9/09/2025
William
[FYI request #31847 email]
Tēnā koe William
OIA: 1352269 – Information relating to children of Temporary Visa holders attending school
in New Zealand
Thank you for your email which was transferred on 12 August 2025 to the Ministry of Education
(the Ministry) requesting the following information:
[I] am writing to request detailed information and seek clarification regarding the New
Zealand Government's budget allocation and policy approach toward the education of
children who enter New Zealand based on their parent’s temporary visa status—particularly
those who are currently entitled to enrol in state schools as domestic students, often with
no tuition fees.
Specifically, I am seeking answers to the following:
1. What is the total annual budget spent by the Ministry of Education on educating children
of temporary visa holders who are classified as domestic students?
2. How many such children are currently enrolled in the school system under this
classification?
3. What is the current capacity of the state school system, particularly in high-demand
areas, and has the government studied the impact of this cohort on school
infrastructure, staffing, and educational support services?
4. Has the government reviewed or assessed the long-term benefits or costs of continuing
to offer domestic tuition rates to the children of temporary visa holders?
5. Is there any plan to reassess or adjust the policy, especially in light of rising enrolments,
stretched school resources, and concerns about equitable access for resident children?
I recognise that New Zealand is a country that values openness and diversity, and that
many families on temporary visas make valuable contributions to society. However, with
increasing pressure on education infrastructure, I believe it is reasonable and responsible
to ask whether current policies remain fit for purpose.
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wel ington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
I would appreciate a detailed response, including any recent data, modelling, or reviews the
Ministry has undertaken on this matter. If this request is more appropriate for another
Ministry or agency, I would be grateful if you could refer it accordingly.
Your request has been considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act). I have
numbered your request for ease of reference.
Section 10(1) of the Education and Training Act 2020 defines the different categories of domestic
student:
• Domestic student (permanent): These students are New Zealand citizens or residents
(including Australian citizens) who are entitled to an ongoing free education in New
Zealand.
• Domestic student (time-bound): These students are typically from overseas who hold a
current student visa and fit into one of the classes or descriptions specified in the Education
(Domestic Students) Notice 2023. These students are entitled to free education in New
Zealand for a finite period.
The Education (Domestic Students) Notice 2023 sets out the current classes and descriptions of
time-bound domestic students and is publicly available here:
https://gazet e.govt.nz/notice/id/2023-
go4495. To be a domestic student, both the parent and their dependent child must fit into one of
the classes or descriptions listed in the Gazette Notice.
People who do not meet any of the classes or descriptions of domestic student may be able to
enrol in a school as an international fee-paying student. Whether or not to enrol an international
fee-paying student is at the discretion of each school board. Schools do not receive any
government funding for these students.
In response to
part one of your request, within Vote Education funding, there is no dif erentiation
for different classes of domestic students however, the Ministry does publish the average per-pupil
funding rates that apply to all domestic students, here:
https:/ www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/per-student-funding.
I am therefore refusing
part one of your request under section 18(g), as the information requested
is not held by the Ministry and I have no grounds for believing that the information is either held by
another department or interdepartmental venture or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or by a
local authority.
In response to
part two of your request, as of 1 September 2025, there are 37,691 time-bound
domestic students enrolled in New Zealand schools. As described above, ‘time-bound domestic
student’ is the classification children of temporary visa holders generally fall under. It is worth
noting this classification includes more than just the dependents of people with temporary visas.
There are other types of requirements that are not related to parental visitor visas such as
overseas adoption or student exchanges. I am therefore refusing
part two of your request under
section 18(g) of the Act, as above.
OIA: 1352269
In regard to
part three of your request, the wording is incredibly broad, and it would amount to
substantial collation and research to meet this part of the request. We did consider whether
clarifying would assist in answering this part of the request, however, the Ministry does have some
publicly available information that might be helpful in the first instance. You can find key documents
that outline the current state of the schools across our 10 education regions and 119 catchments
here:
https://www.education.govt.nz/education-professionals/schools-year-0-13/administration-and-
management/network-planning.
Furthermore, monitoring school rolls is a key part of school network planning and monitoring. This
includes both areas of growth and population decline. We manage school networks nationwide
using a range of data including population projections, planned housing developments, census
data, local council information, how well schools are utilised, enrolment data and other local
factors. When a school or a catchment of schools is nearing its capacity, we will work with schools
and the community to actively manage the roll. This may be through new or adjusted enrolment
schemes if capacity exists nearby, or through adding additional classrooms or new schooling
provision to the network.
In response to
parts four and five of your request, the Government has not reviewed or
reassessed long-term benefits or costs of current settings for time-bound domestic students. There
are currently no plans to reassess or adjust current settings.
However, we note the following key principles underpin the classes and descriptions of time-bound
domestic students:
•
Their parents provide a significant, ongoing contribution to New Zealand: This may
be through addressing skil ed worker shortages or contributing to the research and
development in the case of PhD study. It is possible that parents and their children may
move back to their home country after the child has received their qualification; however,
their parents provide a significant contribution for the duration of their stay.
•
The obligation for the Crown to provide education while students are in New
Zealand: There may be an obligation for the Crown to provide education to some groups of
students while they stay in New Zealand. This may be because of prior agreement, such as
being on an approved exchange. It may also be due to their or their parent’s status, such as
being a New Zealand citizen or resident, refugee, or protected person.
•
Extenuating circumstances: This includes situations or scenarios outside the student’s
control. In these cases, we consider that providing time-bound domestic student status
gives security and a routine through their continued access to education.
•
Financial impact: This weighs the potential (and ongoing) financial impact to the Crown. It
includes whether the education system can readily take on the potential students that would
be eligible for school resourcing, e.g. learning support services.
Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and
contact details wil be removed.
OIA: 1352269
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Alanna Sullivan-Vaughan
Senior Policy Manager
Te Pou Kaupapahere | Policy
OIA: 1352269
