‘Landing on solid ground’: International students as migrants in New Zealand

Abstract

Export education is New Zealand’s fifth largest export sector, valued at about $2.85 billion in 2014 (Education New Zealand, 2017). Yet it is international students who are the human face of this revenue injection. This paper, based on survey data of international students from two New Zealand universities, analyses the migration process that these students experience. Issues explored include: expectations pre-departure and post-arrival; maintenance of family ties; and integration in the university culture. These issues are important as they illuminate the migration process of a large body of predominately young tertiary students who are having and will have an impact on New Zealand society.