New Zealand Student Education News

International students can now work for longer in New Zealand

From today, eligible international students in secondary and tertiary education in New Zealand can work for 25 hours per week during term time. This is up from 20 hours, with work remaining unlimited during holidays. Additionally, exchange students in the country for at least one semester have been given permission to work.

Learn more about international student work rights in New Zealand.

Universities' responses to prospective international students are improving, says research

Universities' responses to questions from international students who are interested in applying to them are better now than last year, according to a report.

Researchers behind the 2025 Enquiry Experience Tracker Global Report contacted 103 universities and colleges via channels including email, phone and chatbot while adopting different international student personas.

Each institution was rated on 51 criteria including clarity and personalisation, resulting in an overall score out of 100. This year, the average score was 61, which is up from 55 in 2024, and 51 in the two previous years.

The best performer was Australia's James Cook University, which received an overall score of 85. Number one in the UK was the University of South Wales, and in North America it was the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

International students' positivity is growing in New Zealand

The proportion of international students who say their experience of New Zealand was positive has risen to 87 per cent, according to a government report.

The country's 2025 International Student Experience Survey found an annual growth of one percentage point on the measure. Further, it saw a rise of two points with students who described their experience as excellent (43 per cent).

Among the 5,420 current students and recent graduates who took part in the survey, positivity was most common about the people they met in New Zealand (92 per cent) and the quality of their education (90 per cent). Both rates grew year-on-year.

Harvard tops ARWU world rankings once more

Harvard has been named the world's best university by the 2025 ARWU rankings, a title it has held every year since the list was established in 2003. As in the last four years, it is followed by Stanford and MIT. While the top 10 comprises only institutions from the USA and UK, other countries are prominent. Almost a quarter of those in the top 1000 are based in China.

Here are the top-ranked universities in some popular study abroad destinations:

New Zealand's international student growth plan will expand work rights

International students in New Zealand will be able to work for longer each week from November 3, as part of a new government plan to attract more learners to the country.

Work limits for eligible tertiary education and secondary school students will increase to 25 hours per week (up from 20 hours). In addition, more students will become eligible to work. Those who study in New Zealand temporarily while enrolled in another country (such as exchange students) will be given the opportunity.

The government's International Education Going for Growth plan also promises improvements to student visa processes, and a new six-month work visa for some vocational graduates. It is aimed at raising international student enrolments at all study levels from 83,400 in 2024 to 105,000 in 2027 and 119,000 by 2034.

Learn more about international student work rights in New Zealand.

International student numbers grew in New Zealand last year

A total of 25,880 international students attended university in New Zealand in 2024, up by around 20 percent from the year before. The figure was almost twice as high as in 2022, but just short of the total of 28,000 in 2019. The most popular subject for international students was management and commerce, representing 28 per cent of university enrolments.