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New Zealand¡¯s universities achieved record revenue from international tuition fees last year, even though overseas enrolments had not fully recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, Ministry of Education statistics reveal.

The eight institutions¡¯ collective NZ$581 million (?258 million) in earnings from foreign students ¨C about NZ$1 million more than they had attracted in the pre-pandemic bumper year of 2019 ¨C was a result of fee increases as well as recovering numbers.

Almost 26,000 foreigners studied at kiwi universities last year ¨C around one-fifth more than in 2023 and almost double the 2022 tally, but about one-twelfth below the 2019 peak of 28,000-plus overseas enrolments.

The incomplete recovery was more than offset by an upsurge in average fees, which rose almost 16 per cent to NZ$31,852.

China contributed 43 per cent of international enrolments in New Zealand, followed by India with 17 per cent, the US with 7 per cent and Japan with 5 per cent. Twenty-eight per cent of foreign students undertook management and commerce degrees, with society, culture and English language courses accounting for another 18 per cent.

Auckland was easily the top-choice destination city, attracting 57 per cent of overseas students.

International education is one of the few viable sources of revenue growth for New Zealand¡¯s universities, after public funding declined in real terms in the May budget. Unlike its anglophone counterparts, New Zealand¡¯s government has not enacted policies to suppress foreign enrolments.

By contrast, prime minister Christopher Luxon¡¯s National Party has backed increases to overseas student numbers. Its 2023 election platform included policies to expand work rights for international students and their partners, and offer a fast-tracked visa processing service for foreign students prepared to pay extra.

Meanwhile, applications for visas to undertake degrees in Australia have reached their second monthly record in a row, suggesting that an anticipated decline in universities¡¯ international earnings may not be as bad as feared ¨C but also hinting that the federal government may feel compelled to trial new measures to limit foreign student numbers.

Over 16,500 applications for higher education visas were submitted in April, eclipsing the previous April record of 15,900 in 2023, according to the latest available statistics from the Department of ÍøÆØÃÅ Affairs. March also attracted record applications for the month.

Over 12,600 higher education visas were granted in April, down from a record 13,100 in the same month of 2023 but up from 10,800 last year. Visa grant rates have rebounded from record lows in 2023 and 2024, but remain at lower levels than in earlier years.

The figures suggest a turnaround from January and February, when visa applications and issuances were among the lowest in years. But Monash University policy expert Andrew Norton said there was evidence of a ¡°slowdown¡± in visa processing, as expected under ministerial direction 111, the government¡¯s latest mechanism to contain overseas arrivals.

Norton that while overall student visa applications so far this year were 19 per cent down on the equivalent period in 2024, the number of applications processed had decreased by 34 per cent.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com