Your visa requirements will depend on whether you're a visiting student, academic, or professional.
Visiting student or professional
If you don't already hold the legal right to work in New Zealand, you need to apply for a work visa. Anyone entering New Zealand on business, even for a short time, requires a work visa from Immigration New Zealand.
Visiting academic
There are currently two visa options for visiting academics from overseas:
- a "Special Visitor Category - Visiting Academic" for stays up to three months
- a "Work Visa" for stays of over three months
Special Visitor Category - Visiting Academic
Visiting academics coming to New Zealand to undertake activities of a pedagogical, educational, professional management, or research nature can enter New Zealand on a special visitor visa, as long as they meet certain criteria:
- Their stay is for three months or less (or multiple short stays amounting to three months or less per calendar year), and
- Are a national of a country where a visa waiver applies, and
- Have a formal offer from the University as a Visiting Academic
For full information see the Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual and search for V3.130 Visiting Academics.
Work Visa Category
Visiting academics must apply for a work visa prior to travelling to New Zealand if they wish to:
- Stay in New Zealand for longer than three months, or
- Make multiple visits with a total duration of more than three months in any calendar year, or
- Undertake any activity that would fall within the definition of work and is not listed in the section clarifying activities of a pedagogical, educational, professional management, or research nature.
The New Zealand Immigration website has information about how to apply for a work visa.
You will need to apply for a work visa prior to departing for New Zealand, once you receive a letter of appointment from Human Resources confirming the details of your visiting appointment. Due to New Zealand Immigration processing times, applications for a work visa should be made well in advance of your visit.
The University is not a registered immigration adviser and therefore is not allowed to provide immigration advice. The information provided within this guideline may be subject to change. Contact New Zealand Immigration for more detailed information and advice.