Student visa applications to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) are running well ahead of last year. In July, INZ said applications so far in 2026 were about 20% higher than in the same period of 2025, and asked students to apply at least three months before they travel.
Its statistics page records 62,630 applications submitted between 1 January and 30 September 2026. That’s already 88% of the 71,030 lodged across the whole of 2025.
More students are here, too. INZ says around 63,000 people now hold a valid international student visa, about 6,000 more than in September 2025.
INZ’s figures don’t split applications by sector, so they cover tertiary students as well as school learners.
Approval rates have also moved. INZ approved 80.8% of the student visa applications it decided in 2026 to the end of September, down from 88.1% in 2025. Rates vary sharply by country, from 95.5% for applicants from China to 64.1% for India and 32.8% for Bangladesh.
Where schools sit in the numbers
Education New Zealand (ENZ), the Crown agency that promotes New Zealand as a study destination, counted 92,580 international students enrolled with New Zealand providers in 2025. That was up 11% on 2024, and 80% of the pre-Covid peak.
Schools enrolled 20,155 of those students, up 10%. Universities grew faster, up 14% to 38,025. ENZ called international enrolments in primary, intermediate and secondary schools a key point of difference for New Zealand, and an early pathway into the education system.
Across all sectors, China and India were the largest source countries in 2025, at 34% and 14% of enrolments, followed by Japan at 9%. Auckland hosted around 55% of all international students.
The 2026 school figures look stronger again. A Government release in September said school enrolments were up 9% on the same period of 2025, with primary school enrolments up 22%.
The Government’s targets
The Government’s International Education Going for Growth plan aims to lift enrolments from 83,400 in 2024 to 105,000 in 2027 and 119,000 by 2034. It also aims to double the sector’s value, from $3.6 billion in 2024 to $7.2 billion in 2034.
Export earnings reached $4.98 billion in the year to June 2026, up from $4.295 billion a year earlier and above the $4.403 billion in the year to June 2019, according to the September release. Education Minister Erica Stanford said New Zealand was on track for around 99,000 international students in 2026.
For schools, the plan’s main commitment is a funded support function to build capability. Stanford announced the funding in May 2026, with the support to come from an organisation chosen by tender for its experience in school-based international education.
The release said the support would cover marketing, resourcing, finding homestays, and resources to help schools understand their obligations for student wellbeing and safety. Any school that chooses to take part can use it, including schools that don’t yet enrol international students. Stanford said the Government was “helping to ensure that schools have the resources they need”.
What comes with an international roll
Before a school enrols any international fee-paying student, it must be a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021, which NZQA administers. Part 7 of the Code sets out what schools must deliver, covering marketing, education agents, enrolment contracts, insurance, accommodation, safety checks and complaints.
The rules for younger learners are tight. A school can’t enrol an international learner aged 10 to 17 who doesn’t live with a parent or legal guardian, unless the learner is in the care of a residential caregiver or in a supervised group studying for no more than three months. Learners under 10 must live with a parent or legal guardian, unless they’re in a school hostel.
Each school must also designate at least one staff member to monitor and address concerns about its international learners under 18. Where a learner lives with a residential caregiver, the school must make sure the accommodation is safe and that the required safety checks are up to date.
Fees carry their own rule. The Ministry of Education says a board’s tuition fees must cover its best estimate of the cost of tuition, plus an amount for the student’s use of the school’s capital facilities.
Self-review and attestations from school signatories are due to NZQA by 1 December. The plan’s first enrolment checkpoint follows in 2027, when the Government is aiming for 105,000 international students, about 6,000 more than the minister expects this year.
