Paperwork

You need a LOT of stuff in order to study in New Zealand, providing you're not from a "Visa free" country like me.

I also have the added difficulty of not having a single New Zealand representative in Portugal, the closest one is London. And I also need a transit Visa for Australia, again, even having an Australian embassy in Lisbon, the nearest one capable of providing a Visa is in Madrid.

First I need the letter of nomination from my home University, provided by the International Office, together with an academic transcript. I attach these files, together with an authenticated copy of my IELTS result, to the Student Exchange Application and send it all to my host University in New Zealand.

After that, assuming everything is OK, I receive the letter of acceptance from the host University. I attach this file to the Student Visa Application INZ 1012 (www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/1939D919-202D-4388-83C3-C934016C3BB9/0/INZ1012.pdf), a few photos, passport copy and money transfer authorization and send it all to London. After approx. 25 days I have my Student Visa for New Zealand.

That being done, I then need to apply for a transit visa for Australia (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/876.pdf). This is the last one because they require a valid Visa for the final destination of your flight(s).

At least there’s no Visa requirement to land in Dubai, since I’m from Portugal.

More news next time.