Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
30th Mar 2022

New Zealand extends agency status through 2022; new agent applications still on hold

Short on time? Here are the highlights:
  • Education New Zealand has announced that new applications for its ENZ Recognised Agency Status programme will remain on hold until later this year
  • However, all agents currently in the programme will have their status protected until December 2022

Education New Zealand (ENZ) has announced that agencies that currently have ENZ Recognised Agency status will have that status extended until December 2022.

“COVID-19 has continued to impact us all for much longer than anticipated, and with the New Zealand border remaining closed to most, ENZ Recognised Agencies are still unable to meet the points and approval rate benchmarks as required by the programme,” explains a statement from ENZ. “We are going to roll over ENZ Recognised Agencies status for another 10 months while we continue to review the ENZRA programme to respond to this new environment.”

Under this approach all currently recognised agencies will remain in the programme for the rest of this year so long as they:

  • sign an updated agreement with ENZ;
  • remain a viable business;
  • meet conduct requirements.

The ENZ Recognised Agency programme provides for formal recognition of education agents referring students to New Zealand, and requires that they operate under a defined code of conduct and meet other programme requirements to maintain their status. This normally includes performance benchmarks for referral and engagement with New Zealand institutions and schools, and the status extension through 2022 reflects simply that those performance measures cannot be realistically applied this year due to New Zealand's extended border closures through the early part of this year.

Recognised agencies are highlighted throughout ENZ communications as part of New Zealand's agent engagement strategy, including on the recently launched Study in New Zealand website.

However, the recognition programme otherwise remains under review at this time, and applications from new agents seeking recognition status are not being accepted. ENZ had earlier indicated that the application process would reopen in early 2022, but has said more recently only that, "We acknowledge and appreciate the strong interest in education agencies wanting to join the programme. Further announcements will be made in due course."

Agents looking for more information are invited to open an account on ENZ's AgentLab platform.

For additional background, please see:

Most Recent

  • Australia: With ELICOS under pressure, peak bodies push for reduction in “extortionate” visa fees Read More
  • Mystery shopping study finds broad improvement in student enquiry handling this year Read More
  • South Korea hits its 300,000 student target two years ahead of schedule Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

Australia: With ELICOS under pressure, peak bodies push for reduction in “extortionate” visa fees The latest data from the Department of Education reveals that enrolments in Australia’s ELICOS sector (English Language Intensive...
Read more
South Korea hits its 300,000 student target two years ahead of schedule In 2023, the South Korean government announced a plan to attract 300,000 international students by 2027: 220,000 in...
Read more
Canada: Study permit numbers are in steep decline in 2025 In 2024, the first year under Canada’s current cap on new international student enrolments, the total number of...
Read more
UK confirms levy on international student fees as new analysis argues that government is “drastically underestimating” the impact of the move Updated for 30 September 2025: On 29 September, the Department of Education announced that it would reinstate “means-tested...
Read more
US administration’s new H-1B policies create uncertainty around post-study work rights The H-1B programme is a key policy mechanism for international students in the United States. Aside from the...
Read more
China leverages higher education capacity with expanded TNE partnerships As with most statistics about China, the latest higher education figures are a little dizzying. Enrolment in the...
Read more
France reports more than 443,000 international students in higher education for 2024/25 The latest data release from Campus France reports a record-high foreign enrolment in the country. There were 443,500...
Read more
Foreign enrolment in Canadian K-12 held steady in 2024/25 International student enrolment in public school boards in Canada declined marginally this year. The latest data from the...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links