ short list, you will need to book your IELTS or TOEFL testing as soon as possible. This is because the testing process can take several weeks.

You may lose the chance to get a New Zealand Scholarship, if your English language testing application form is late or incomplete or inaccurate.

We pay for English language testing for these countries

We organise and pay for the IELTS test for shortlisted applicants from these countries:

• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Nauru
• Papua New Guinea
• Samoa (except Samoa Foundation applicants)
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

IELTS testing for Pacific

Shortlisted applicants from Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa (except Samoa Foundation applicants), Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu must sit the IELTS test after selection interviews.

We contract a company, called Auckland Uniservices, to conduct IELTS testing in the Pacific. Before the IELTS test, Auckland Uniservices will also deliver a course to shortlisted applicants to prepare them for the IELTS test. This course takes place during two or three evenings at a location in your own country.

The New Zealand High Commission will contact applicants living on outer Pacific islands about travel to the location of the IELTS test in their country. Applicants living on outer Pacific islands may take this preparatory course online, if you have good internet access.

Apply for the IELTS online

If you are a shortlisted applicant from the Pacific, you must apply for the IELTS test online. Auckland Uniservices will email the online application form to you. Auckland Uniservices does not accept late IELTS applications. You may lose the chance to get a New Zealand Scholarship, if your IELTS application is late or incomplete or inaccurate.

IELTS applicants need valid passports

All IELTS test applicants must have a valid passport. All IELTS applications must include a digital colour copy of your passport.

If you don’t have a valid passport, in some situations the IELTS Regional Australia Office may give you special permission to use another form of official identification.

If you have any special needs or questions

Please email Auckland Uniservices if you have any questions or issues with the IELTS application process or testing process.

If you have a disability or any special learning needs (e.g. hearing aids, a visual or learning disability), please email Auckland Uniservices as soon as possible. They may need 6-12 weeks to prepare for any additional requirements.

English training for some shortlisted applicants with a test score just under the required level

We may pay for English language training for some preferred candidates who have a current IELTS test score that is almost at the required level. We will tell you if you are a preferred candidate who can get this English language training.

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For preferred candidates from these Pacific countries

We may pay for up to 12 months of English language training for some preferred candidates from these Pacific countries:

• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Papua New Guinea
• Samoa (except Samoa Foundation applicants)
• Solomon Islands
• Timor-Leste
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu.

This English language training is part of your scholarship. It takes place in New Zealand, immediately before you start studying your qualification. After completing this English language training, you must meet the English language entry requirements for you preferred course. If you don’t meet the requirements, then your scholarship will cease and you must return home.

For preferred candidates from other eligible countries

Occasionally for preferred candidates from other eligible countries, we may pay for up to one semester of English language training in New Zealand.

This English language training is part of your scholarship. It takes place in New Zealand, immediately before you start studying your qualification. After completing this English language training, you must meet the English language entry requirements for you preferred course. If you don’t meet the requirements, then your scholarship will cease and you must return home.

Related: Erasmus Mundus Scholarships

SCHOLARS MUST CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR COUNTRY’S DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of a New Zealand Scholarship is to fund the training of citizens from developing countries, so they can positively impact on their country’s development by sharing new skills and knowledge gained from their study.

We expect scholars to contribute to their country’s social or economic development for two years after completing their scholarship study.

That is why we expect all scholars to return home after their scholarship for at least two years to contribute to the social and economic development of their own country.

When shortlisting scholarship applicants, we prefer applicants who can clearly describe on their application form, how they will improve their country’s social and economic development after their scholarship.

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WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW ZEALAND SCHOLARS

Postgraduate scholarship applicants or applicants, who finished high school a few years ago, must have relevant work experience.

When assessing scholarship applications, we prefer applicants who want to study courses that align strongly with their current work experience. We prefer applicants who will continue working in their current job sector after they finish their scholarship.

On their New Zealand Scholarships application form, applicants must describe how their previous work experience relates to their proposed courses or career. Postgraduate applicants or applicants who finished high school a few years ago must have the following work experience:

• One year of fulltime work experience (i.e. 30 hours or more per week), OR
• Two years of part-time work experience (i.e. up to 29 hours per week).

Work experience can be either paid, unpaid or voluntary.

Exception for school leavers and first year undergraduate students: These two types of scholarship applicant do not need work experience:

• Applicants who are in their final year of Secondary School, OR
• Applicants who are in their first year of tertiary study that was started in the academic year immediately after completing Secondary School.

See also: Australia Awards Scholarships

Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship 2023 for Developing Countries

The Selection 2023 application portal opened at midnight on the 1 February 2023 and will close at midday (12:00pm) on the 28 February 2023. Applications are for study in 2024 and will be accepted from scholars in eligible countries across the Pacific, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Apply Now for the 2023 Intake!

FURTHER INFORMATION & FOR APPLICATION

• For details about the New Zealand scholarships, please visit the OFFICIAL WEBSITE.
• Check if you are eligible to apply for the New Zealand scholarships.
• Apply Online for a Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship

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