According to a recent study by Education New Zealand, there is a positive trend in approved international student visas. However, many immigration and international education experts have concerns regarding the delay in deciding on student visa applications, impacting the sector’s recovery.
The closure of borders due to Covid-19 and the delayed reopening for international students have significantly impacted New Zealand’s education industry. Competitor countries have gained an advantage, while New Zealand struggles with visa delays and waning interest from international students.
The seventh issue of Insight Story, published in March 2023, covers various topics like student visa applications, New Zealand’s education brand, potential markets, and the economic benefits of international education.
The study reported a significant increase of 199 per cent in traffic from India on ‘Study with New Zealand’ website. In February 2023, India emerged as the top country in terms of website users, followed by Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand and Japan. This indicates a substantial interest from India in selecting New Zealand as a study destination, or seeking more information about studying there. However, whether this interest will result in actual applications is uncertain.
Commenting on the study, Sandeep Sharma, CEO, QualityNZ Education says, “The lockdown has changed the way students go about navigating their international education journey, which previously was largely dependent on information from agents. With easy and cheap access to the internet on their phones, students from Tier 2 and 3 cities of India are outnumbering bigger cities on enquiries for study abroad.”
The report also notes an increasing trend in approved international student visa applications. From December 2022 to February 2023, the number of approved visas reached two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels, seen from December 2019 to February 2020.
The top four nationalities among student visa holders in March 2023 were Chinese, Indian, South Korean and Japanese, consistent with March 2020. However, the proportion of visa holders from India decreased from 19 per cent to 10 per cent during this period.
While there has been some progress in processing visa applications since October 2022, with Immigration New Zealand (INZ) finalising about 16,000 applications, and an average approval rate of 95 per cent from December 2022 to February 2023, concerns remain about slow processing.
Bharat Chawla, Co-founder of education consultancy Uniqway, says, “Yes, there is increased demand in international student numbers from India and other countries, but due to the delay in deciding on student visa applications lodged with Immigration New Zealand, students and agents are concerned about the future.”
According to data on Immigration NZ website, the average time for processing of visa applications for university students was 18 weekdays, and 90 per cent were completed within 47 weekdays. For Te Pukenga students, the average processing time was 58 weekdays and 90 per cent were completed within 78 weekdays.
Chawla says, “Most of the other countries are processing student visa applications in less than a month.” He emphasises the need for better coordination between different agencies. “Education New Zealand is an agency which is promoting globally, but another hand of the government (Immigration New Zealand) is not moving quickly or delaying the cycle. Everyone must work together to compete in the international education market. These abnormal delays [in visa processing] are unfair to full fee-paying students,” he says.
Pawandeep Singh, Director of Kiwiana Immigration and Education, points out the low approval rate for PTEs Te Pukenga. “Though the volume of applications has increased, the overall approval rate from India is just over 60 per cent. The majority of the students are applying for PTEs and Te Pukenga, where the approval rate is low. The approval rate for those applying to universities is 85.2 per cent, but only 1,623 applications were lodged with universities,” he says.
Singh says those applying for Bachelors, PG and Masters are being given an advantage and the approval rate is also high. “Those who are applying for undergraduate diploma-level programmes such as cookery, bakery, healthcare, business, IT, etc, are being interviewed by the INZ officers to ensure only the quality students are granted a visa,” he says.
Singh adds, “In some cases, we have seen unfair declines as well based on the bonafide, financials, etc. I believe INZ needs to develop consistency in the decision-making as this has always been the issue.”
Bharat Chawla, Pawandeep Singh and Sandeep Sharma
The study reveals a 68 per cent decrease in approved student visa applications from December 2022 to February 2023, compared with December 2019 to February 2020. China and India had the highest number of approved visa applications in both the time periods, but lately approved applications from China have decreased by eight per cent while those from India have decreased by a significant 59 per cent.
The study finds that other popular English-speaking education destinations like Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have seen strong recoveries in student visa grants, surpassing previous years and pre-pandemic levels. India had the highest number of visas granted among these countries in 2022.
The United Kingdom saw a 55 per cent increase in student visas granted from 2019 to 2022. Australia had an eight per cent increase in student visas granted during the same period. Canada witnessed a significant 74 per cent increase in student visas granted, and the United States recorded a 29 per cent increase. In comparison, New Zealand experienced a 57 per cent decrease in student visas granted from 2019 to 2022.
“UK and Canada have always been destinations for international students, mainly from India. The strong numbers after the pandemic can be attributed to countries' efforts to help their education sectors recover by easing their immigration settings,” Sharma explains.
“We are already seeing countries tightening their visa policies again with the UK revoking partner visas for master’s students, which constituted to 22% of the increase, while some Australian universities have barred enrolment of Indian students from some states,” says Sharma.
New Zealand’s education sector significantly contributed to the economy in 2019, with immediate benefits of $3.7 billion and about 6,000 jobs. However, due to the pandemic and declining student numbers, this declined significantly to $790 million in 2022.
The study concludes that although New Zealand’s reputation as a safe and welcoming destination has improved, it has lost its market advantage in this aspect. Currently, 80 per cent of respondents consider New Zealand safe and stable, whereas countries like Australia, Canada, and the UK are perceived as safer and more stable options.
Since reopening borders in August 2022, the number of international student visa holders in New Zealand has almost doubled. As of March 2023, there were approximately 34,000 visa holders, representing a 98 per cent increase.
Universities and PTEs have experienced higher-than-average growth (109 per cent and 112 per cent, respectively) compared to the overall increase of 98 per cent.
The industry still faces significant challenges and requires improved coordination between Education New Zealand and Immigration New Zealand to reduce visa delays, according to the report authors.
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