Stacy Squires/Stuff
New Zealand’s international education sector is looking at how it can kick-start the industry while the borders are closed (file photo).
Six months after 1000 international students were allowed back into New Zealand to finish their degrees, just 135 have arrived.
The universities are blaming a drawn-out visa application process, a lack of spaces in managed isolation and miscommunication over who was eligible.
Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University vice-chancellor Grant Guilford said the Wellington university had managed to bring in 60 to 70 international students, from the 1000 student cohort and an earlier cohort of 250 PhD students.
Guilford, who is also the chair of Universities New Zealand international policy committee, said the government was naturally reluctant to approve any more students until the current spaces were filled.
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Ross Giblin/Stuff
Victoria University vice-chancellor Grant Guilford said limited MIQ space made it difficult to bring students back to the country (file photo).
The University of Auckland’s international student support services’ manager, Rebecca Walkinton, said in order to have completed MIQ before the start of semester 2 students had to arrive by July 4.
But there were currently no spaces available.
She had started working with students on the nomination and visa process in March this year, and while it took a long time, the process was relatively smooth.
“It is actually getting them into the country that is probably the biggest issue at the moment.”
She had been encouraging students to book MIQ spaces before their visas were approved, and had 120 students who would make it back to the country either before the start of semester 2, or early into it. But another 90 had visas and no space in MIQ.
“Once their visa is issued they have 9 months to get into the country, which is great, but, they want to be in for semester 2.
“Coming in October isn’t going to help with that much.”
The university also had issues with honours students, who had believed they were eligible to enter the country as their honours year was seen as an extension of their bachelors.
“Students were told it was considered a change in programme, and therefore they didn’t meet the criteria,” Walkinton said.
Universities’ New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan said the government had been “fantastic” trying to find solutions, such as setting aside 400 spaces in MIQ, but these had been available too far in advanceand so students had not filled them.
The Ministry of Education’s Belinda Himiona said there had been strong demand for students seeking nominations, and visa application decisions, had been made, on average, within 10-working days.
In total of the 985 students who had been nominated to return, 691 had applied for visas, with 523 approved.
