Te mahi mō tētahi whakahaere kaupapa aroha i tāwāhi ina whai pūtea taurewa ākonga koe Working for a charity overseas when you have a student loan

When you're working for a charity overseas, you can apply to keep your student loan interest-free for up to 24 months.

You'll be treated as though you're still in New Zealand.

Qualifying for an interest-free student loan

To qualify:

• the main reason you travelled overseas must be for volunteer work (or work for a token payment)
• your overseas volunteer work must be for an approved charitable organisation. 

The organisation that you’re volunteering for must either:

• be on the approved charitable organisations list at the time we grant the application
• have been on the list when you did the work, if you've completed it.

You can apply if the work you do is to relieve either:

• poverty
• hunger
• sickness
• the impacts of war
• the impacts of a natural disaster.

You can also apply if the country you work in is on the OECD list of countries receiving development assistance, and you're working to either:

• improve the economy
• raise educational standards.

Approved charities for interest-free student loans

Letter from your charity

If your organisation is on our list of approved charities, you'll need a letter from them confirming your details and the kind of work you do for them. Find more information on 'Volunteering overseas when I have a student loan'.

Volunteering overseas when I have a student loan