Education Loan to Study in New Zealand: A Detailed Overview

• For courses of more than nine months’ duration, students have to show evidence of funds of NZ$15,000 for living expenses. For a course shorter than 9 months, evidence of at least NZ$1,250 per month is mandatory. Funds for the first year of study should be readily available in terms of liquid funds.
• As a shred of evidence, students can present an original bank deposit certificate; study loan sanction letter from a recognized bank with security against a fixed asset of the applicant or co-applicant, FD at least 6 months old; bank statement(s) of the student or acceptable co-applicant for past 6 months; provident fund accounts supported by documents related to employment.
• Students who have availed of scholarship students have to show the offer letter from a New Zealand institution providing the details of the scholarship and dates of the program
• Plan of fee payment for the courses with a duration of more than a year. This can comprise co-applicants tax returns mentioning the income and saving patterns, FD due to mature in the following year, and bank account statement with the source of recent funds (if any)
• A letter from the financial co-applicant detailing personal tax records, gross annual income, length of employment and position occupied, and evidence of business registration and recent business tax returns with the income statement.

In the New Zealand student visa process, students have to fulfill certain financial pre-conditions before they can get one. These requirements are:

• Students have to deposit the living expenses for at least one year of their course with a bank based in New Zealand.
• Students have to pay their annual tuition fees before their visa process.

• The applicant should be an Indian national.
• The applicant must have secured admission to professional/technical courses through a recognized entrance test/selection process.
• The applicant should have the required financial and academic profile depending on the type of loan and lender.

Broadly, the education loan options in India to study in New Zealand fall under two categories:

1. Education Loans with Collateral - These are the study loans in which applicants have to provide collateral as a security. This collateral is pledged to the bank as a security for the loan. This collateral security can be of two types:
   • Tangible assets such as flats, land (non-agricultural), shops, etc.
   • Intangible assets such as fixed deposits, life insurance, government bonds, etc.
2. Education Loans without Collateral: These are study loans in which the student does not have to pledge any collateral security to the lender in order to get the education loan to study abroad. However, there has to be a co-applicant and his/her income becomes a major factor of the loan sanction likelihood. Only the private lenders in the country offer an unsecured education loan for an amount more than INR 7.5 Lakhs to study in New Zealand.