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Summarised by Centrist
International master’s students now outnumber domestic master’s students for the first time. Education Ministry figures show nearly 15,000 full-time equivalent international students were enrolled in master’s programmes last year, compared with just under 11,000 domestic students.
The international figure was almost 50% higher than in 2024.
The Platform’s Michael Laws says for many foreign students, “It’s nothing to do with getting an academic qualification and everything to do with New Zealand’s visa and points system for permanent residents.”
“The easiest way to actually make sure that you accumulate enough for PR in this country is to get yourself a master’s degree,” he said.
Immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont said, “by doing a master’s degree in New Zealand, you can get all of the points that you need to apply for residency”, provided the graduate then gets a skilled job.
McClymont said looming August changes were shifting interest toward “the cheapest and easiest master’s degrees” so students could get a postgrad work visa and then seek skilled work.
Laws said many people may not realise how much the master’s degree market has changed. “A master’s degree is a short course. It’s one year,” he said, arguing that some universities now treat it less like a traditional postgraduate qualification and more like a standalone immigration-linked credential.
“Now, theoretically, you’re meant to have an undergraduate degree to allow you into a master’s course, but no, not all the time,” he said.
Education New Zealand acting chief executive Linda Sissons said a master’s degree is “high enough level” and “brief enough” to be seen as leading to employment.
Editor’s note: This issue also connects to the proposed India-New Zealand free trade agreement. Joshua Riley, leader of the political group Sovereign, made a related point on RCR, arguing the India FTA shows these pathways are no longer just domestic immigration settings. “It’s not so much a free trade agreement as it is other things,” he said.
Annex 8F of the agreement says: “Neither Party shall impose any numerical limits on the admission and entry of students from the other Party to recognised education institutions in their respective territory.”
It also says New Zealand agrees to maintain post-study work opportunities for Indian students who complete a “master’s by research or master’s by coursework”, with “periods of stay of up to three years”, subject to all relevant immigration requirements.
This does not mean every student automatically gets residence. But it does show the pathway is being written into a trade agreement, not just ordinary domestic immigration policy.
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