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  • 2017 06 June Visa Trends

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  • Diwali celebrations light up New Zealand campuses

    It was a wonderful week of Diwali across New Zealand campuses as students and education institutions came together to celebrate the festival of lights.  

    AUT lights up for Diwali 

    The sights, sounds and colours of Diwali were on full display at AUT’s recent Diwali Festival.   

    With the largest cohort of international students from India in New Zealand, AUT’s Diwali Festival celebrated the incredible contribution Indian students make to life at AUT.   

    Pro Vice-Chancellor International, Professor Guy Littlefair, said the event enriches their campus culture and showcases the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.   

    “Our incredible Diwali event was a wonderful opportunity for our entire university to celebrate our Indian students and the richness and joy of Indian culture,” Professor Littlefair said.   

    “We are proud of our growing reputation throughout India for our wide range and quality of study programmes, for being the university of technology in New Zealand, and for our great student support, accessibility to academic staff, employability, and student success.   

    “India is an extraordinarily important partner country to us, but more importantly our Indian students are an extremely valued part of our AUT family and the unique perspective and rich culture they bring to us are treasured by all our staff and students.”  

     

    Students lead Diwali celebrations at Wintec | Te Pūkenga 

    Diwali 2023 performers, organisers, volunteers, and audience all enjoyed the celebrations at Wintec | Te Pūkenga City Campus, including International Student Services Advisors, Unmesha Veetil (far left) and Li Li (front row with orange sari).

    This year, the Diwali celebrations at Wintec | Te Pūkenga City and Rotokauri campuses were completely ākonga (student)-led, making them even more special than usual. Although facilitated by the International Student Support team, the events were entirely hosted by ākonga, from the MCs to all the entertainment.  

    Unmesha Veetil, International Student Services Advisor, said the events were vibrant and high energy and a real testament to the students.  

    “The MCs did a great job of engaging the audience and getting them singing along, the dance performances and magic tricks were stunning and there were even talented students doing henna designs. On the request of the audience there was a final open dance floor which got many from the audience dancing too and proved lots of fun.”

    A crowd enjoying a Diwali dance performance at Wintec | Te Pūkenga

    The true spirit of the festival was also on full display as a diverse, multicultural communities organised the festivities with much generosity and kaitiakitanga.   

    Members of the Chinese Postgraduate Society who volunteered as ecowarriors for the Auckland Diwali Festival.

    The Chinese Postgraduate Society volunteered for the Auckland Diwali Festival as eco warriors, helping make the celebration as eco-friendly as possible. 

    “It was a great experience for us to immerse in a different culture and make valuable contributions,” Wilson Pan, President of the Chinese Postgraduate Society said.  

  • Around the world in five

    Asia 

    Australian TNE looks to India as countries recognise qualifications 

    Australia and India have signed a qualifications recognition agreement, which comes after Deakin University's announcement of plans to open a campus in India. The recognition agreement is expected to support transnational education and allow students with Indian qualifications to pursue further education in Australia and vice versa.

     

    North America 

    US educators concerned over new rules on 'third-party' relationships 

    International educators in the USA are concerned that new Department of Education guidance and oversight of third-party relationships could have negative impact on international student recruitment. 

     

    South America 

    These are the best universities in Latin America in 2023 

    Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has seen a record 140 universities from 12 countries ranked in the Times Higher Education (THE) university rankings 2023, with many of the top region’s universities situated in Brazil. 

     

    Europe 

    New poll reveals public support for international students in the UK 

    Results from a new poll show that the UK public is positive about the contribution that international students make to the economy, institutions and academic research. 

     

    Africa 

    Visa crisis is jeopardising internationalisation efforts 

    South African universities face challenges in their internationalisation efforts due to a visa crisis that is affecting international students and staff. 

  • March 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 29,228 student visa applications from international students outside of New Zealand. We have completed 24,549 of these applications.  

    Our recent processing times for international student visa applications are published on our website. These are updated each month: Visa processing times for international students | Immigration New Zealand 

    *Figures current as at 10pm on 6 March 2023.   

    Impact of Cyclone Gabrielle on international students 

    We are aware that some education providers' campuses have been damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle and have been forced to close temporarily. 

    This affects students’ immigration status because their current student visa requires them to attend the place of study specified on the visa which may not be currently possible. We understand that this is a difficult time, and we would like to help. An information sheet has been developed for affected international students and can be found here. 

    Approval in Principle timeframe 

    We have shortened the standard length of time we allow most offshore students to provide a tuition fee receipt (or other financial evidence) from ten to five working days to encourage students to complete the final steps of their student visa application quickly. We understand that some students may not be able to provide evidence in the timeframe they are given due to their individual circumstances. Extensions to this timeframe are available – the student or agent just needs to upload a brief letter explaining how much longer they will require and why. 

    Tuition fees 

    We would like to remind you that changes to the requirements for tuition fee payment evidence for students were introduced last year as part of the Immigration Rebalance.  

    Students need to pay tuition fees for the first year, or first programme of study (whichever is the shorter), and they will have to prove personal/maintenance funds for the same period. We do not accept payment of tuition fees by instalment; the only exception is for some aviation students. 

    Agent declaration 

    If you are providing advice or assistance with a student visa application - DECLARE yourself in the application. Education agents outside New Zealand are permitted to give immigration advice on student visas but must declare themselves in the application. We are seeing increasing numbers of agents not declaring themselves and these applications may take longer to process as a result.  

    INZ is intending to resume reporting on agent visa approval rates later this year, probably in September/October. If you are not declaring your involvement in an application, this will have an impact on your publicly available performance information. Education providers in New Zealand will be encouraged to check the agent performance report. 

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