Canada, Australia, and New Zealand student visas
Research comparison only; not legal advice. Rules depend on jurisdiction, application date, course, provider, personal circumstances, and individual visa or permit conditions.
Scope and currency
- Compared pathways: Canadian study permit, Australian Student visa subclass 500, and New Zealand Fee Paying Student Visa
- Last source check: 2026-07-15
- Currency warning: Source effective dates are incomplete; operational amounts and conditions must be rechecked before use
- Evidence quality: Official government guidance in all three jurisdictions, plus an in-force Australian financial-capacity instrument; key Australian Home Affairs pages were access-restricted
Evidence comparison
| Dimension | Canada | Australia | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core study evidence | Enrolment at a designated learning institution | Provider enrolment and Confirmation of Enrolment | Offer of place from an approved education provider |
| Financial scope | Tuition, living costs, accompanying family, and transportation without relying on Canadian work | Travel, living, course, and accompanying-family costs under the reviewed instrument | Living costs, outward travel, and other applicable expenses using genuinely available funds |
| In-session work described | Up to 24 hours per week if all eligibility and permit conditions are met | Generally up to 48 hours per fortnight; reviewed guidance describes a research-master’s and doctoral exception | Up to 25 hours per week if course eligibility and visa conditions allow |
| Work during breaks | Unlimited off-campus hours during qualifying scheduled breaks if eligibility continues | Not established by the current source records | Full-time during specified breaks if visa conditions allow |
| Family treatment captured | Financial evidence includes accompanying family costs; family visa eligibility was not fully researched | Reviewed guidance says partner, child, or partner’s child may be included | Partner and dependent children cannot be included in the same application but may apply on a relationship basis |
| Duration and fee captured | CAN$150 fee observed; duration not established in this source set | Maximum five years described; fees from AUD$2,500 from 2026-07-01 | Maximum four years described; fees from NZD$850 observed |
| Main evidence limitation | Annual living amount and provincial or Quebec detail not preserved | Direct Home Affairs landing, checklist, and Genuine Student pages were blocked | No clear modification or effective dates exposed on reviewed pages |
Canada evidence: ^[raw/articles/canada-ircc-study-permit.md] ^[raw/articles/canada-ircc-study-permit-eligibility.md] ^[raw/articles/canada-ircc-study-permit-financial-support.md]
Australia evidence: ^[raw/articles/australia-home-affairs-student-visa-subclass-500.md] ^[raw/articles/australia-study-australia-student-visa-subclass-500.md] ^[raw/articles/australia-study-australia-student-visa-application-tips.md]
New Zealand evidence: ^[raw/articles/new-zealand-immigration-fee-paying-student-visa.md] ^[raw/articles/new-zealand-student-fund-requirements.md]
Financial evidence details
Canada requires proof for tuition, living costs, transportation, and accompanying family without relying on work in Canada. The reviewed page requires first-year resources and a plan for the full duration of longer programs, but this wiki did not preserve the annually updated living threshold.
Australia’s reviewed, in-force instrument provides the strongest dated legal source in this comparison. It specifies AUD$29,710 in annual living costs for a covered primary applicant, with separate partner, child, school, income-route, and pro-rata rules.
New Zealand’s live guidance displayed NZD1,667 per month for tertiary and other non-compulsory study, with different school-student amounts and separate outward-travel requirements. The page did not state an effective date.
Interpretation
- The headline work limits are not directly interchangeable: Canada and New Zealand express weekly limits, Australia uses a fortnightly limit, and all depend on eligibility and individual conditions.
- None of the three systems allows prospective students to assume that future employment replaces pre-application financial evidence.
- Nominal fund amounts should not be ranked without considering currency, tuition, family composition, duration, included costs, evidence rules, and effective dates.
- Australia has the strongest primary legal source in this set for financial capacity, but its operational evidence is less complete because Home Affairs blocked direct automated review.
- New Zealand’s compared pathway is specifically the Fee Paying Student Visa, while the Canadian and Australian pages describe broader national student categories.
Open questions before consequential use
- Recheck Canada’s current living-expense threshold and any provincial or Quebec requirements.
- Directly verify Australia’s Home Affairs checklist, Genuine Student criteria, current conditions, and break-period work rules.
- Confirm effective or modification dates for New Zealand’s fund and work pages.
- Add dedicated sources for dependants, health insurance, course changes, refusals, extensions, and post-study work in each jurisdiction.
Related pages
Sources
See the three jurisdiction pages above for the complete source lists and claim-level limitations.