Pre-Departure Information
Congratulations on choosing to study at The International Travel College of New Zealand!
Now that you have your offer letter and invoice from ITC, we wanted to let you know of some other things that will help you prepare for your time in Auckland, New Zealand and here at the college.
Please make sure you read this page carefully (including the links) and before you leave home, or if you are already in NZ, before your ITC course starts. If you have any questions about the information below please contact us.
Paying Course Fees
Course fees are required to be paid no later than the date listed on the invoice you were issued*. Please refer to page 2 of your invoice for payment options that include a bank transfer and Western Union Business (different to the normal Western Union money transfer) which is our preferred payment option as it will allow most people to pay in their own local currency, is faster and also cheaper than a standard overseas bank transfer. You can get an immediate quote from our Western Union ITC course fee payment page. Need help? Then check out the Western Union/ITC guide or this quick video.
* The only exception to this is for students that come from a country that requires ‘Approval In Principal’ for their student visa by Immigration NZ (such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh).
Our withdrawal and refund policy is noted on page 3 and 4 of your invoice and also on our Pre-Enrolment and Enrolment information. If your student visa application is refused by Immigration NZ (and you can show us evidence of this) then all course fees received by ITC will be refunded back to the student (less any international money transfer fees charged by the bank). Please advise us if you pay your fees so we know to expect them.
Student Visa
In order to study at ITC you need to have a Student Visa issued to you by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) that specifically says you can study at ITC. If you are using an ITC appointed agent, your agent will help you apply for this. If not, start by visiting the NauMai NZ ‘Visas and Immigration‘ page to find out more about student visas and then head over to the official Immigration NZ website to apply.
Please note that Online Visa applications are processed faster and cost less than paper visa applications, so we recommend you apply with an Online Visa application. ITC are not able to apply for you but are happy to help, so please contact us if required. If this is your first student visa for NZ, then this checklist (created by Immigration NZ) is really helpful.
Accommodation
Our City campus is located in the centre of Auckland City and there are plenty of accommodation options available very close to the college. In particular the city has lots of apartments you can rent (on your own or share) and hostels. Home Stays are available but will be located outside of the centre of the city and you will need to take transport to/from the college each day.
Our South Auckland campus is located around 35 minutes from the city in a nice suburban area called Botany that also has a great shopping mall and plenty of local activities on offer. Accommodation options in this area are mostly Home Stay or Shared House type accommodation options.
We recommend booking at least 4-6 weeks of accommodation at a Student Hostel or Home Stay before you arrive and then start to look for more long term accommodation once you know the area better. You can find some accommodation options listed on pages 4 and 5 of our Pre-Enrolment information document. Please be careful to not enter a long term accommodation contract until you have arrived in NZ and personally visited the place you would like to stay at. You can find more helpful information on Housing & Accommodation in NZ, specific to international students here.
Looking for accommodation can be difficult when you don’t know a city, so the Auckland Transport website can be really helpful. Just put the address of where you are looking at staying and the college address (see links above), then it will tell you how long it will take by walking/bus/train etc and how much it will cost (which is very important!). You will be able to pay the Student rate once you have your ITC Student ID card ($20).
Stationery List
Our stationery requirements are quite small for our Certificate courses and for the first year of our 2-year International Diploma program, because we give our students work books for each topic, however you can see the remaining Stationery requirements here. For all classes, it is recommended you bring a laptop to class each day.
For the 1-year Diploma and the second year of our 2-year International Diploma, you will require text books (that cost up to $500 NZD in total) and will be given the list of required books in your first week of class. Also, sometimes you can borrow these books from the Library free of charge or buy them second hand from graduating students, either way, you should still budget for $500 just in case you need to buy them new.
Dress Code
We have a ‘Smart Business’ dress code at the college. Men should wear a business collared white shirt with black dress pants and black dress shoes. Women should wear a white business shirt or blouse, black dress pants or skirt and black dress shoes (flat shoes or heels). No jeans, sneakers or sweatshirts are allowed. A business jacket or warm cardigan will also be necessary.
You are most welcome to bring these clothes with you from home or instead you can purchase them here in NZ when you arrive, from any store you like. You can see examples of acceptable clothing here on page 2 of the Stationery List.
Don’t forget to read the Useful Information for International Students document (see link below) and visit here for details on the weather in NZ and other things you should pack in your suitcase.
Insurance
Appropriate travel/medical Insurance is a compulsory requirement for all international students in New Zealand and must be valid for the length of your student visa, as well as cover your travel to and from NZ (if you are not already here). We work with a great company here in NZ that offers competitively priced student insurance: Orbit Protect. They offer two policies: Orbit Prime and Orbit Lite, both of which are acceptable. One of the many benefits of purchasing insurance from a NZ company is that they do not charge an ‘excess’ fee for medical expenses, so for example, if you pay $60 to see a Doctor you can claim the full $60 back.
Please contact us if you would like us to arrange the insurance with Orbit Protect on your behalf. If you have already paid for insurance with your course fees, don’t forget to tell us your flight details in advance, so that we can start your insurance policy the day you leave your home country. Also don’t forget to let us know if you have any ‘Pre Existing Conditions’ as this is not covered under these policies and you will need to apply for special cover for that condition.
If you are arranging your own insurance, you will need to check with us first to see if the policy is acceptable or not. The NZ government has strict policies around what must be covered for an international student insurance policy that must be adhered too. Please email us if you have questions about this. Don’t forget your insurance needs to cover your travel to and from NZ too.
Airport Pick Up
For students studying on our 2 year International Diploma only and arriving in NZ between Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 5.30 pm (business hours), ITC offers a free airport pick up, however you must send us your flight details at least 3 working days in advance. The person collecting you will either be an ITC staff member or a pre-arranged driver (who we will advise you of beforehand).
If you arrive outside of business hours or are on a shorter course you will need to make your own way to your accommodation. You can find other transportation options (such as the Airport Bus, shared Shuttle Vans and Taxis) from city and town airports in NZ on the ‘Transport‘ page of the NauMai NZ website.
Other Important Information – please read
We have put some really helpful information into our Useful Information for International Students document to prepare you for your time with ITC and in NZ. This includes information on topics such as driving in NZ, emergency numbers, workers rights in NZ, banking, holidays, Auckland weather etc. Also our Pre-Enrolment and Enrolment information documents covers induction week, attendance and the Code of Practice information along with a lot of other important things. Please read these 3 documents before leaving home, or if you are already in NZ, before your ITC course starts.
The New Zealand government has also set up a fabulous website called NauMai NZ to help support international students coming to/staying in NZ. This has valuable information on it, covering a multitude of topics and we highly recommend you visit this site.
Want to know more about the college facilities? You can check out photos of our campuses and learn more about our facilities here.
Is there something else you wish to know? If so, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page which includes information such as typical class hours and cost of living in Auckland. For anything else not mentioned, please email us at international@itc.co.nz and we will be happy to help.
Finally…
We are so excited that you will be joining us at The International Travel College of New Zealand and we look forward to meeting you in person very soon!
