Overseas student visa application decisions for 2025

Data on fee paying and scholarship student visa application decisions. It covers the year 2025 and only those people outside New Zealand when they applied.

Get data on visa applications that were decided and completed during the 2025 calendar year.

The data covers applications from people who were outside New Zealand when they applied for:

  • Fee Paying Student Visa
  • Pathway Student Visa
  • English Language Studies Student Visa
  • MFAT-funded NZ Scholarship Student Visa
  • Foreign Government Supported Student visa, and
  • Exchange Student Visa.

Countries where no applications were completed in 2025 have been excluded from the data.

Overseas student visa application decisions for 2025

Note International Student Visa types include: 'English language studies', 'Scholarship holder', 'Full fee paying', 'Exchange', 'Pathway', 'Foreign government supported' and 'NZ government scholarship'

Table 1. Overseas international student visa application decisions for the calendar year 2025 as of 16 Feb 2026
Country name Volume of visa applications Number approved Approval rate Number declined Decline rate
Afghanistan 16 1 6% 15 94%
Algeria 6 3 50% 3 50%
Angola 1 0 0% 1 100%
Argentina 88 70 80% 18 20%
Armenia 4 2 50% 2 50%
Australia 2 2 100% 0 0%
Austria 85 84 99% 0 0%
Bahrain 1 1 100% 0 0%
Bangladesh 1102 678 62% 414 38%
Barbados 1 1 100% 0 0%
Belarus 3 2 67% 1 33%
Belgium 58 58 100% 0 0%
Benin 3 0 0% 3 100%
Bhutan 120 53 44% 64 53%
Bolivia 12 10 83% 2 17%
Brazil 666 569 85% 93 14%
Brunei Darussalam 6 6 100% 0 0%
Bulgaria 5 4 80% 1 20%
Burundi 2 0 0% 2 100%
Cambodia 199 188 94% 5 3%
Cameroon 8 0 0% 8 100%
Canada 274 270 99% 3 1%
Chad 3 0 0% 3 100%
Chile 280 232 83% 48 17%
China 9959 9704 97% 139 1%
Colombia 464 294 63% 167 36%
Congo 1 0 0% 1 100%
Costa Rica 6 5 83% 1 17%
Croatia 1 1 100% 0 0%
Czech Republic 43 42 98% 0 0%
Democratic Republic of Congo 7 0 0% 6 86%
Denmark 90 90 100% 0 0%
Dominica 1 1 100% 0 0%
Dominican Republic 2 2 100% 0 0%
Ecuador 58 31 53% 27 47%
Egypt 40 15 38% 23 58%
El Salvador 1 1 100% 0 0%
Eritrea 1 1 100% 0 0%
Estonia 2 2 100% 0 0%
Ethiopia 12 9 75% 3 25%
Federated States of Micronesia 1 1 100% 0 0%
Fiji 191 147 77% 40 21%
Finland 28 28 100% 0 0%
France 273 270 99% 2 1%
Gambia 1 1 100% 0 0%
Georgia 1 1 100% 0 0%
Germany 1965 1956 100% 5 0%
Ghana 29 11 38% 18 62%
Great Britain 217 213 98% 3 1%
Greece 1 1 100% 0 0%
Grenada 1 1 100% 0 0%
Guatemala 3 2 67% 1 33%
Guinea 1 0 0% 1 100%
Guyana 3 3 100% 0 0%
Haiti 4 1 25% 3 75%
Honduras 1 0 0% 1 100%
Hong Kong 365 360 99% 2 1%
Hungary 20 20 100% 0 0%
Iceland 3 3 100% 0 0%
India 7235 4276 59% 2838 39%
Indonesia 533 520 98% 10 2%
Iran 167 92 55% 74 44%
Iraq 7 4 57% 3 43%
Ireland 32 32 100% 0 0%
Israel 13 10 77% 3 23%
Italy 303 299 99% 2 1%
Jamaica 6 4 67% 0 0%
Japan 2342 2330 99% 2 0%
Jordan 17 9 53% 8 47%
Kazakhstan 22 21 95% 0 0%
Kenya 123 55 45% 68 55%
Kiribati 29 29 100% 0 0%
Kuwait 136 135 99% 1 1%
Kyrgyzstan 3 3 100% 0 0%
Laos 215 210 98% 5 2%
Latvia 3 2 67% 1 33%
Lebanon 5 2 40% 3 60%
Liberia 4 0 0% 3 75%
Liechtenstein 2 2 100% 0 0%
Lithuania 4 4 100% 0 0%
Luxembourg 5 5 100% 0 0%
Macau 16 15 94% 0 0%
Macedonia 1 1 100% 0 0%
Malawi 1 0 0% 1 100%
Malaysia 513 507 99% 2 0%
Maldives 12 11 92% 1 8%
Mali 4 3 75% 1 25%
Marshall Islands 2 1 50% 0 0%
Mauritius 11 10 91% 1 9%
Mexico 140 129 92% 10 7%
Moldova 3 2 67% 1 33%
Mongolia 62 57 92% 5 8%
Morocco 4 3 75% 1 25%
Myanmar 468 226 48% 239 51%
Namibia 3 2 67% 1 33%
Nauru 2 2 100% 0 0%
Nepal 1957 1024 52% 918 47%
Netherlands 79 79 100% 0 0%
Nigeria 193 80 41% 111 58%
Norway 153 150 98% 1 1%
Oman 27 26 96% 1 4%
Pakistan 410 185 45% 216 53%
Palau 1 1 100% 0 0%
Palestine 3 1 33% 2 67%
Panama 3 3 100% 0 0%
Papua New Guinea 71 61 86% 9 13%
Paraguay 7 6 86% 1 14%
Peru 67 37 55% 30 45%
Philippines 1239 1151 93% 67 5%
Poland 17 17 100% 0 0%
Portugal 11 11 100% 0 0%
Romania 12 10 83% 2 17%
Russia 113 85 75% 25 22%
Rwanda 3 3 100% 0 0%
Samoa 38 37 97% 1 3%
Saudi Arabia 34 31 91% 3 9%
Serbia 4 3 75% 1 25%
Sierra Leone 1 0 0% 1 100%
Singapore 230 222 97% 7 3%
Slovakia 6 6 100% 0 0%
Slovenia 1 1 100% 0 0%
Solomon Islands 33 32 97% 1 3%
South Africa 61 43 70% 17 28%
South Korea 1190 1179 99% 6 0%
South Sudan 1 1 100% 0 0%
Spain 83 82 99% 1 1%
Sri Lanka 1867 1491 80% 344 18%
St Kitts - Nevis 2 1 50% 1 50%
St Lucia 1 1 100% 0 0%
Sudan 6 2 33% 4 67%
Suriname 2 2 100% 0 0%
Sweden 55 52 95% 2 4%
Switzerland 155 150 97% 3 2%
Syria 10 3 30% 7 70%
Taiwan 365 358 98% 1 0%
Tanzania 5 1 20% 4 80%
Thailand 1009 979 97% 24 2%
Timor Leste 34 34 100% 0 0%
Tonga 78 64 82% 14 18%
Trinidad and Tobago 3 1 33% 1 33%
Tunisia 3 1 33% 2 67%
Turkey 34 15 44% 19 56%
Tuvalu 19 19 100% 0 0%
Uganda 6 2 33% 4 67%
Ukraine 11 9 82% 1 9%
United Arab Emirates 8 8 100% 0 0%
United States of America 2063 2012 98% 28 1%
Uruguay 11 9 82% 2 18%
Uzbekistan 5 1 20% 4 80%
Vanuatu 24 19 79% 5 21%
Venezuela 13 9 69% 4 31%
Vietnam 842 711 84% 126 15%
Yemen 7 0 0% 7 100%
Zambia 4 2 50% 1 25%
Zimbabwe 72 26 36% 45 63%
Total 41951 35013 83% 6487 15%