The Government of New Zealand now mandates that international students who are currently studying in the country but want to change their degree or university need to apply for a new visa. As they are applying from within the nation, such students will now have precedence in the visa application process.

New Zealand is changing the way international student visa applications from students are processed. This is intended to give greater flexibility and efficiency in processing student visa applications during the summer processing period, Financial Express reports.

This is because students who change courses or providers must be given a visa that includes their new study conditions before they can begin.

Even if an application is assigned first, it does not imply that it will be decided in that order. Rather, the quality and completeness of any application directly influence how long it takes to be decided, according to the report by Financial Express.

Due to the large volume of visa applications received by New Zealand during the peak summer months, they are unable to contact students before allocation if their visa applications lack the required documents. If the information required to evaluate an application is absent, the application may be refused.

Students applying for a student visa from within New Zealand must include their tuition fee receipt beforehand, or their application may be denied.