Ex-NZ'er here, so I'll just say what I experienced:

1) Beautiful? Thats a understatement. The place is amazing. Fresh air, green grass, cheap milk, plentiful honey. And thats just North Island. The rolling hills are amazing (through a pain to walk if youre in Auckland), the whole place is very laid back and peaceful. I miss the place sometimes...

2)By and large, NZ is a "saftey" place to study. Peaceful, people are usually nice and friendly. Sure, there is crime as any other place, but by and large, its safe. A "high" death toll over the weekend is 2 people dead! One tip: for those in Auckland, the south side (Manukau, Otara) isnt the best place to be. IMO, it should be avoided if possible.

3)Allocate $200/wk to live for the bare minimum. Note that heating costs in NZ can make up a significant part of your bills. Winters are freezing to say the least.

4)While there is Student Job Search in most uni's, as a international student finding jobs will be hard (they prefer PR's and citizens). As a Asian, you;ll have to fight a bit. In anycase, never expect working part-time to cover more than 40% of your expences.

Welcome to NZ!

(http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/467413)Maybe someone should merge this thread with the other thread? Mods?

I persume you mean the 111/9 bit? I don't think the normal A2 is enough for NZ, through probably enough to get in and use the English preperation class.

Wellington eh? Be prepared for crazy winds there!

refer to this (http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/467413) thread. Don't bother buying any "winter" clothing in M'sia. Nothing, absolutely nothing, i tell you, in M'sia, no matter how thick it is, will withstand NZ winters.

Things may have changed, but I doubt so.

Hey guys. Since there are at least 4 people (plus one ex-NZ'er!) in this forum, how bout let's make this a "Study in NZ" thread, much like the "study in australia" thread?

I'll start the ball rolling. ASB cranked up their savings interest rate from 7.15% to 7.65%! Time to switch?

You should be able to. As long as you meet the minimum requirements. I know people who have applied using SAM and Australian Year 12.

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Added on June 25, 2007, 8:05 pmEmperorMeng, do you get taxed on your interest?

This post has been edited by haya: Jun 25 2007, 08:05 PM

EmperorMeng got into UoA with SAM. It should be possible. I don't think UoA will take into consideration your SPM. Just out of curiosity, where did you sit for your SAT Burga?

Auckland U by and large should be prompt with their emails. However, they ARE 4 hours ahead of us, so while we're still working it's dinner time for them.

Not in Australia if you're a intl student. Sigh. Thanks for the info.

When did you email your enquiries? Make sure you email the international office, not the faculty. It is a bit hard to get concrete information when you have a unusual qualification (I've been there. They seem to think all Malaysians do STPM/UEC).

I think at this late and last minute stage, this are the prices that you will have to pay. If you can make it to Singapore, Qantas (via Sydney or Melbroune) is quite reasonable. Unfortunately, AirNZ has stopped flying to Singapore, so if you want to catch a AirNZ flight to Wellington, it has to be via either Sydney, Melborune or even Brisbane.

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Added on July 5, 2007, 10:46 amhttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10449607

Did anyone get blown away?

This post has been edited by haya: Jul 5 2007, 10:46 AM

I'd like to ask the same question. You guys should be on holiday break. Where is everyone?

Awwwww. Doing what?

Anyway, welcome to New Zealand!

So true. I bet that most of the Chinese in NZ are those "give us a mil bucks and we'll give you a PR".

But if you really want to get a PR, be a baker. Last time I checked, it was the most popular course at Manukau Institute of Technology. Such a shame it's located at such a dodgy place through.

1: www.ird.govt.nz. The form you need is here. (http://www.ird.govt.nz/forms-guides/title/forms-i/ir595-form-individualirdapp.html?id=homepage) Just follow the instructions.
2: laptop is a MUST as a student! Books etc are not a good idea. Remember you only have 20KG, so be wise and only pack the essentials. Just keep you "pron" in a safe place.......
5: free landline? since when? I use(d) vodafone, and it was good, through I do miss free txt weekends....
6: stick with tui. Its one of the best.

I've never been to the Grafton Hall, so i cant say. O'rooke has always been part of the uni, unless things have changed. I didn't stay there, but had friends there, and went there often. All I can say is the walls there are made out of paper. Seriously. Hearing the cries and moans of lovemaking sessions aren't that rare. I'm serious.

NZ by and large don't really care what you bring in your HDD/CD/DVD. they're more concerned about your food destroying their livelihood. Still, if I open the paper one day and see a Malaysian arrested for bringing porn into NZ (it has happened here in OZ), at least I know who's that................................

Uni resnet's (residential networks) aren't that great. P2P is all blocked, and to be honest, no matter how bad Screamyx is, IMO it's still better than NZ's BB. their internet infrastructure leaves a bit to be desired, unless you have the dough to pay $200/month for a leased line.Even normal ISP's like xtra and ihug take a dim view of people using p2p. You might like to stock up..........

And whoosh is useless. I used it, and my friends still use it (contract period), and dropouts are frequent. Speeds aren't' that great. But atleast you don't need a phone line to get it. The lag (150-200ms) can make Skype calls unbearable.

Hair cut: i entrusted my friend with a comb and scissors, but I knew of this Asian place at Pakuranga which was cheap ($10, through it might have changed).

Auckland's called the city of sails. To have sails, you need wind. Lots of it. The first thing you learn is something called wind chill factor. The mercury may say its 15C, but with 40km/h winds you feel its more like 10C. Through I swear it was 0C. Doesn't help that streets like Albert St are wind tunnels; I hated walking pass it.

Tui, like L&P, is only available in NZ. Sometimes I wish they would export it. IMO Tui is so much nicer than heineken. And L&P is nothing like anything else in this world.

Don't expect the teleco price wars you're used to in NZ. Vodafone pratically has a monopoly on international students. not that we have much of a choice.

i survived on $250/wk. And last time I heard, it's still possible. Cheers.

they did once last year, when xtra introduced "Go large" which was "unlimited" as long as you don't dload more than 700Mb during peak hours. Unfortunately, the average speed on the network became 600BYTES/sec. So they got rid of it. Fact is, NZ's internet infrastructure is expensive. It doesn't help they're literary at the end of the world, and there isn't much economic incentive for them to make another cable (most, if not all's of NZ's internet traffic goes through one cable, across the ditch to australia)

Live, learn and adapt. You may not be able to dload 8GB/day, but there are some other good things to make full use of your limit.


Good god, what is the world coming to??


Most internet plans, once you hit the limit, you are speed reduced to about 64kbits. here's some math for you: 2 cents a MB works out to about $20 per extra GB over your limit. AVOID THAT LIKE A PLAGUE!


Unless fare prices have jumped exponentially since I left, from the city to Pakuranga on concession fares if only $3.50. But yes, time is a problem (it takes almost 1 hr to get there). Or just hitch a ride from your friends........

L&P FTW!!!!!!!!!

Oh, and I love the tui ad's. Like this one. Miss them heaps.

I think you'd be blown off it before you get anywhere


Yeah right.

OMFG doesn't start describing how I feel. I don't want to see how much it costs to get to Botany Downs then!




I can't remember the price (it's been a while), but getting a NZ student visa is through the NZ high commision. I did mine through the Singaporean one. You need a letter of offer before you can do it. this link might help you get started. Note that you have to go through the Singaporean high comm. The Malaysian one is not authorised to do so.

I'm not sure where the "need-NZ$10,000" rule came from. Maybe things have changed, but as a student I don't think you need that. Immigrants maybe. I never had that much dough and they didn't kick me out.....or refuse me entry.

Medical checkup:YES. Go to a certified doctor who is recognised by the AUS/NZ embassys and consulates. Not any doctor (even if they're registered to practise in M'sia) can do the checkup.

You have to pay at least one semester of your fees in advance. Ditto for insurance, through that should cover you for the length of your visa (aka your course).

Slightly off-topic from sport, but one extra reason to go to Massey:
http://www.studentcity.net.nz/whatplansareavailable.html

10GB broadband plans for $35/month!

For most other people: ihugs broadband 3 (http://www.ihug.co.nz/products/broadband/plan_comparison.html) plan will be a good compromise. 2GB/day and 20Gb/month. (Look at the Terms and conditions)

I have friends using it, and he's happy. If anyone wants more info, I'm happy to pass on any questions to him.

This post has been edited by haya: Aug 28 2007, 09:31 AM

I can see that.

You're in NZ for crying aloud. No one gives a damn about Merdeka. Its just another day for me.

I have to agree. They are very strict with your hand luggage. Even before the LAGS rulings, they didn't like me bringing some drinks onboard (L&P, the best thing since sliced bread). They do weigh your hand luggage at the airport, and even if I was overweight by 200g (YES! GRAMS!) they told me to chuck something out.

Just wondering, how are heating charges like nowadays?