There are two main types of student visas in New Zealand:
— Student Visa, or an open student visa,
— Limited Purpose Visa, or a visa with limitations
The significant difference between them is that the Limited Purpose Visa cannot be changed or prolonged while staying in New Zealand. Also, this visa doesn’t allow working part-time while studying and is cancelled immediately upon leaving the country. Therefore, if you need to urgently leave for your country of origin, you will have to begin the visa process from scratch.
It is not always easy to predict which visa you will be issued, as it depends on many factors, such as:
— proof of your connection with your home country (you have a family, a good job, study in a university, own business there),
— a cover letter correctly and clearly explaining why it is this country that you chose for your studies,
— a positive history of previous travels,
— past interest towards studying the language or your selected major.
Here it is also very important to choose a correct strategy from the very beginning to make sure the visa officer does not have any questions or foundation against issuing a student visa for you.