News centre

Students able to travel to New Zealand from July

Students can apply for visas to come to New Zealand from 31 July – three months earlier than planned.

11 May 2022
1 minute read

The Government has announced that the borders will now be fully reopened by the end of July which means the opening date for student visa categories has been brought forward from October.

The Government has already put in place a border class exception for 5,000 international students, which means they can come to New Zealand once their visas are granted.

The changes are part of the Immigration Rebalance, which is designed to make it easier to attract and hire high-skilled migrants. Settings are being changed for students, as well as for migrant workers and their partners and skilled residence pathways.

As part of the Immigration Rebalance changes are being made to Post-study work visa settings and the funds needed for student visa applicants to support their stay in New Zealand are being increased.

The Immigration Rebalance changes complement the direction set out in the International Education Strategy. The draft strategy defines New Zealand’s ‘high-value' offering as providing quality education that helps strengthen the education system, and contributes to research and innovation, and other socio-cultural, economic and diplomatic benefits for New Zealand.

New Zealand border fully reopening July 2022

Factsheet

Immigration Rebalance: International Education Sector PDF 169KB