Even Though New Zealand’s International Enrolment Increased in 2023, It will Take Few Years for Full Recover

New Zealand provides a particularly stark and illuminating case study, even though the economic impact of departing international students during the pandemic was felt by all study abroad locations. This is because New Zealand's border shutdown from March 2020 until the end of July 2022, which is both longer than Australia's closing (March 2020 to a full opening in February 2022) as well as a far longer period than that of Canada, the UK, or the US. Potential international students became increasingly disheartened ad the New Zealand's border remained closed for quite longer.

The government organization in charge of promoting New Zealand education overseas, Education New Zealand (ENZ), requested that the research firm EY perform a survey of the financial effects of overseas learners in 2019 and 2022. 6,000jobs were created by the influx of international students in 2019, and the sector's direct value was NZ$ 3.9 billion. When the border closure ended in2022, the sector's value had fallen to NZ$ 800 million. The industry, which was once New Zealand's fourth-largest export sector, suffered pandemic-related losses that affected the whole economy.

According to EY, the international education market in New Zealand may return to its pre-pandemic level by 2030 in terms of enrollment and value. The immigration department in New Zealand processed 7,265 new applications for student visas in December 2023, which is comparable to the 7,481 applications they received in December 2022. The average processing time for visas this year has been roughly26 days. The present New Zealand government is firmly in favor of the sector's full turnaround. EY was asked by ENZ to quantify the wider social effects of international students in New Zealand in addition to their immediate economic advantages. When productivity and labor supply are taken into account, international students contribute roughly NZ$ 6 billion to New Zealand's GDP overall.

The financial advantages of international students were particularly well-received by New Zealanders polled in 2023 (80%). The statement that "international students help local students acquire knowledge regarding different cultures and methods of living while contributing to New Zealand's cultural diversity"(81%). However, New Zealand's infrastructure in housing, transport, and medical services is not adequately prepared to allow visitors and foreign students, expressing a third of respondents’ concerns.

In 2023, ENZ polled 4,755 international students representing over 70 different countries. According to the Global Student Experience survey, 83% of respondents said they would suggest New Zealand as an academic destination, and 84% expressed satisfaction with their experience. Notably, 87% of respondents stated that their study experience sparked their curiosity and helped them come up with new ideas; 88% expressed satisfaction with the people and relationships they met in New Zealand; and 78% stated that New Zealand had been their top choice fortravel.

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