Education was one of New Zealand's biggest export earners, bringing in $5 billion a year in earnings.
That was before the Government introduced border restrictions as part of its precautions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The big question now is 'will international students return now the border has re-opened?'
The Heraldspoke with two CEO respondents to the Mood of the Boardroom survey to get their predictions.
"There may be a short-term boost due to the number of students offshore who have been waiting to come to Aotearoa, but we predict a slow recovery", says Auckland University of Technology (AUT) vice-chancellor Damon Salesa.
"New Zealand is the last of the major English-speaking study destinations to be opening borders to international students and our immigration settings are less favourable."
He says there's a challenge with the pipeline.
"Students are with universities for several years, so it will take time for changes to translate into similar levels of students as before".
University of Auckland vice-chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater says: "The University of Auckland has retained and recruited students while the border has been closed by offering to teach online and through five learning centres in China. We are building from a solid base.
"Government policy is for quality over quantity which means New Zealand is unlikely to see the pre-Covid volume of students.
'But it is my expectation, that the University of Auckland will return to our 2019 numbers over the next few years."
China remains the largest source of international students in New Zealand.
Dawn Freshwater. Photo / Supplied
Freshwater says that the University of Auckland had more than 5000 Chinese international students in 2021.
"Many of these students were studying with us in China, both online and at the China Learning Centres we established in response to the border closure.
"Other students come from India, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, the US, Indonesia and Vietnam."
The picture is similar at AUT where Salesa says students from each region face their own set of challenges.
"Many students from China are currently reluctant or unable to travel overseas to return or commence on campus."
New Zealand's border reopened in July, but there were stricter rules on residency and working rights for international students.
Salesa says these "will have a negative effect on international recruitment, particularly for countries such as India."
"While New Zealand has reduced the post-study work rights, other countries have recently increased the work rights."
He says: "We would like to be sure Immigration New Zealand will be able to handle the volume when it comes to processing the 2023 applications.
"They have indicated they won't be processing international student visas until three months before the first semester of 2023 begins."
Freshwater says the rule changes impact the sub-degree sector with Master's and PhD students entitled to three-year post-study work rights and undergraduates up to three years, depending on the time spent studying on campus.
"However, in the context of an international competition for talent, the Australian Education Ministry has said that post-study work rights will be increased from two years to four years for select bachelor's degrees; three years to five years for select master's degrees; and four years to six years for select PhDs," says Freshwater.
"This makes Australia more attractive for international students and comes on top of Australia and other English-speaking countries — Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States opening up to students much earlier than New Zealand. "We are having to catch up at a time when the competition for students is fierce."
Both vice-chancellors want to see improvements in visa processes and processing, something that they see as being essential to help recovery.
