Foreign student numbers down 61% on pre-pandemic levels, foreign workers down 36%

The number of people in New Zealand on work and student visas continues to decline even as the border opens up.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, show the number of people in NZ on work visas dropped to 141,702 at the end of May, down from 149,304 at the end of April, and 186,306 at the end of May last year.

That means the number of people on work visas has dropped by 79,032 (-35.8%) since it peaked at 220,734 in March 2020, when wide ranging pandemic border restrictions were first introduced.

The number of foreign students also continues to decline, with MBIE recording 32,178 people in NZ on student visas at the end of May.

The number of foreign students has declined in every month since February 2020 when there 82,977.

Since then their numbers have dropped by 50,799 (-61.1%).

However there are early signs that the number of foreign workers and students in NZ could start rising again soon.

The number of work visas being approved is at elevated levels with 23,238 approved in May, and 32,556 approved in April.

Prior to that the number of work visas being approved was running at about 12,000 a month.

There was also a jump in the number of student visas being approved for the first time, with 1344 approved in May, up from 387 in April.

Over the previous 12 months about 300-400 student visas a month were approved.

The May figures also show there has been a slowdown in the number of residence visas being approved.

Last last year residence visas approvals were running at about 1500 a month, but shot up dramatically to between 11,000 and 13,500 a month between January and April this year, after the Government introduced the special 2021 Residence Visa Scheme, which provided a fast track approval process for people who had already been in NZ for several years on work visas.

However the number of residence visas approved in May dropped back to 7500, which could suggest that the majority of people intending to apply for the special visas may now have done so.

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