New Zealand grants more work and student visas but residence approvals keep falling

2026-09-21 20:36autor: Linda Hu

resumenNew Zealand is seeing a clear split in its visa trends: work and student visa numbers are rising while residence visa approvals continue to decline. Data from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment shows 200,805 people held work visas at the end of August, while residence approvals for the past 12 months fell 9.7% year-on-year. The divergence has direct implications for migrants planning long-term settlement, including many in the Chinese community.

HouGarden New Zealand, 21 September — Data released by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), which incorporates Immigration New Zealand, shows that work and student visa holders increased year-on-year at the end of August, while residence visa approvals fell over the same period. The contrast between these trends — not three separate stories — defines what is happening to New Zealand's migration intake right now.

Work visa holders numbered 200,805 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. That figure represents the stock of people currently in New Zealand on work visas at a single point in time.

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Separately, MBIE data shows that 200,967 work visas were approved across the 12 months to August — a flow figure measuring grants over a full year, up 6.8% compared to the same 12-month period ending August last year. In the single month of August alone, 17,499 work visas were approved, up 3.0% compared to August last year and up 19.1% compared to August 2024.

Student visa numbers tell a similar story of growth. At the end of August, 93,618 people were in New Zealand on student visas, up 9.2% compared to the end of August last year and up 28.1% compared to the end of August 2024.

Of those 93,618 student visa holders, 55,827 were fee-paying students — mostly tertiary students covering the full cost of their education — up 9.5% compared to August last year. A further 33,579 were dependents of work visa holders, mostly school-aged children who attend New Zealand schools on the same fee basis as residents and citizens. That dependent cohort was up 1.6% compared to August last year and up 20.0% compared to August 2024, and MBIE says the figure is the highest for this time of year in its records, which stretch back to 2016. For Chinese families considering education pathways in New Zealand, the rise in both fee-paying students and work-visa dependents reflects a continued and growing presence.

Residence visas moved in the opposite direction. MBIE approved 3,702 residence visas in August, down 7.0% compared to August last year and down 32.5% — almost a third — compared to August 2024.

Over the 12 months to August, 47,577 residence visas were approved, down 9.7% compared to the 12 months to August last year and down 17.5% compared to the 12 months to August 2024. The two year-on-year comparisons use different base periods and are not interchangeable: the 9.7% decline measures the drop from last year's 12-month total, while the 17.5% decline measures the drop from the equivalent period two years ago.

In practical terms, the falling residence figures mean fewer people are securing the permanent status that allows them to stay in New Zealand indefinitely, bring family members, and access the full range of public services. For migrants — including those from China who make up a significant share of residence applicants — a sustained downward trend in approvals makes long-term settlement planning more uncertain, even as work and study opportunities in the country continue to expand.

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