New Zealand Student Visa Finances: Funds, the FTS and Dependants from Sri Lanka

TL;DR: New Zealand lets many postgraduate students bring a partner, which Australia does not. To qualify you must show living costs of NZD 20,000 a year, pay your first year of tuition, and prove where every dollar came from. If Immigration New Zealand asks you to use the Funds Transfer Scheme, that money must come from the same sources you declared.

Many students compare New Zealand with Australia because both offer strong postgraduate study. The biggest practical difference is family. Under the current Australian rules, a Master's student cannot bring a spouse or children on the student visa, as our guide to Australia student visa dependants explains. New Zealand keeps that door open for students whose qualification meets set criteria.

That path comes with a financial test. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) wants to see that you can pay for the course, live in the country and travel home, and that the money is genuinely yours or genuinely available to you. This guide walks through each requirement, explains the Funds Transfer Scheme (FTS), and shows how the evidence must line up.

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What you must show for yourself

Three amounts add up to your total. Tuition and living costs are separate, so one does not cover the other.

A one-year Master's therefore needs tuition, NZD 20,000 and a ticket allowance. A two-year degree still shows only the first year of tuition and living costs at application, although you must be able to show genuine access to funds for the whole stay.

If part of your living cost is prepaid, such as accommodation arranged by the provider, that amount can be deducted. You then show evidence for the balance.

Evidence INZ accepts

• Bank statements showing the account holder's name and the last 3 months of transactions
• Term deposit certificates held for at least 3 months
• A scholarship award letter
• An education loan sanction and disbursal letter from a qualifying bank
• A financial sponsor or guarantor, with their own proof of income and funds

Where tuition has been paid, the receipt is the proof. A screenshot of a bank transfer is not accepted, and a receipt from an education agent is not accepted either. Your funds evidence should also be dated after the tuition payment, so the balance shown is what remains.

Large deposits and new accounts

INZ may ask you to explain any deposit over NZD 2,000, and to show the source of funds for a recently opened account. Tax returns, payslips, employer letters, rental or business records and property papers all help. Build your statement history early and keep the paper trail for every large credit.

How much you need in total: a worked example

Take a student starting a one-year Master's with a tuition fee of NZD 36,000. The tuition is an example, so replace it with the figure on your offer letter. Rupee amounts use NZD 1 = LKR 185.2, which is approximate, so check the rate on the day you transfer.

The tuition, living costs and ticket are what you show as funds. The visa fee is paid when you apply. Add a buffer on top for exchange-rate movement, since the rupee amount changes between the day you plan and the day you send.

Want a second opinion on whether your funds and sources line up before you apply?

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If a child comes with you

A child who studies in school needs their own living costs of NZD 17,000 a year, or NZD 1,417 per month for a shorter stay. This can be waived if your partner holds a work visa and earns enough to support the child. A dependent child student visa starts from NZD 750.

This table leaves out the partner's own visa fee and any funds INZ asks for them, because those figures are set by INZ at the time of application. Add them from the INZ pages before you finalise your budget. A school-age child usually does not pay tuition at state primary or secondary school, but confirm this with the school.

The Funds Transfer Scheme (FTS) explained

The FTS is an INZ scheme run by ANZ Bank New Zealand. Students from several countries, including China, India, Nepal, the Philippines and Vietnam, may be asked to use it. INZ tells you if it applies to you, and it can be a condition of an approval in principle. Setting up an FTS account does not guarantee a visa.

How it works

1. Complete the ANZ application form for the International Student FTS account.
2. Transfer the required living-cost amount from your overseas bank to the FTS savings account through a New Zealand bank.
3. Email ANZ a copy of the international transfer receipt.
4. ANZ confirms the funds directly to INZ, and INZ can then finalise the visa if everything else is in order.
5. After you arrive and hold your visa, activate the savings and everyday accounts at an ANZ branch with ID.

Once active, the savings balance is released into your everyday account in equal monthly amounts across your study period. You cannot draw the whole sum at once. Money can reach the account in 2 to 5 working days, so send it early, because FTS deadlines under an approval in principle are usually 15 days.

An older Education New Zealand factsheet gave a NZD 15,000 minimum. INZ's current student pages list NZD 20,000 a year for living costs, so deposit the amount written in your INZ instruction and not a figure from an older source.

The same-source rule

The FTS is not a separate pot of money. INZ expects the deposit to come from the same financial sources you declared in your application. If your declared funds are your parent's savings and a term deposit, the transfer into the FTS account should trace back to those accounts, in the account holder's name that you listed.

Problems arise when a student declares one source and the FTS deposit arrives from another. A new account, a relative not named in the application, or a sudden loan can raise questions about whether the original funds were genuine. Before you transfer, check that:

• the sending account matches a source on your application
• the statements show the balance moving out, not appearing from nowhere
• any change of source is explained with documents before you send the money

The FTS covers living costs only. Tuition is paid separately and proven with a receipt.

Bringing a partner and children

This is where New Zealand differs most from Australia. The route depends on the level of your qualification.

If you can support a partner's work visa but not your children's student visas directly, the partner can sponsor the children once they hold the Partner of a Student Work Visa. Family visas are usually granted for the same period as your own student visa.

What it does to your finances

Bringing family raises the total you need. You are showing funds for yourself and for each person who joins you, and the same rules on source, history and explained deposits apply to the whole amount. If the family relies on the FTS, the deposit still needs to trace back to your declared sources.

Children of school age also bring school costs, and a partner's visa has its own fee. Visa fees and the dependants' living-cost figure change, so confirm both on the INZ family and student pages on the day you apply.

Planning the numbers

1. Add your tuition, NZD 20,000 living costs and ticket allowance.
2. Add the dependants' living costs at the figure INZ currently lists.
3. Add visa fees for each family member.
4. Check that your declared sources can cover the total without a gap, and with a buffer.
5. Keep every statement, loan letter and sponsor document for the same sources throughout.

Applying from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is one of the countries INZ lists for the FTS, so Sri Lankan applicants are the ones most likely to be asked to use it. Plan for it from the start. Decide which family accounts, term deposits or loans make up your declared funds, and send the FTS deposit from those same accounts. Our guides on New Zealand student visa funds and the Partner of a Student Work Visa cover the next steps in more detail.

FAQ

Can I bring my spouse to New Zealand as a Master's student?
Often yes. A Master's degree at level 9 qualifies a partner for a Partner of a Student Work Visa. Confirm your specific course level with your provider.

Can my children come with me?
Children can come on visitor visas for any course. Student visas for children are possible for PhD students and a few scheme-based cases, or through the partner's work visa.

How much do I need for living costs?
INZ lists NZD 20,000 per year for tertiary study, or NZD 1,667 per month for courses shorter than a year.

Do I have to use the FTS?
Only if INZ tells you to. For some countries, including Sri Lanka, it can be a condition of an approval in principle.

Can the FTS money come from a different person than my declared sponsor?
It should come from the same sources you declared. If the source changes, explain it with documents before you send the money.

Is a screenshot of my transfer enough to prove tuition payment?
No. INZ asks for a payment receipt or provider confirmation.

PS: The strongest New Zealand applications are the ones where the numbers, sources and documents tell the same story. Check where you stand before you pay tuition or move funds. Check your eligibility with Prosper.

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