Check your New Zealandvisa application status.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) publishes how many student visa applications it approves for each nationality, and the Bangladesh figure for 2026 is lower than for the other large source countries. Between 1 January and 30 September 2026, INZ received 4,233 student visa applications from Bangladesh nationals, decided 4,000, and the approval rate was 32.8% ¹.

How that compares

INZ's table of its top five nationalities for the same period shows ¹:

Nationality	Approval rate, 1 Jan to 30 Sep 2026
China	95.5%
Sri Lanka	80.9%
Nepal	73.4%
India	64.1%
Bangladesh	32.8%

For India, INZ shows 13,895 applications submitted and 12,279 decided in the same period ¹. The page does not say whether applicants already inside New Zealand are counted in this table ¹.

INZ also publishes decisions on applications made from outside New Zealand ². For calendar year 2025 (data as of 16 February 2026), Bangladesh nationals made 1,102 such applications: 678 were approved (62%) and 414 were declined (38%) ². Across all nationalities there were 41,951 applications and 83% were approved ². For calendar year 2023, the Bangladesh figure for applicants outside New Zealand was 178 applications, with 81 approved (46%) and 91 declined (51%) ³. All nationalities that year had 40,922 applications and 80% approved ³.

These sets cover different groups and periods, and INZ does not explain the gap between the 2025 and 2026 rates ¹². Read them as what INZ reported, not as a prediction for any one application.

The visa and how to apply

The visa is the Fee Paying Student Visa, applied for online ⁴. No visa application centre in Dhaka is named on the INZ page ⁴. New Zealand's foreign ministry (MFAT) lists the New Zealand High Commission to Sri Lanka, in Colombo, as the mission for Bangladesh, along with the Maldives and Pakistan, but its Bangladesh page gives no visa information ⁶. INZ asks you to apply at least 3 months before you plan to travel, and says student visa processing is busiest between October and March ⁴.

The evidence INZ lists includes an offer of place from an approved provider, proof that tuition fees are paid or can be paid, and proof of funds for living costs: NZD 20,000 per year for study of one year or more, or NZD 1,667 per month for shorter study ⁴. You can use a conditional offer of place if you apply from outside New Zealand, but an unconditional offer is needed before approval ⁴.

One rule is specific to South Asia. If you are a citizen of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal or Bhutan applying from those countries, only immediate family can sponsor you or give a financial undertaking ⁴. INZ counts partners, parents, siblings, grandparents and parents-in-law as immediate family ⁴.

Tracking and timing

You log in to your INZ online account to check the status of your application, and INZ emails you when it decides ⁴. INZ does not publish status wordings ⁴.

INZ's wait-time page gives global figures, not Bangladesh figures, based on applications processed in the last 4 weeks and updated weekly ⁵. Average times in working days are 2 weeks for universities, 3 weeks for polytechnics and private training establishments, and 3 days for schools ⁵.

Keep your INZ online account login ready for the status check above.