Konnichiwa besties,
International Rep Buki here. If you haven’t heard, there was a shocking announcement from the government last month that visa fees will skyrocket from the 1st of October. Student visas are doubling from $375 to $750. Post-Study Work visas are more than doubling, rising from $700 to $1670. The news has completely blindsided every international student planning to stay here next year for study/work. This decision threatens to derail and disrupt our study plans, and it’s been a gut punch to many of us.
Because a valid visa is an absolute must to be here, this fee increase is a price tag on continuity and community. It’s a price tag on continuing to see our friends, a further price tag on taking that paper next year, and a price tag on seeing the cherry blossoms on Clocktower Lawn bloom again next year.
These increases are over four times more than necessary to cover deficits and make Immigration NZ self-funded, which is what National campaigned on. So that leaves the question: where’s the rest of the money going? The government promises that this is for upgrading the visa processing system, and that “running costs will reduce over time and efficiencies will improve.” I’m expecting that once that happens, the fees will come back down, and the processing times will get faster, right? We’ll keep an eye on that.
So how does this affect you if you’re a domestic student? Well, call me biased, but I’ve seen first-hand how much international students here at Otago contribute to the diverse cultural fabric and vibrancy of the student community. Our cultural clubs are always running truly amazing events, open to everyone, to great success. I worry that if admin fees like this keep going up, on top of ever-increasing uni fees and the general cost of living, cultural clubs are going to be under more and more financial pressure. The existence and frequency of these events, and the clubs’ existence in general, will be at stake. If that happens, we’ll all miss out.
International students, if you have any anecdotes of how these hikes personally affect you, you can always talk to me in person or email at international@otago.ac.nz. I’m collating feedback to send through the relevant channels.
And you! Yes, you! There’s a bunch of upcoming events lined up by our cultural clubs still left in the year. Go follow their socials, look out for posters, and keep an eye out. Even if you’ve never been to any of them before, even if you know nothing about the culture, you are always welcome to come along! Come support us in person, and you’ll see what I mean about these amazing clubs, and why they are so important to our student culture. I’ll see you there :))
Ibuki Nishida
International Rep