Who Studies in New Zealand

Around the world, students graduating from New Zealand’s education environment are earning a reputation as a new breed of innovative thinkers and are enjoying career success. Over the last five years, people from more than 180 different nationalities have been granted permits to study in New Zealand. The top 10 source countries account for over 80 per cent of all international students.

Almost 20,000 international students were issued a permit to study in New Zealand. This number increased steadily over the next five years, peaking in 2002/03 with over 85,000 students issued a permit. More recently, however, one in five international students gained permanent residency within five years of being issued their first student visa. Mainly because of Indian international students transitioning to a work visa and then to permanent residence, India is now the largest source country for skilled migrants, overtaking the United Kingdom for the first time. Last year, Chinese students made up 27 per cent of international students in New Zealand, increased by 4 per cent

Students from all over the world come to New Zealand to study, as you can see in the above chart the highest number of students come from China, India and Australia. The Chinese are the most academically mobile population on the planet with more Chinese students studying abroad than any other nationality. Their top preferences are the United States and Great Britain, with New Zealand coming in sixth place. In fact, there are so many Chinese students in New Zealand that they make up the biggest group of foreigners, but mostly students come to New Zealand from all over the world.