New Zealand to allow 5000 international students to return in April 2022

5,000 international students will be allowed to return to New Zealand for the second semester of the academic year in April 2022 under a special border exemption category. These will be fully vaccinated international students who will be prioritised for the third stage opening beginning on 12 April, 2022. Details of the selection process for these 5,000 students are awaited. This cohort will be in addition to 1,000 students who were approved for entry in 2022 last fall. New Zealand will open its borders in five stages through 2022.

By October 2022, visa processing for all international students is expected to be fully operational. This means that the vast majority of students who want to study in New Zealand can do so only for 2023. This will make NZ the last of the traditional international education countries to open to international students. The country could lose out, as until 2023, its neighbour Australia will have been accepting students for months, and other popular countries have already opened up for international students months ago.