Children of the One-off 2021 Residence Visa applicants Benefitted.

NZ Government's new announcement to support the children of the One-off 2021 Residence Visa applicants.

Immigration New Zealand has announced a one-off, simplified pathway to residence; the 2021 Resident Visa, in September 2021. It is expected to benefit 165,000 migrants who are currently in New Zealand. The One-off residence pathway is intended to provide certainty to migrants and businesses. This visa creates residence pathways for over 5,000 health and aged care workers, around 9,000 primary industry workers, and more than 800 teachers. The majority of applications are to be granted within a year of the category opening.

The NZ government has released a new announcement to mitigate the uncertainty in the education of the children of those who are applying for the One-off 2021 residence visa. The Government is granting the children of those on the 2021 Residence Visa pathway, domestic tertiary student status from 1 January 2022.

This announcement assures the children, their families and education providers that they can enrol as domestic college or university students from 1 January 2022 rather than after their residency visa has been processed. Additional direction on the process to apply for this student visa will be released in the coming weeks. Eligible students can apply for a student visa to undertake tertiary study as a domestic tertiary student from 1 January 2022.

Must-Know Terms :

• Only the children of eligible work-visa holders, who are 25 years or under on 1 January 2022, and residing in New Zealand, will gain domestic tertiary student status for this period.

• This extension to this specific group is time-limited from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023.

• This covers two calendar years to provide certainty for learners and tertiary providers if residence applications are still outstanding late in 2022 when enrolments for 2023 start.

• Domestic tertiary students will benefit from paying reduced fees instead of international fees, as domestic tertiary students are subsidised by the government.

• The students will also get access to some programmes that are fees-free, such as Youth Guarantee, level 1-2 foundation qualifications, and programmes funded through the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (until this fund ends on 31 December 2022) etc.

• To comply with Immigration New Zealand visa settings, an eligible student will need to hold a student visa if they are studying for longer than three months, with conditions that allow them to study at a tertiary education provider.

• These visas can be granted with an expiry date that either aligns with the expiry date of their parent’s visa or 31 December 2023, whichever is sooner.

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