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

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:

• "New Zealand confirms border reopening; first international students to return April 2022"
• "New Zealand launches new website for international students"