Search
Showing 10 of 7292 results
- Image20240513230210
-
February update from Immigration New Zealand
Update on Student visa processing*
Since New Zealand’s international borders reopened in August 2022, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has received 25,471 student visa applications from international students outside of New Zealand. We have decided 17,601 of these applications, with more than half of our decisions made in under four weeks.
*Figures current as at 10pm on 30 January 2023.
We have updated our reporting
INZ is improving the way we publicly report on processing times for different visa categories. We now publish the processing times for applications decided in the previous month, instead of the previous three months.
The website illustrates the median number of days, along with the actual number of days it takes to process 90% of applications. These new metrics give a good indication of what customers can expect, regardless of the complexity of their application.
Check out our updated processing times here: How long it takes to process a visa application | Immigration New Zealand
Apply for visas at least 8 weeks ahead of intended travel date
New Zealand is in the middle of our student processing peak period. You can apply up to three or four months ahead of intended travel if you wish, however please ensure that applications are applied for at a minimum of 8 weeks ahead of intended travel date.
INZ generally processes applications in date order and the course start date is also taken into consideration.
We appreciate that students are keen to have their travel bookings confirmed given the cost of flights and flight route limitations, however INZ recommends that students do not confirm travel bookings until a visa has been granted. If students still wish to book travel ahead of a visa decision, we recommend that they explore flexi travel dates or refundable tickets.
Student visa checklists
The student visa checklist is key to submitting a complete student visa application that has the information we need to make a decision. We update the visa checklists regularly, so be sure to use the web link rather than download the checklist. The first time international students visa checklist was last updated in December 2022.
-
What’s new in IntelliLab
ENZ’s Intelligence team has added new content to IntelliLab:
- Visa dashboard for December 2017 (full year summary)
- IVY – an interactive visa tool
- Market factsheets (for China, India, Korea, Japan, Columbia, Vietnam)
- International student Barometer survey results for university and ITP sectors
- Updated country forecasts from The Economist Intelligence Unit
IVY contains a wealth of visa information and will replace the 50-page monthly visa trends report (the last visa trends report was November 2017). The monthly visa summary dashboard will continue in its current form.
IVY is updated monthly, so users will need to download a new copy each month to access the most up-to-date information. (Please note: IVY has a large file size, so some patience may be required while we explore ways to improve it.)
Our interactive enrolments tool TED (The Enrolments Data) is being updated. You may notice revised student numbers when comparing student nationalities by New Zealand region – this is due to the large number of unfunded PTE and ELS students now being assigned to regions based on their provider. The top-line numbers, such as total number of students and students by country, remain unchanged.
We appreciate any feedback you may have – please use the ‘contact us’ button on IntelliLab.
- DSC 0747 v2
- 2324 031 OIA Request ENZ hosted events costing over 100 from July 2022 to June 2023
- enz 49
- English language demand
-
Kāpiti College’s doors are always open
With 83 students from 17 different countries currently enrolled, Kāpiti College’s international education programme is one of the largest in the Wellington region – no mean feat for a school ‘up the coast’ from Wellington city.
Theirs is an opportunities-focused approach, combined with strong ‘say yes, and work it out later’ attitude. Steve’s the first to admit it’s an approach that doesn’t suit everyone but, for now, it’s one that’s working for them.
This open and proactive way of working has seen them develop an array of innovative teaching methods and programmes to the benefit of both local and visiting students, including those with learning disabilities.
Interesting aspects and benefits of Kāpiti College’s programme include:
International class
Kāpiti College’s innovative approach to international education puts a strong emphasis on internationalising the Kiwi students, with a specialised ‘international’ class bring trialled this year. This Year 10 class sees Kiwi students learn social studies and English through an international lens and learn the basics of Mandarin and Thai language. International students join the class as they arrive during the year.
There is some competition to get into this class, with those who are successful being given the opportunity to travel to China and Thailand later in the year.
One such student, Max Ross, was awarded a scholarship to spend three and a half weeks at Pibulwitthayalai School in Thailand. Steve Burt visited Thailand a short time later to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the school, formalising the partnership between the schools and creating the foundation for a long-term engagement.
Pathways
Other education providers in the region also reap the rewards of Kāpiti’s successful international programme, with many Kāpiti College students choosing to remain in the area and enrol with them.
The aviation programme offered by the school in conjunction with Kāpiti Air Academy has proved just the hook to entice one of Kāpiti College’s international students to further his education in New Zealand.
The school also offers academies for golf, swimming, basketball and rugby.
Special programmes
The flexible and open approach of Kāpiti College’s international team has seen them host foreign students with dyslexia and other learning challenges. The smaller class sizes and specialist teaching ensures these students aren’t left behind and they feel welcomed by their peers and the staff.
Community engagement
Kāpiti College’s programme is supported by a strong homestay community. This creates a real sense of welcome for the students and brings about a strong understanding within the community as a whole of the value of international education.
The broad reach of the school’s engagement with the wider community has seen them build a strong relationship with a local Chinese real estate agent who acts as a willing ambassador for the college’s education programmes on her visits to China.
Offshore government engagement
Paul and Steve have worked at making good connections at a government level too, with the Thai Ambassador to New Zealand, H.E. Maris Sangiampongsa, recently visiting Kāpiti College and praising their achievements in teaching Thai language and culture. The Ambassador also invited the families of the 17 College students soon to travel to Thailand to visit The Royal Thai Embassy in Wellington where he will provide them with an orientation programme.
The future looks bright for Kāpiti College’s ongoing success in it international programme but there’s one thing Steve is only too aware of: “We can’t take things for granted. It’s important to keep our eye on the ball as far as the student experience goes, as well as maintaining regular and meaningful contact with offshore stakeholders.”

H.E. Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Ambassador of Thailand to New Zealand meets with Kāpiti College’s International Thai Students
- PR OIA 2324 145 consultant and contractor spend
-
MyStudy NZ WeChat mini programme gets a refresh
MyStudy NZ is our intelligent matching tool which matches prospective students to courses and institutions in New Zealand based on a set of questions and areas of interest. It can be found on www.studyinnewzealand.govt.nz for our western markets.
However, for our China market who predominantly use WeChat, we developed a mini programme for them in November 2018.
The new version of the mini programme continues the original smart matching, but is more user-friendly and personalised, making it easy for students to obtain official information about application.
How is 2.0 better than 1.0? We believe it’s better in eight different ways:
- Social sharing enabled – Prospective students who come across their dream school can now share it to a WeChat friend or group chat immediately. The recipient can open the mini programme and view the details of the school as well.
- One-click authorisation – Students won’t have to fill in all the details to become a member anymore. With one click, prospective students can authorise their WeChat accounts to become registered MyStudy NZ members.
- Clear living costs displayed – Once prospective students get a match, they can expand and view the annual living costs in a pop-up window.
- You can see the latest content with added filter – Without registering, students can view the latest OA articles and filter based on views or posting date.
- UX (user experience) optimisation – Users can now choose paths when entering the mini programme.
- Complete UI (user interface) update – To remain consistent with the refreshed ‘I am New’ brand.
- New notifications – Push notifications will be sent to remind students to register, do course matching, bookmark favourite schools and talk to them.
- Speed optimisation and no more errors – We have done some coding optimisations and upgraded our server so the mini programme will load faster and users shouldn’t receive any more error messages.