The government of New Zealand has announced its plans to allow a thousand selected international students to travel to the country to continue or start with their higher education from the middle of 2022.
In the announcement, the NZ government has approved a further border class exception for 1,000 international tertiary students for 400 pilot trainees, 300 students at degree level and above, and 300 students at the sub-degree level.
Key Takeaways:
- A thousand selected international students will be allowed to enter New Zealand in 2022.
- Education providers will be nominating international students to the Ministry of Education by December 2021.
- The ministry will be confirming international students eligible for the border exception by January 2022.
The recent announcement is in line with the government’s coordination with other government agencies and the international education sector to bring international students back into the country.
The border class exception of international students will be nominated by education providers to the Ministry of Education by December 2021. By January 2022, the Ministry of Education will be responsible for confirming students eligible for the border exception.
The plan suggests that before the first students begin to land in New Zealand in March, successful students will begin their visa process in January 2022.
The New Zealand government will continue to engage with the education sector representatives to finalize the allocation of places within each of the three groups and confirm student nominations.
Students taking part in the return plan are required to be fully vaccinated of either of the three vaccines currently approved for use in the country: Pfizer/ BioNTech, Janssen, and Oxford AstraZeneca.
However, New Zealand will also accept 23 vaccinations, including those approved by governments in China and India.
The organization Education New Zealand welcomed the government’s decision, considering it as an important next step toward the recovery of the country’s international education sector.
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