Accepting international students and fees

Accepting international students

Written parental permission needed for relocating students

All hosting, transfer or enrolment requests, including from schools, international students and agents, should be accompanied with written permission from the student’s parents. This includes any new accommodation arrangements.

Short-term hosting international students from Christchurch

Any school may host an international student from the Christchurch earthquake zone. This hosting is not Ministry-funded. However, we encourage all schools receiving temporary relocation requests from schools or from international students’ parents, to welcome these students into their school community.

Any school may host these guest students:

• without enrolling the student i.e. do not enter the guest student in ENROL*
• without charging or receiving international fees
• without paying the Government levy, and
• without the student applying for a new visa or variation of conditions (VOC).  

Host schools must record all guest students’ details on the ‘Short-term hosting international students from Christchurch’ template below. Email it the Ministry’s Code of Practice office info.code@minedu.govt.nz or fax to 09 632 9468. This also allows us to know how many international students remain in Christchurch.

If your school is temporarily hosting international students who don’t wish to return to Christchurch, see the international education pages or contact a Code of Practice school about enrolment possibilities.

Enrolling international students (Code of Practice schools only)

Some international students relocating from Christchurch may wish to enrol at a new school. These students may only enrol at Code of Practice schools and must pay international fees.

If you’re enrolling international students from Christchurch, follow your normal enrolment procedures for international students.

Student visas

For student visa information international students can visit the Immigration New Zealand website or phone tem on 0508 558 855. 

International student transfers and fees

Sector bodies and the Ministry have agreed on the following best practice protocols for receiving schools to manage transfers and fees for international students affected by the Christchurch earthquake.

Show compassion

We ask schools to show a compassionate approach to displaced students when relocating them. We also ask you to be sensitive to the possible impacts of decisions that students, their parents or agents and you as the receiving school may make.

Establish need first

If an agent, parent or student approaches your school seeking a transfer because of the earthquake, please try to establish the need for the transfer.

Sometimes a proposed move may be motivated by anxiety rather than damage to the school or homestay. In these situations, discuss the pros and cons of moving with the agent, parents and/or student as well as the student’s home school, if possible.

As the receiving school, you should check that the person seeking to transfer a student has the authority to do so.

Temporary or permanent transfer

When you’ve established the need and authority, find out if the student is transferring temporarily, permanently or if this is unknown. Follow the procedures in Accepting international students from the earthquake zone.

We recommend that receiving schools host student temporarily. Encourage them to return to their home school if or when it’s open and appropriate homestay accommodation is available.

Agents’ fees

If an agent is involved and the home school has already paid agents’ fees, we advise you to consider declining to pay agents’ fees. Talking to the home school may help.

School fees

Each school will have different circumstances. We recommend that receiving schools do not charge a fee for the remainder of the term, as the student has already paid this at a home school.

If the student stays enrolled beyond the term then you should reach an agreement, well in advance, with the home school about transferring fees already paid. Consider charging fees at the same level as those set by the home school.

Contact for questions

If you have any questions about international students, please phone the Code Office on 09 632 9513 or email info.code@minedu.govt.nz.