EduLife

New Zealand quick student visas on way

International students may be able to bypass the immigration department when getting visas under a new scheme to increase enrolment. Immigration New Zealand chief executive Nigel Bickle said that "trusted institutions" could get the power to make visa decisions for students – as was done in Britain. "We hope with investment and technology, more high-value and low-risk students will be able to get visas without ever having to interact with Immigration. Automated decision-making will be the future," he said. The move supported the department's 2015 Vision, "to be recognised as a trusted partner delivering outstanding immigration services and bringing the best people New Zealand needs to prosper". The "ambitious yet realistic" bid to speed up student-application processing times domestically and globally was vital to staying competitive in the market, he said. "The processing of student-visa applications occurs in all parts of the world and it is vital that we stay competitive in delivering fast and accurate decisions in all of our visa processing locations." The current "service standard" was to process 80 per cent of all student applications, all over the world, within 30 days. As at March 2011, 89 per cent of student applications across the board were being processed within 30 days on average. By this time next year, Immigration hoped to improve that to 90 per cent in 25 days. Immigration was going to take a more "innovative and risk-based" approach including "upping its game" in the critical markets of China and India, he said. "Expanding these markets will help the export education sector grow into a $5 billion-dollar a year export earner which it has the potential to do." Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology's International director Beth Knowles said quicker visa processing was important to secure enrolments. "You can lose a student to other countries if it takes too long. It's a very competitive industry with other countries," she said. "I think it is very positive Immigration is looking at lots of different options." At present CPIT could renew straightforward visas online, however some visa renewals had to be done through Immigration and could take time. "That is not a good thing for the institution because the student is already here ... because they might want to study for the next semester but they cannot attend classes," Knowles said. Lincoln University international marketing director Ian Douthwaite said he welcomed the long-term risk-based, high-trust vision. "Immigration policies and processes are always an important factor in influencing students' choice of study destinations. We're pleased with the way Immigration New Zealand has worked steadily to improve processes and service delivery and how they consult with the education sector and listen to our needs when making changes," he said. Canterbury University's pro-vice-chancellor, student services and international Nello Angerilli said the university was supportive of measures that enabled high-quality international students to choose New Zealand. Ref - The Press