About New Pilot Pathway Visa Program
New Zealand government has launched five year pathway visa that will allow international students to study three consecutive programs over a period of five years. According to this program, students can study 3 different programs under a single visa for the period of 5 years during their stay in New Zealand. Students do not need to apply for a new visa during their tenure but can study 3 programs at a time. The launch of this program will retain international students studying in New Zealand. For now, it is just a pilot program, which will last for 18 months and will cover 500 institutions. There has been a significant increase in the number of students by 16% in the year 2014-2015.
Benefits of Pathway Visa
- Students can stay up to 5 years
- Students can study up to 3 courses, one after the other on a single visa
- Students can work part time up to 20 hours per week depending upon their course of study.
Benefits to Education Providers
- It reduces hassle and cost
- It provides students and their families certainty
- Students can concentrate on their studies without having to worry about their visa applications.
Application Requirements
There are several requirements to be met in order to apply for pathway visa. Some of the admission requirements are mentioned herein below:-
- Students must get an offer of admission from a participating provider. If a programme has multiple providers, students are supposed to present a joint covering letter from the providers to Immigration New Zealand.
- Students must also present proofs of funds for the first programme as well as maintenance funds of NZ$15,000 for the first year of study.
This programme may be offered by a single institution or by multiple providers. Students can find full list of the participating institutions on the Immigration New Zealand website. The government of New Zealand has put several safeguards in place, which are-
- Education providers must have 90% student visa approval rate for the period of 12 months
- The participating education providers must enter into a formal agreement ensuring appropriate student support services.
Purpose of New Pilot Pathway Programme
Under new pilot pathway programme, students will be offered work rights right from the beginning of the pathway visa. The New Zealand government has firm believe that pathway student visas will retain more international students this way making New Zealand more competitive among other countries. In the period of 18 months, INZ would evaluate outcomes of the pathway student visa pilot programme. INZ would evaluate transition rates from the first to second programme of study. The latest changes in the New Zealand immigration system are streamlined to attract more international students.
The new pilot pathway programme is definitely going to bring new opportunities for the international students without having to get new visa for different programs. Let’s see how the transition rate affects the economy of the New Zealand.