The New Zealand Ministry of Education announced today that it would provide entry exemption for up to 1,000 international students studying for a bachelor’s degree or above in New Zealand, allowing them to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021 to continue their studies.
It is reported that students who are allowed to be included in exemption must currently hold or have held a valid visa for 2020 and have studied in New Zealand in 2019 or 2020 at a bachelor’s degree or above level, before their long-term learning plan was interrupted due to the new crown epidemic. At the same time, international students must go through the relevant visa procedures by themselves, including applying for a new student visa and issuing an asset certificate worth 20,000 New Zealand dollars per year.
New Zealand higher education institutions that meet the scope of the entry exemption include New Zealand universities, polytechnics, Maori universities and private institutions. At the same time, international students returning to New Zealand should strictly abide by the isolation and quarantine measures under the control of the New Zealand government, including self-quarantine at their own expense for 14 days in facilities specially arranged by the government.
New Zealand higher education institutions will complete matters such as student identity confirmation and candidate determination and give priority to international students who are about to graduate. Students do not need to apply for entry exemption by themselves. Eligible international students will return to New Zealand in batches starting from April 2021. The first batch will be 300. The remaining students will return to New Zealand in 2021 to complete their studies, subject to the conditions of controlled isolation and quarantine measures.
New Zealand Minister of Education Chris Hipkins said, “As in the past nine months, strict immigration controls are still essential to protecting New Zealanders from the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring that New Zealand citizens and residents can return to their homes. It’s important. We will continue to meet the need for strict management of isolation facilities and welcome more international students entering New Zealand.”
Grant McPherson, CEO of the New Zealand Education International Promotion Agency, said that under prudent control, allowing small-scale international students to return to the country was part of the International Education Recovery Plan launched by the government. International education has a wide range of benefits. International students bring diverse perspectives to our classrooms and communities. And New Zealand has benefited a lot from it. At the same time, New Zealand provides students with important abilities so that they can adapt to the future world.
