Foreigners in the family

Recession-hit families are turning to foreign fee-paying students as a way to make a buck.

But companies specialising in homestays are warning that if you want a student just for the money, don't call them.

Students pay around $230 a week to live in a family home. In return, they are supposed to have two meals a day, their own room and be treated as part of the family.

Several language schools are reporting a surge in interest from families they suspect are seeing the scheme as a way of merely topping up the household income.

With that comes stinginess from some quarters - one family reportedly rationed the amount of toast a student could eat.

According to the Department of Labour, English language students have increased slightly compared to the same time last year.

Between May 2008 and May 2009, the department issued 7546 visas to people wanting to live in New Zealand to study English. That is compared to 7371 between May 2007 and May 2008.

However, the numbers are down compared to the 2004/2005 tally of 10,790 students, meaning there are not enough students to go round.

Susan McLean of the University of Auckland's English Language Academy said: "We've never been so busy."

McLean has a backlog of about 30 families on her books whose homes she is yet to visit before they can make the waiting list.

"They ring me about four times a week and say 'You haven't come and visited me yet'."

But having a foreign student in your home shouldn't be a profit-making exercise if you do it properly, according to McLean.

As well as providing food, homestay families are advised that their student may need to have a heater in their room to cope with the Kiwi winter.

There is also extra washing and showers that can mount up on bills.

"We don't really want to work with people who are just going to say 'Hey, I need the money', because there's going to be all sorts of issues there," McLean said.

Other homestay companies have also noticed an increase in interest from local families.

Kevin Blincoe, director of Kiwi Homestay in Auckland, gets about three to four new registrations a day.

Blincoe said he understood how the money could help families, but only thinking of the money could cause problems.

"If you're doing it for the right reasons the financial consideration is secondary, in saying that it does help, we know it helps."

A foreign homestay student in an unwelcome environment can become lonely and isolated.

There have even been reports of homestay families monitoring what food their student eats, and only feeding a student bread and milk.

Christine Anderson, of Auckland Homestay Services, said she even heard of a case of a family counting the number of pieces of toast a student had for breakfast.

Anderson has been in the business for 18 years, and is used to the fluctuations in demand based on the economy. "When there's a recession, the phone always gets hot."

Anderson estimated that while a student paying $200 to $230 a week may cover the family food bill, "you're not going to make a fortune from it".

And she warned that an unhappy student would not stay around.

"They don't stay in any situation where they feel they're just there to fill a room."

AN INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN YOUR OWN HOME

Allyson and Peter Mallon have turned their home into the United Nations.

The couple have been welcoming English language students to their Avondale home for more than a year.

So far the family - including daughters Olivia, 6 and Danielle, 12 - have welcomed 12 foreign students.

Currently they have three staying in the house. There is Kihyun Park, 24, from Korea, Sing Loychirakul, 22, from Thailand and Li Chen, 22, from China.

Allyson said it was the experience and company, not the money, that got them interested in homestays.

"With the recession I suppose it would be a way to get money, but I don't think it's a very good way to look at it. The money's good - don't get me wrong - but we prefer the relationship we have with the students."

When a student first arrives in the Mallon home, they are careful to feed them rice and other food from their country.

Then they introduce them to Kiwi delicacies including the traditional barbecue.

"We go through icecream like nobody's business," Allyson said.

Li has been staying with the family for a month and described the food as "delicious". He also enjoyed pizza and roast chicken.

"I like the city, it's very beautiful and there are many parks. I want to live here for a long time."

Allyson said the students usually stayed about four to eight weeks to get their bearings before moving into the city to be closer to the language school. But they visit the family regularly, including Father's Day and birthdays.

"I would just like to think that if my daughter was over there, someone would be looking after her," Allyson said.