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Home / Payments and rates / A-Z of payments / Student Loan
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Student Loan

A Student Loan helps to pay for your course fees (the compulsory fees charged by your education provider), study materials (eg, books, computer, travel) and living costs, but you'll have to pay it back.

Important information

If you can get fees-free study you may not need a Student Loan for course fees.

However you'll still need to apply for a Student Loan if you want course-related costs or living costs.

  • Who can get it

    To get a Student Loan, you need to be either:

    • a New Zealand citizen or
    • ordinarily resident in New Zealand and either:
      • have been living in New Zealand for at least 3 years, and
      • have held a residence class visa for 3 years, or
      • be a refugee or protected person, or
      • be sponsored into New Zealand by someone in your family who, at the time you were sponsored, was a refugee or protected person.

    You must be studying an approved course run by an approved education provider (but you could be based overseas).

    Check if your course is approved on the Which Course Where website

    If you're under 18, one of your parents also needs to give their permission for you to get a loan.

    Returning students

    If you're a returning student you need to meet the passing requirements

    There's also a limit to how many Student Loans you can get in your lifetime.


    Who can't get it

    You can’t get a Student Loan if you’re:

    • at secondary school
    • bankrupt
    • behind on your Student Loan repayments by $500 or more and overdue on repaying any of this amount by a year or more
    • studying for less than 32 weeks and your course has less than 0.25 EFTS.

    If you're under 18, you can't get a Student Loan if you're either:

    • on a Youth Guarantee programme
    • studying a fees-free level 1 or 2 qualification.
  • What you can get

    Depending on your circumstances, you can get a Student Loan for:

    • compulsory course fees
    • course-related costs
    • living costs

    You'll also be charged a one-off establishment fee of $60. This will be added to your Student Loan balance as soon as any payments are made.

    You can get a Student Loan for up to 2 EFTS of study a year (this is around 240 points or credits).

    What are EFTS?

    We won't pay for:

    • your lump sum hostel or hall of residence costs
    • special charges, eg, penalty fees for late enrolment
    • administration charges for paying by instalments
    • optional service fees, eg, student association fees.

    Studying full-time

    If you're studying full-time, you can get a Student Loan for:

    • compulsory course fees
    • course-related costs
    • living costs.
    What are EFTS?

    In prison or on a benefit

    You can only get a Student Loan for:

    • compulsory course fees
    • course-related costs.
    Work and Income - Studying while on a benefit

    Studying part-time or 55 and over

    You can only get a Student Loan for compulsory course fees.

    Youth Guarantee programme or fees-free Level 1 and 2 qualification

    If you're over 18 and studying a Youth Guarantee programme or fees-free Level 1 or 2 qualification, you can only get a Student Loan for course-related costs and living costs.

  • When to apply

    Important information

    Apply as early as you can to help get your correct payments on time.

    You can apply even if you haven't finalised where or what you're studying.

    If you apply after your course starts

    You can apply up until the date your course finishes but we can only pay you from when you submit your application.

    We must receive all the documents we need before your course finishes.

  • How to apply

    You apply online. If you're studying for more than 1 year, you need to reapply for a Student Loan each year that you study.

    When you apply, depending on your circumstances, you can apply for:

    • compulsory course fees
    • course-related costs
    • living costs.

    To get your course-related costs you need to claim them in MyStudyLink once we’ve received your Student Loan contract.

    Applying for the first time

    If you’re applying for the first time, there are a number of steps you must take.

    Applying when it's been a while

    If you’ve had a Student Loan more than 12 months ago, you'll need to follow a different process.

    Applying as a returning student

    If you’ve had a Student Loan in the last 12 months, you can apply in your MyStudyLink account.

  • What happens next

    You'll get a Student Loan contract which you'll need to return to us with any documents we ask for.

    Once we've got everything we need from you, we'll confirm your enrolment details with your education provider closer to the start of your course. You need to be fully enrolled before we can do this.


    Manage your application

    You can manage your information online, in MyStudyLink.

    Find out about MyStudyLink
  • Payments

    When you get your payments depends on:

    • when you apply
    • when your course starts
    • when you claim your course-related costs or request your living costs.
    Compulsory course fee payment
    Course-related costs payment
    Living costs payment

linksRelated links

How StudyLink works
Course fees
Course-related costs
Living costs
Extending your study
Paying back your loan
Cancelling your loan
Student Allowance
Other help you could get
Student Loan objection process

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