New Zealand: Why do student visa rejections soar between between January and April?
In 2023, 10% of International Students enrolled in New Zealand were from India. What according to you attracts Indian students to New Zealand?
First reason is obviously, the quality of education. Our universities and educational organisations are well ranked. All eight of our universities are in top three per cent of the QS rankings
The education here is very hands-on, practical. There is an emphasis on independent learning, to think for yourself. Our education system is not so strict on learning in a specific order. There is an opportunity for much more free-thinking, critical thinking as part of learning.
Apart from this, New Zealand offers a very relaxed lifestyle to the students. So while you get an experience of different education, you also get to experience a new culture and living in a new place. We have noticed that students that come to study in New Zealand enjoy both of those things.
We also have a good size of Indian diaspora. So students can access their places of worship, they are likely to find the food that they like, they can get the ingredients that they want from Indian supermarkets — not exactly like at home, but similar.
Are there any international and diplomatic reasons for the increase in the number of Indian students enrolling in New Zealand?
It is really clear that we have a strong diplomatic relationship between the two governments.
Education NZ runs a conference every year for its sector and this year, India is our country of honour at the conference. So, we are really pleased to be able to do that.
Also, recently, we have sent a delegation of universities to India. We have been sending and helping our providers come to India, meet with Indian students, meet with Indian agents, and also meet with Indian universities.
This year, our Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was also in India with a delegation of business people. So clearly, there is a strong relationship between the two countries and it is very helpful to us also, when we want to raise awareness about education in New Zealand.
On the other hand, visa rejection rates rose to 40 per cent last year, a jump from 28 per cent in 2022. Between January and April 2024, 2,010 out of 5,018 study visa applications from Indian students were rejected. Is this a natural consequence of increased applicants, or is there a more specific reason? Please elaborate.
The period mentioned here — between January and April — is a time when visa rejection rates are usually higher, as the peak number of applications start to come in October until January.
However, if you take a step back, and look at the year 2023, you will notice that the approval rate was actually closer to 60 percent for Indian visas.
The important thing is that the student must demonstrate that they are coming for an educational experience. It's really important to make it clear that you are really going to study in New Zealand and understand what courses you're going to study and why you want to study that.
Secondly, it's really important that you show your financial viability to study and live in New Zealand. So these are the two things that you should make clear in your visa applications.
The government's policy in New Zealand is that the student must come for the education experience. In the announcement they made it clear that it is not a pathway to residency, it is an opportunity to come and learn and study in New Zealand.
