International Students
We encourage you to get involved with as many activities both at the airfield (with the local club) and off while you are here. We have contacts with other aviation and community organizations – if you have a question, we should be able to help or be able to put you in touch with the right people.
Leaving Your Country
Once you have received your Offer of Place there are still a number of things that you need to do to confirm and prepare for study at AIPA. View our checklist which is at the back of the Student Handbook, or ask for a copy, and make sure you have everything in place before you leave your country.
Arriving in New Zealand
Once you have arrived in New Zealand you need to get to AIPA. If you would like to be picked up, you will need to arrange this before leaving your country. For more information, including customs and immigration procedures, please refer: Customs New Zealand and Immigration New Zealand.
Orientation
Once you are in New Zealand you will be guided through an orientation or induction process before your course commences. Also recognising that induction is an ongoing process of giving out information at relevant times.
- Pastoral Care of International Students
- Requirements for Studying in New Zealand
- Living in New Zealand
WHAT IS THE CODE OF PRACTICE?
The “Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016” (The Code) sets out the minimum standards of advice and care that provides a framework for services delivered by and expected of educational providers and their agents with respect to international students.
When students from other countries come to study in New Zealand, it is important that those students are well-informed, safe and properly cared for.
An ‘International Student’ is defined as a foreign student studying in New Zealand.
The Code applies to pastoral care and provision of information only, and not to academic standards
The Codeensures that:
- High professional standards are maintained
- The recruitment of International Students is undertaken in an ethical and responsible manner
- Information supplied to International Students is comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date.
- Students (or in the case of under 18 year olds, their parents/guardian) are provided with all the information they need prior to entering into any commitments
- Contractual dealings with international students are conducted in an ethical and responsible manner
- The particular needs of international Students are recognised and supported
- International students are in safe accommodation
- All providers have fair and equitable internal procedures for the resolution of International Student grievances
WHO DOES THE CODEAPPLY TO?
The Code applies to all education providers in New Zealand with enrolled International Students. The Code is mandatory to these providers and must be signed by them. Signatories to the Code undertake an annual self-review of their processes and procedures relating to the Code and attest to the compliance with the Code to the Code Administrator.
HOW DO I FIND A COPY OF THE CODE?
The Code of Practice is available from:
Leigslation.govt.nz
NZQA Code of Practice
WHAT DO I DO IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG?
If you have concerns about how your education provider has treated you, or how the agent of the education provider has treated you, you must first contact the person who has been identified to you as someone that you can approach about complaints at your organisation. The Code requires all providers to have fair and equitable internal grievances procedures for students and you need to go through these internal processes before you can take the complaint any further. View NSAC Grievance Procedures.
If your concerns are not resolved by the internal grievances procedures, you can contact the Code Administrator (NZQA) or the agency contracted to manage student complaints on their behalf. The agency appointed to manage student complaints is an independent body who manage complaints from international students about the pastoral care aspects of advice and services received from their education provider or the provider’s agents. Theyhave the power to recommend sanctions on education providers who have committed a breach of The Code that is not a serious breach.
The agency will refer complaints that are not about pastoral care to another regulatory body if appropriate. The education provider will be given a reasonable time to remedy the breach. If the breach is not remedied within the stipulated timeframe the agency will refer the complaint to the Code Administrator for further action. The agency provides annual reports to the Code Administrator on its activities.
STUDENT VISAS / IMMIGRATION
All International students must have a valid visa while in New Zealand, and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have a valid student visa at all times.
Immigration NZ (INZ) website https://www.immigration.govt.nz/
We strongly advise you not to make any travel arrangements before your visa has been issued.
If you need assistance with the visa application we can provide you with the contact details of the Licence Immigration Adviser that we work with.
POLICE CERTIFICATE
All international students who wish to study in New Zealand are required to be of good character. Sometimes INZ requires you to submit a police certificate from your home country when applying for a visa for the first time. Police certificates are normally valid for three (3) years after they are presented to INZ.
There is a “Specific Country Procedures” about how to obtain a police certificate from your home country. Please click here. Additionally, check out the Immigration New Zealand website for more details.
MEDICAL CERTIFICATE
Medical certificates are normally valid for three (3) years. INZ will contact you if further tests are required.
MEDICAL AND TRAVEL INSURANCE
International students must have appropriate and current medical and travel insurance while in NZ. It is also a requirement for Student Visa application so make sure you arrange it before applying for your visa.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY VISA HAS EXPIRED?
If you are still enrolled, you will have to apply for your student visa again. AIPA will issue you a statement of enrolment letter to prove that you are an enrolled student.
New Zealand is a great place to live, study and work. We have useful tips and advice on what to bring, personal safety, transport, accommodation, studying and the cost of living in Auckland, New Zealand.
The New Zealand Government’s website New Zealand Now has lots of information to prepare you for living and studying in New Zealand.
Renting / accommodation
NSAC is not responsible for accommodation but we can offer advice and support to students living in or wanting to live in private accommodation and help find temporary accommodation according to your needs, until you establish your own living situation. We can help you with knowing where to find accommodation, plus what to be aware of when renting in New Zealand. Please contact us for more information.
Renting and you is a guide to the law and renting in New Zealand and contains information about your rights and obligations when renting a property in New Zealand.
Contact us for further guidelines about accommodation procedures and options.
Homestay or boarding house Accommodation
Homestay accommodation is when a student lives with a local family in the family’s home. Homestay is a unique experience which can give an opportunity to practice English and learn about New Zealand or Kiwi way of life, in a safe and supportive environment.
Boarding House accommodation allows students to live in good quality accommodation at an affordable rate, with the flexibility of either short or long term tenancies.
All approved homestay and boarding house accommodation is compliant with the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016.
Budgeting
In addition to your compulsory tuition fees, you will also have to pay for:
- rent or board
- food
- power
- internet
- course-related costs (eg. books, laptops, etc)
- mobile phone
- public transport or car costs (eg. petrol, registration, warrant, parking, insurance, maintenance)
- entertainment
- toiletries/cosmetics
- dentist/doctor bills (your health insurance will cover most of it)
- clothes
Studying and living costs provides information on starting study and living costs while studying
NZ Ready is a useful planning tool to help you move and settle in New Zealand.
OTHER USEFUL LINKS
Quality Assurance
New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA)
NZQA assesses the standard of education for tertiary education organisations through a regular system of external evaluation and review (EER). Through periodic EER, tertiary education organisations are held accountable to their students, employers, funders, quality assurance bodies and other interested parties.
NOTE: All courses for Auckland International Pilot Academy are delivered through the subcontract with North Shore Aero Club Incorporated which is a NZQA Category 1 Provider, last assessed at the External Evaluation and Review dated 10 November 2022.
The latest EERs can be found here: NSAC EER.
The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA)
CAA was established in 1992 as a crown entity under the Civil Aviation Act 1990. They are responsible to the Minister of Transport, and governed by the ‘Authority’, a five-member board appointed by the Minister to represent the public interest in civil aviation.
The role of CAA is to see that aviation participants meet the standards set by the Minister of Transport in the public interest.
Aviation Safety Advisers travell the country and are responsible for certificating and monitoring aviation ‘participants’ – that is, people and organisations holding an aviation document, for example, a licence to fly.
NSAC has a Standard Aviation Training Organisation Certificate under rule Part 141.
Information on the Civil Aviation Authority and Part 141 can be found at: www.caa.govt.nz