# New Zealand Ends Unlimited Work Hours for New Research Master's Students URL: https://edufabtech.com/news/new-zealand-student-visa-masters-research-work-hours-2026 Section: News · Education Published: 2026-10-29 Publisher: EduFabTech (https://edufabtech.com) > From 27 October 2026, Immigration New Zealand ends unlimited in-study work rights for new master's-by-research applicants, capping them at 25 hours a week like other master's students. PhD students and already-lodged applications are unaffected. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) brought in four changes to student visa settings on 27 October 2026, the most consequential of which ends unlimited in-study work rights for new master's-by-research students. Under the new rules, master's-by-research applicants are placed on the same work conditions as other master's students: up to 25 hours a week while classes are in session, and full-time during scheduled holidays, according to Immigration New Zealand's announcement. The agency describes three of the four changes as intended to protect the integrity of the student visa category, with a fourth meant to help students after they finish their course. Besides the work-hours change, INZ strengthened its instructions so that English-language ability is treated as a key factor in assessing whether a student can meet their visa conditions, expanded its power to suspend processing of student visa applications in a wider range of circumstances — including when an education provider's non-compliance is still being determined — and extended the expiry window for some student visas from one month to two months after a course ends, leaving the alternative 31 March expiry date unchanged. ![Side-by-side comparison of applicants who lodged before 27 October 2026 (unlimited work hours) versus those applying from that date (25-hour weekly cap), with PhD candidates noted as unaffected either way.](https://edufabtech.com/uploads/2026/10/new-zealand-student-visa-masters-research-work-hours-2026-2.png) *Side-by-side comparison of applicants who lodged before 27 October 2026 (unlimited work hours) versus those applying from that date (25-hour weekly cap), with PhD candidates noted as unaffected either way. — EduFabTech · Own work* ## Who the change applies to, and who is exempt The new work-hours rule applies only to master's-by-research applications made on or after 27 October 2026: INZ's announcement states the change "will only apply to new student visas where applications were made" from that date. Students who applied earlier keep the unlimited in-study work rights that previously applied to the research master's category, under the conditions attached to their existing visa. PhD students are not part of this change. According to Immigration New Zealand's guidance on working on a student visa, "there is no limit on the hours you can work if you are enrolled in a doctoral degree," on condition that a student who works full-time also keeps studying full-time — a rule the 27 October 2026 changes leave untouched. ## How the new limit compares elsewhere New Zealand's new 25-hour weekly cap sits close to the limit applied in Canada, where international students on a study permit at a designated learning institution can work up to 24 hours a week off campus during academic sessions, with unlimited hours during scheduled breaks, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's current guidance. Unlike New Zealand, Canada's rule does not carve out doctoral or research students: all eligible study-permit holders face the same 24-hour cap, with no separate allowance for research work. ![Bar chart comparing weekly work-hour limits: uncapped hours for New Zealand research master's students before 27 October 2026, the new 25-hour cap after that date, and Canada's 24-hour study-permit limit for comparison.](https://edufabtech.com/uploads/2026/10/new-zealand-student-visa-masters-research-work-hours-2026-3.png) *Bar chart comparing weekly work-hour limits: uncapped hours for New Zealand research master's students before 27 October 2026, the new 25-hour cap after that date, and Canada's 24-hour study-permit limit for comparison. — EduFabTech · Own work* ## What it means for incoming research students For prospective master's-by-research students who have not yet applied, the practical effect is that a full-time research degree will now carry the same 25-hour weekly work ceiling as a coursework master's, rather than the open work rights the category previously carried. Applicants who lodge before 27 October 2026 are unaffected, so the distinction over the coming months runs along application-lodging dates rather than enrolment or visa-grant dates. Universities and supervisors who rely on these students for sustained research work will have two cohorts on different conditions until applications made before the cutoff date work their way through the system. ## What it means for current visa holders Students who already hold a master's-by-research visa, or who applied before 27 October 2026, keep the conditions attached to their existing grant. Because INZ draws the line at the date an application was made rather than the date a course starts or a visa is granted, students should check their own application date against the 27 October 2026 cutoff rather than assume their enrolment or course-start date decides which rules apply. ## Sources 1. Immigration New Zealand. (2026). Changes to student visas. Immigration New Zealand https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/changes-to-student-visas/ 2. Immigration New Zealand. (2026). Working on a student visa. Immigration New Zealand https://www.immigration.govt.nz/study/once-you-have-a-student-visa/working-on-a-student-visa 3. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. (2026). Work off campus as an international student. Government of Canada https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/work-off-campus.html --- Source page: https://edufabtech.com/news/new-zealand-student-visa-masters-research-work-hours-2026 Quote with a link to the source page. © EduFabTech.