The Government has announced that it will allow 1,000 select international students to arrive from the middle of 2022.
The border class exception will permit 400 pilot trainees, 300 students at degree level and above and a further 300 students at the sub-degree level to arrive, with education providers nominating students from October 2021.
Successful students will begin their visa process in January 2022, before the first students begin to land in New Zealand from March, the plans suggest.
Students taking part in the return plan will need to be fully vaccinated. Three vaccines are currently approved by New Zealand for use in the country – Pfizer/ BioNTech, Janssen and Oxford AstraZeneca. However, it will accept 23 vaccinations, including those approved by governments in China and India.
The University of Auckland will work with the government to determine a process for nominations and will connect with eligible students in the coming weeks. Students in this cohort will be able to enter NZ from March through the MIQ [Managed isolation and quarantine] system and are required to be fully vaccinated.