There has been a shift in the pattern of visas being issued for people coming to New Zealand to live, work or study, with work and student visa numbers continuing to increase while residence visa numbers have been declining.
The latest visa data from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), which incorporates Immigration NZ, shows the number of foreign workers on work visas at the end of August was up 4.2% year-on-year, while overseas student numbers were up 9.2%.
However, residence visas headed in the opposite direction, with 47,577 residence visas approved in the 12 months to August, down 9.7% year-on-year.
See below for the latest trends for each type of visa:
Work Visas
- 17,499 work visas were approved in August this year, up 3.0% compared to August last year and up 19.1% compared to August 2024.
- In the 12 months to August, 200,967 work visas were approved, up 6.8% compared to the 12 months to August last year.
- In total there were 200,805 people in NZ on work visas at the end of August, up 4.2% compared to the end of August last year and up 6.2% compared to the end of August 2024.
Student Visas
- There were 93,618 people in NZ on student visas at the end of August, up 9.2% compared to August last year and up 28.1% compared to August 2024.
- Of the 93,618 overseas students in the country, 55,827 were fee paying students. These are mostly tertiary students paying the full cost of their education. Their numbers are up 9.5% compared to August last year.
- Another 33,579 students were dependents of people in NZ on work visas. They are mostly school aged children and do not pay for their education, apart from the normal school fees which NZ residents and citizens also pay. Their numbers were up 1.6% compared to August last year and up 20.0% compared to August 2024. Their numbers are at their highest level for the time of year in the MBIE database which goes back to 2016. (Story continues after graph).
The graph below shows the changes in fee paying student numbers since 2016.
Residence Visas
- There were 3702 residence visas approved in August, down 7.0% compared to August last year and down by almost a third (32.5%) compared to August 2024.
In the 12 months to August this year, 47,577 residence visas were approved, down 9.7% compared to the 12 months to August 2025 and down 17.5% compared to the 12 months to August 2024.
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