The award conditions are:
- Your award must be approved by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in Washington, DC;
- You will be required to provide Fulbright New Zealand with evidence of financial support (or not) from your home institution before the value of your award can be confirmed;
- The period of your award is three to five months;
- Your award must be taken in the 12 months commencing on 1 July of the year following application for the award. Note that you will be eligible to arrive and depart from the US 30 days either side of your award dates;
- You will be required to undertake a full medical examination before applying for your visa;
- You must travel on a New Zealand passport, and US immigration documentation must be completed from within New Zealand. Grantees must use the DS-2020 form provided by Fulbright New Zealand to obtain an Exchange Visitor (J) non-immigrant visa to enter the United States. You will be required to attend a visa interview at the US Consulate in Auckland in order to obtain your visa;
- International travel will only be funded between New Zealand and the US, and must be on either an American or New Zealand carrier;
- You may be required to fulfil some Fulbright New Zealand/Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga media requirements and to give presentations to suitable fora of indigenous scholars and/or community groups before your departure for the US, during your exchange and/or on return to New Zealand;
- You must provide Fulbright New Zealand with copies of any articles, research papers or theses resulting from your award. A final report must also be completed before you depart from the US;
- Fulbright grantees must travel to the US on an Exchange Visitor (J) non-immigrant visa. A requirement of this visa is that you must return to your home country for a cumulative total of two years at the end of your exchange visitor programme before becoming eligible to apply to live in the US. This home-country foreign residency requirement is in keeping with the philosophy of the Fulbright exchange programme, that you return to New Zealand to share your experiences. Note that you will not be prohibited from travelling to the US for short-term visits on the visa waiver program or a non-immigrant visa.
Fulbright mission
It was Senator J William Fulbright’s mission to build peace through the mutual understanding of cultures. Fulbright applicants and grantees are expected to understand and support this mission and be effective ambassadors for New Zealand.
In addition to the monetary, educational and cultural exchange benefits made possible by the award, Fulbright grantees carry the prestige of the Fulbright programme along with them throughout their careers.
Alumni are expected to succeed and be ‘thought leaders’ in their respective fields/careers, and to support and remain engaged with the Fulbright programme for the rest of their lives.