Become a Homestay Host Family

Thank you for your interest in hosting an International Student.

Hosting International students can be a very rewarding experience for your family. Hosting can enrich your lives, through gaining understanding of other cultures, encountering unique experiences and building friendships that could last a lifetime.

The need for Hamilton based families

Vision College Ltd is in search of responsible host families able to provide a caring home environment to International students enrolled in the NZ Certificate in Primary Industry Skills - Agriculture. Students will be attending their studies at our Hamilton campus and are over 18 years of age.  Students will stay with their homestay families for a period of 9 weeks.

You will play a very important role in ensuring our students enjoy a safe, comfortable and happy stay in New Zealand. A happy homestay situation is a big influence on their success with their studies.

Our main focus is to find caring, honest, committed, responsible and friendly people who genuinely want to share themselves and their home with guests from another country and culture.

What is a homestay?

Homestay is a popular form of accommodation provided to International students by New Zealand based families.

A student stays with a local family in their home which provides a more immersive experience for the student to learn about the local culture, customs, and way of life. In addition to providing a comfortable room and meals, the host family may also offer to take students on local tours and/or activities, making the experience even more enriching.

Becoming part of a local family is the best way for a student to learn about New Zealand. Homestay provides home comforts as well as the warmth and security of family life.

Homestay Host Remuneration 

Host families are compensated by receiving a fixed weekly accommodation fee, paid fortnightly

• Per Single Room or Twin Sharing Room
• Remuneration amounts shared on request

Who can become a host family?

There is no typical host family, each family is different and unique, and students will be matched with the most appropriate family.

Families could be:

• Single individuals, with or without children
• Couples with young children or teenagers
• Couples with no children currently living at home

Host Family will be required to provide students with:

• A clean, comfortable home
• A furnished bedroom with a bed, study space, and storage
• Pillows, sheets, blankets, and towels
• Heating (if required in winter)
• Access to Wi-Fi
• Access to shared spaces: kitchen, lounge, dining, laundry
• 3 x meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner) and snacks

Meals explained

• Breakfast – This could be a “make your own” meal. You will show your student which food or ingredients are used for breakfast meals.
• Lunch during the week – a packed lunch is advisable for the student to take to college each day. This can either be a packed lunch provided by you or you might ask the student to “make their own” from ingredients you provide.
• Lunch on weekends and public holidays is ether a “help yourself” meal or prepared by the host family. Communicate with student and arrange accordingly
• Dinner is the main meal of the day. Where possible, the evening meal should be a family gathering, where the student joins in the normal conversation and is encouraged to speak English.

Note: Rice is a common ingredient in every meal for many Asian people, so providing a simple rice cooker and having rice available for the student to cook when they want to is a good idea.

First day of class & Transport

• You are required to accompany your student to the college on the first day, and to collect the student after the first day’s classes to return home with them.
• Thereafter you could elect to drive them to campus, or the student could be expected to travel on their own. 

If you are up to the task, able to comply with the required obligations of a Homestay family and willing to provide a home away from home for an International student studying in New Zealand, please apply now!

Please forward your completed Homestay Host Family Application documents to the Homestay Co-Ordinator (contact details below) at your earliest convenience

• Homestay Host Application Form
• Police Vetting Consent Forms (per household member 18 and over)
• 2 x forms of Identification (per household member 18 and over)

Vison College Ltd looks forward to partnering with you and working alongside your family.

Process to become a Homestay Host Family