New Zealand to Reopen Border to 5,000 International Students in April

New Zealand has decided to reopen borders in stages starting from February 27, 2022, the country’s government has announced. According to the government, there will be a five-step plan for a phased reopening of the international borders.

The plan points out that up to 5,000 international students will be allowed to enter New Zealand from April 12, 2022. The latter will return for the second semester, and their places are included in the third step of the plan, Erudera.com reports.  

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said that with 94 percent of the fully vaccinated population in New Zealand and 92 percent of those over 18 who will be able to receive booster by the end of February, it is time to work for recovery and to address the worker shortages. 

“By the time we start to reopen our border, we’ll be one of the most vaccinated and most boosted countries in the world and the COVID-19 Protection Framework will be well established in helping to manage COVID outbreaks,” Hipkins added.

Initially, the border will reopen to New Zealanders and other eligible travelers from Australia on February 27 before allowing other travelers to enter the country. The next step includes reopening of New Zealanders and other eligible travelers, skilled workers earning at least 1.5 times the median salary, and Working Holiday Scheme visas.

In addition, New Zealand is expected to open borders fully to people from across the world as well as to fully reopen all visa categories fully by October 2022.

According to Universities New Zealand, the announcement offered the certainty that was needed for universities and their potential international students who remained overseas for a long period of time.

Late in December 2021, New Zealand’s tertiary institutions expressed concerns that they would see another year without international students due to the visa process.

“There are students that will come for the second half of the year in some markets and in some programs, but there may be some providers that miss out again for the whole year, and that will be really a difficult point in time for them,” the president of Independent Tertiary Education, Craig Musson told Radio New Zealand (ZNL).

Last year, New Zealand’s Ministry of Education announced a border class exception for 1,000 international university students. Students were required to be fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by New Zealand before entering the country.