Student visa eligibility in the context of distance-delivery papers
Xintong made this Official Information request to Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
This request has an unknown status. We're waiting for Xintong to read a recent response and update the status.
From: Xintong
Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,
I am writing this letter requesting information on two issues.
___________________________________________________________________
Issue 1: Practical Study in Distance Learning
On the website regarding the fee-paying student visa, there is a statement saying:
"You can apply for this visa if you are a distance learning or correspondence student studying outside New Zealand and you need to visit New Zealand for more than 3 months to attend your education provider, for example to do practical study or sit exams."
However, I find the statement vague and have encountered discrepant explanations. I am writing this letter requesting a detailed (glossary) explanation, based on the Operational Manual for visa officers, of the following points:
--- What counts as a "distance" program and who counts as a "distance student"? For the first matter, is there a minimum proportion of "non-distance" (i.e. internal) credits in a program for the program to be considered as "non-distance"? For example, at least 50% of credits per semester should be "internal" for the program to be considered an internal program. Is there any regulation to this effect?
For the second matter, is there a minimum requirement on the in-person (i.e. internal) credits one should take to qualify as a "non-distance" student?
--- What counts as practical study? Could you give me some concrete examples? For example, what about the teaching practicum in a Graduate Diploma of Education/Learning and Teaching program? Does it count as "practical study"?
--- What does "attend your education provider" mean? Does it mean that the student has to be present at the physical address of the campus (i.e. the practical study has to be on-site on the campus), or could the practical study be in a New Zealand city different from the address of the institute running the program?
--- What distance programs, offered by what institutions fall under this category, i.e. distance students enrolled in these programs would still be eligible for the student visa to do practical study?
_________________________________________________________________
Issue 2: Status of a particular degree program
The second issue is about the status of the Graduate Diploma of Learning and Teaching (Secondary) offered by Massey University, on the Manawatu Campus. Is this still a program open to international students, or it no longer meets the immigration regulations for student visas to be granted?
Yours faithfully,
Xintong and Gaoyang
From: NoReplyMinisterialServices
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Kia ora Xintong and Gaoyang,
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 5/12/2024 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
What counts as a "distance" program and who counts as a "distance
student"? For the first matter, is there a minimum proportion of
"non-distance" (i.e. internal) credits in a program for the program to be
considered as "non-distance"? For example, at least 50% of credits per
semester should be "internal" for the program to be considered an internal
program. Is there any regulation to this effect?
For the second matter, is there a minimum requirement on the in-person
(i.e. internal) credits one should take to qualify as a "non-distance"
student?
--- What counts as practical study? Could you give me some concrete
examples? For example, what about the teaching practicum in a Graduate
Diploma of Education/Learning and Teaching program? Does it count as
"practical study"?
--- What does "attend your education provider" mean? Does it mean that the
student has to be present at the physical address of the campus (i.e. the
practical study has to be on-site on the campus), or could the practical
study be in a New Zealand city different from the address of the institute
running the program?
--- What distance programs, offered by what institutions fall under this
category, i.e. distance students enrolled in these programs would still be
eligible for the student visa to do practical study?
The second issue is about the status of the Graduate Diploma of Learning
and Teaching (Secondary) offered by Massey University, on the Manawatu
Campus. Is this still a program open to international students, or it no
longer meets the immigration regulations for student visas to be granted?
Please note that the days from 25 December 2024 to 15 January 2025
(inclusive) are defined as non-working days in the Act and are not counted
in the calculation for the response due date. This will affect the time
period for responding to your request.
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 24/01/2025, being 20 working days after the day your request
was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe. If you have any enquiries
regarding your request feel free to contact us via email to
[1][MBIE request email].
Nāku noa, nā
Ministerial Services
Strategy and Assurance
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011 | P O Box 1473 Wellington 6140
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[MBIE request email]
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence
Offensive? Unsuitable?
Requests for personal information and vexatious requests are not considered valid requests for Official Information (read more).
If you believe this request is not suitable, you can report it for attention by the site administrators
Report this request