Archive · 8 Oct 2026
Indian Student Visa Approval Rate Falls to 49.3%
Fewer Indian students are getting New Zealand student visas than in some earlier years.
In 2022, about 72 out of every 100 Indian applications were approved.
The approval rate fell to 48% in 2024 and rose to 59% in 2025.
In the first eight-and-a-half months of 2026, it was 49.3%.
The figures reported for Chinese applicants show much higher approval rates.
New Zealand's immigration agency says the difference is linked to the kinds of applications people submit, not their nationality.
The agency says financial information must be accurate and verifiable.
It also advises Indian students to apply early, especially before busy study intakes.
Indian student visa approval rates fell from about 72% in 2022 to 49.3% during the first eight-and-a-half months of 2026.
The rate dropped to 48% in 2024, rose to 59% in 2025, then declined again in 2026.
In 2024, New Zealand received 11,338 applications from Indians, approving 5,452 and declining 5,698.
Chinese applicants had substantially higher approval rates in the cited figures: 10,400 approvals from 10,996 applications in 2024.
Immigration New Zealand says differing outcomes reflect the mix and complexity of applications, and highlights concerns about inaccurate or misleading financial evidence.
- Who
- Indian students applying for New Zealand student visas, and Immigration New Zealand (INZ).
- What
- Indian applicants' visa approval rate was 49.3% in the reported 2026 period, amid a wider disparity with Chinese applicants.
- When
- The figures cover 2022 through the first eight-and-a-half months of 2026; separate offshore application data is reported from August 2025.
- Where
- New Zealand, for student visa applications from India and China.
- Why
- INZ attributes differences in outcomes to the mix and complexity of applications, and says financial evidence can be scrutinized for inaccuracies or misleading information.
INZ's explanation
Reported disparities
Why approval outcomes differ
INZ's explanation
INZ says differences reflect the mix and complexity of applications rather than nationality-based processing.
Reported disparities
The reported figures show substantially lower approval rates for Indian applicants than for Chinese applicants, including different rates of opportunity to respond to concerns.
Application scrutiny
INZ's explanation
INZ highlights inaccurate, false or misleading financial information as an area of concern and advises students to provide complete, verifiable documents.
Reported disparities
The report says only 13% of declined Indian applicants were allowed to respond to concerns before a decision, compared with 50% of Chinese applicants.
- Indian approval rate, 2022
- About 72%
- Indian approval rate, 2024
- 48%
- Indian approval rate, 2025
- 59%
- Indian approval rate, 2026
- 49.3% during the first eight-and-a-half months
- Indian applications, 2024
- 11,338 applications; 5,452 approved and 5,698 declined
- Chinese applications, 2024
- 10,996 applications; 10,400 approved and 432 declined
- Offshore declines since August 2025
- 41.2% for Indian applications compared with 2.4% for Chinese applications
- Opportunity to respond
- Among declined applicants, 13% of Indians and 50% of Chinese applicants were allowed to respond to concerns before a decision