There are fewer international students in NZ post Covid. Photo / Getty Images
The number of international students in the country has fallen by more than 200 per cent with some schools on the brink of closure.
Figures from Immigration NZ shows this year to April it had approved 16,554 student visas nationally compared to 42,933 in 2020. In the Bay of Plenty numbers had fallen from 1872 to 873.
Aspire2 Tauranga campus Poonam Khirsariya said if the borders don't open it could close and it was not alone.
Figures show the industry was traditionally worth $174 million to the Bay of Plenty and $5.23 billion to New Zealand's economy - but that had diminished with Covid.
Khirsariya said it was a very stressful time.
''There is a lot of uncertainty for us. We are at the mercy of the Government's decisions around immigration policies and our company's future is at stake.''
Numbers had dropped from 460 students pre-Covid to 160 who were studying hospitality and diplomas in technology management.
Last year was an emotional rollercoaster for students and staff who faced a lot of Covid anxiety.
''Students were concerned about their own health, their own jobs and visas and also what was happening back in their home countries and their families where the situation was much worse.
''The way we responded to Covid was to prioritise student wellbeing as always, initiated a system called Awhi Connectors to support our students and staff, provide wellbeing phone numbers and links to counsellors.''
Khirsariya said although it was fielding queries from overseas, potential students may go to other countries like Canada who were actively encouraging migrants to study there.
Mount Maunganui Language Centre director Geoff Butler said the school was operating with about 85 per cent fewer students. But the centre was determined to fight on despite dropping revenues and government uncertainties.
''We have had some support from the Government, but we still have no idea what the plan is for the future.''
Butler wanted ongoing targeted support until the border reopened and a reasonable flow of incoming students to preserve the industry.
Infometrics multipliers estimated the combined contribution from the Mount Maunganui Language Centre and one other English school in the Bay of Plenty was about $16 million annually, he said.
Rotorua English Language Academy director Chris Leckie said it had fewer than 20 students and by July that could drop to six.
Keeping the school operating was the biggest challenge and she was not confident about the future.
''There is no chance of English Language students coming in before 2022, and when they do come, the flow of students will be very slow. We have had government funding which is keeping us going until the end of June, for which we are very grateful.''
The academy was waiting to see if further targeted funding would be available which would enable them to stay open for the rest of 2021.
Korean Times director Hyun Taek Yang said it was hard to stay in business.
There were 100 Korean families with 180 international fee-paying students compared to 220 families with 300 students in 2019.
There were also 30 new families waiting to come but he feared they would start looking elsewhere.
Yang said he was very concerned about its Korean mothers and their mental health.
''All of our mums and children miss their father in Korea a lot and they wish the border would open to them asap.
''We're receiving lots of inquiries from Korea, but we can't give them an answer when they are able to enter NZ. We look forward to hearing from the Government about their long term plan for International students.''
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology head of international Peter Richardson said international student numbers had not increased much from March 2021.
At that time there were 795 international students at its Tauranga and Rotorua campuses that contributed about $12.7m in revenue.
The institute had nominated some students to return to New Zealand under the Ministry of Education 1000 international student quota, with some selected.
In addition to the 21 international students began their Nursing Competency Assessment who came to New Zealand under the critical health workers exemption visa.
For 2021/2022 Toi Ohomai issued about 2500 offers of place to international students, the majority of which are offshore. Whether they will be able to come to New Zealand was uncertain, Richardson said.
A Waikato University spokeswoman said 19 international students were enrolled and studying at the Tauranga campus.
The university was offering a number of popular degrees online and there had been a small uptake in online study and it hoped this would increase.
An Education New Zealand spokeswoman said international education contributed $5.23 billion to New Zealand's economy in 2019 including $174m to the Bay of Plenty.
The 2020 figures were not available, she said.
Figures from the Ministry of Immigration show in 2020 there were 1872 international student visa applications approved for the Bay of Plenty. Students from India made up 807 of those followed by 363 from South Korea and 210 from Nepal. Nationally over the same timeframes 42,993 student visas were approved with 14,376 from China.
This year to April data reveals there were 873 international student visa approved for the Bay of Plenty and 16,554 nationally.
Border and visa operations general manager Nicola Hogg said the Government had established two border exception categories for international students in 2020 and earlier this year.
Quarantine free travel zones also enabled international students who were in those countries and met requirements to apply for a visa.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins said the Government has provided a range of support to the international education sector.
This included the long-term strategic recovery plan which was backed by $51.6m investment from the Covid recovery and response fund.
As private businesses, the PTEs were also able to apply for the wage subsidy scheme.
Since the borders closed in March 2020 two border exceptions had been established which would allow 1250 international students to return and complete their studies, he said.
Jetstar's first planes to Sydney and Gold Coast have taken off from Hamilton this week.