18 August 2025
Janelle Han
[FYI request #31612 email]
DOIA-REQ-0017834
Tēnā koe Janelle
Thank you for your email of 16 July 2025 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the fol owing:
[…] we are seeking monthly data on offshore-lodged student visa applications (both fee-paying
and pathway categories) from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2025.
We would appreciate if the data could be broken down by:
*Month of application outcome, and
*Applicant’s passport country, limited to Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
For each country, please provide:
*Number of applications approved
*Number of applications declined
*Number of applications withdrew
On 23 July 2025, we asked you to clarify if you were seeking data on the fee-paying and pathway
international student visa applications only; or on all categories of international student visa application
types. On the same date, you confirmed that you were interested in all categories of international
student visas.
Our Response
Please refer to the attached appendix for the data requested.
We have included decisions from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2025, regardless of when the application was
submitted. The data includes the fol owing international student visa application types: English language
studies; exchange; scholarship; pathway and full fee paying.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802
602.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contac
t [email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Celia Coombes
Director Visa - Students
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Appendix
Table 1: The number of approved, declined and withdrawn international student visa applications
lodged offshore by Myanmar nationals for the period from 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025.
Decided month
Approved
Declined Withdrawn
2023-07
9
9
1
2023-08
10
4
0
2023-09
6
3
0
2023-10
7
4
1
2023-11
6
7
0
2023-12
20
13
0
2024-01
11
2
0
2024-02
27
20
0
2024-03
27
15
2
2024-04
27
6
0
2024-05
47
2
0
2024-06
10
19
1
2024-07
13
42
0
2024-08
3
29
0
2024-09
9
34
0
2024-10
19
53
0
2024-11
15
58
0
2024-12
15
42
0
2025-01
18
27
0
2025-02
26
15
0
2025-03
26
13
0
2025-04
30
28
1
2025-05
25
21
0
2025-06
22
32
1
Table 2: The number of approved, declined and withdrawn international student visa applications
lodged offshore by Thai nationals for the period from 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025.
Decided month
Approved Declined Withdrawn
2023-07
136
15
0
2023-08
81
23
1
2023-09
130
12
0
2023-10
119
15
0
2023-11
88
19
0
2023-12
141
12
1
2024-01
156
12
0
2024-02
168
10
3
2024-03
163
21
0
2024-04
145
26
0
2024-05
99
21
0
2024-06
90
13
0
2024-07
87
9
0
2024-08
87
18
0
Decided month
Approved Declined Withdrawn
2024-09
72
13
1
2024-10
168
21
0
2024-11
86
10
2
2024-12
103
1
0
2025-01
129
1
0
2025-02
121
2
1
2025-03
68
3
1
2025-04
60
2
1
2025-05
97
2
0
2025-06
67
2
0
Table 3: The number of approved, declined and withdrawn international student visa applications
lodged offshore by Vietnamese nationals for the period from 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025.
Decided month
Approved Declined
Withdrawn
2023-07
55
17
0
2023-08
33
9
0
2023-09
8
4
0
2023-10
26
7
0
2023-11
28
9
0
2023-12
39
10
0
2024-01
83
2
2
2024-02
102
12
2
2024-03
58
8
0
2024-04
51
3
1
2024-05
41
2
1
2024-06
57
7
0
2024-07
56
8
2
2024-08
25
11
1
2024-09
42
28
1
2024-10
50
46
0
2024-11
60
29
1
2024-12
70
22
0
2025-01
86
13
2
2025-02
91
21
0
2025-03
33
10
0
2025-04
37
4
1
2025-05
63
12
0
2025-06
83
13
0
