New Zealand is a country which offers ample educational opportunities to international students. However, like all other international destinations, the embassy has set certain rules and regulations to study in New Zealand for Indian students. The process to get a visa to study in New Zealand for Indian students includes the crucial step of opening an FTS account. This requirement is a must to study in New Zealand for Indian Students. This article will give you a complete description of how to open an FTS account to study and work in New Zealand.

What is an FTS Account? 

Students who belong to India, China, Philippines, and Sri Lanka are required to open a Funds Transfer Scheme account with the ANZ bank. The Funds Transfer Scheme enables students belonging to the above-mentioned nations to deposit the living expenses required by them for their course duration, into a savings account created at the ANZ bank. Opening an FTS account is one of the major requirements to study in New Zealand for Indian students. So how does one go about the process? How does this step affect the New Zealand student visa processing time?

What Are The New Zealand Study Visa Requirements for Indian Students?

The following New Zealand study visa requirements for Indian students are recommended for a hassle-free visa process:

  1. Depositing their tuition fees
  2. Depositing their living expenses into an FTS account

The embassy of New Zealand approves the student visa only if the above mentioned New Zealand study visa requirements for Indian students are met without any problems.

What is the Purpose of Opening an FTS Account?

The process of opening an FTS account was proposed to speed up the New Zealand student visa processing time by giving easy access to funds to study in New Zealand for Indian students and also to students belonging to the other countries mentioned in the prior list. Students who wish to study and work in New Zealand are only required to deposit their living expenses into an FTS account, which can be created with the ANZ bank in New Zealand. This procedure can be done online.

Once transferred, students get to withdraw a certain amount every month to support their monthly expenses. The New Zealand embassy recommends opening an FTS account to study in New Zealand for Indian students to support their living expenses in a convenient and easy manner after their arrival in New Zealand.

Requirements to Study in New Zealand For Indian Students: What is the Process of Opening an FTS Account?

Once the application for a New Zealand student visa has been submitted by students, the embassy will issue an Approval-in-Principle letter to them under the condition that they deposit their one year’s living expenses into an FTS account, opened with the ANZ bank. On receiving the AIP letter, students are required to get in touch with the ANZ bank to open an FTS account and transfer the required funds into the same. 
All students are required to submit the following documents at the time of applying for an FTS account with the ANZ bank.

  1. A copy of the AIP letter 
  2. A copy of the passport

The New Zealand embassy finalizes the student visa application only after the following documents in the New Zealand student visa checklist have been submitted.

  1. Confirmation of receipt of FTS funds from the ANZ has been received by the embassy.
  2. A receipt of tuition fees has been submitted by Indian students who wish to study and work in New Zealand.

Read More about Study in New Zealand Education Loan: Process & Timeline

What Are The Living Expenses to be Deposited into the FTS Account to Study in New Zealand For Indian Students?

The New Zealand embassy has estimated NZ $15,000 as the cost of study in New Zealand for Indian students. These living expenses do not include their tuition/course fees.

All international students studying in New Zealand are eligible to withdraw the following amounts from their FTS accounts every month.

  • On depositing NZ $15,000 which is the minimum estimated cost of study for Indian students in New Zealand, a monthly sum of NZ $1,250 can be withdrawn by students every month for 12 months of their stay in New Zealand.
  • On depositing NZ $18,000 into their FTS accounts, students get to withdraw NZ $1,500 every month to support their monthly expenses.

How to Withdraw Living Expenses on Arriving in New Zealand?

One of the major steps which are mandatory to study in New Zealand for Indian students is to activate their FTS account so that they could withdraw their living expenses. As soon as they arrive in New Zealand, students will be required to visit their nearest ANZ bank branch in order to activate their FTS account.

  1. One important point which all students need to remember is that the ANZ bank does not allow international students to directly access the living expenses which have been deposited into the FTS account. The monthly cost of study in New Zealand for Indian students is transferred to a transaction account from the FTS account. Post this, students may withdraw their expenses through ANZ Internet Banking, ANZ Phone Banking, ANZ Mobile Phone Banking, your ANZ Visa Debit or EFTPOS Card, your ANZ Credit Card, or your cheque book.
  2. Hence, students who wish to study and work in New Zealand are advised to open a separate transaction account with the same bank or any local banks in New Zealand. The FTS amount will be transferred by the ANZ bank into this transaction account via automatic payment.
  3. Setting up an Automatic Payment system is a primary requirement to study in New Zealand for Indian students in order to receive their living expenses without any hassles during their stay in New Zealand.
  4. Another important point to be noted is that once the automatic payment system has been set up, no modifications can be made any further. Hence, it is very important to pay close attention to the figure being set as the monthly withdrawal amount.

Study in New Zealand Requirements: How to Apply For a Refund of the FTS Amount?

The ANZ will sanction the entire refund of a student’s FTS amount under the following circumstances:

  • If your New Zealand student visa application has been declined

    You may get in touch with the bank and request for a refund of your FTS amount. In order to do so, candidates will first have to submit a copy of the New Zealand student visa rejection letter from the embassy, to the bank.

  • If the student has opted to discontinue their course in New Zealand

    Then they may need to submit a letter from their respective institution in New Zealand, stating the same in order to receive a refund of their amount deposited in the FTS account.

  • When students have completed their entire course period successfully

    Under these circumstances, they will be required to submit evidence of completing their higher studies, and also, if their visa has been renewed then students are to submit proof of the same while applying for a refund of their FTS amount.

Different types of funding Acceptable By the  Embassy For a New Zealand Student Visa

There are three different ways of funding your higher education in New Zealand. The first involves winning fully or partially funded scholarships to study in New Zealand in reputed institutions. The second method is self-funding. Very few students who wish to study in New Zealand can afford to self-fund their entire expenses in New Zealand. The living expenses can be quite high for candidates who wish to study in New Zealand.

Hence, a majority of these students opt for the third source which is borrowing an abroad education loan. In order to know about the various ways in which you can fund your higher education in New Zealand, do watch the 25th episode of Loanflix which is a comprehensive web-series on abroad education loans.

Now, one of the major problems of borrowing a New Zealand education loan from any of the prominent government banks is that many students are not able to secure a pre-visa disbursement so that they can fulfil the study in New Zealand requirements on time. This is where the assistance of the WeMakeScholars team comes in handy.

The financial team of WeMakeScholars is well-versed with the financial requirements that are to be fulfilled by students who wish to study in New Zealand with the help of a New Zealand education loan. Also, the core team of WeMakeScholars has been responsible for a lot of significant policy changes adopted by the most prominent government banks. One such change is getting these banks to approve pre-visa disbursements as and when the students require it.

So when students apply for an education loan to study in New Zealand through WeMakeScholars, they seldom face any difficulty in getting the same. If you are looking to fund your higher studies in New Zealand with the help of an education loan, do get in touch with our team today and get to experience an easy education loan process with the lender recommended to you by our team of experts.

Note: WeMakeScholars is an organization funded and supported by the Government of India that focuses on International Education finance. We are associated with 10+ public/Pvt banks/ NBFCs in India and help you get the best abroad education loan matching your profile. As this initiative is under the Digital India campaign, it’s free of cost. The organization has vast experience dealing with students going to various abroad education destinations like the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Italy, China, France among others