Universities are being urged to help returning foreign students pay for their two-week stint in isolation hotels. In a first small step towards re-opening the border to the lucrative industry, 250 Masters or PhD students will be allowed into the country from next month. The move had been touted back in June, to help support the […]

Dr Ryan Radecki is an emergency medicine doctor from the state of Oregon. He relocated his family to Christchurch when New Zealand’s COVID-19 restrictions were lifted earlier this year. Part of the reason for him moving to New Zealand and taking a job at Christchurch Hospital was so his children could re-commence their studies, which […]

There is one new case of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand today. It is a person who arrived from the US and is now in quarantine. The Ministry of Health said the person tested positive on day three testing in managed isolation in Christchurch. They are now in quarantine. The person arrived from the US […]

While New Zealanders can be assured they are not being bombarded with “fake news”, there is evidence of misleading behaviour from some political parties, researchers say. Victoria University researchers Dr Mona Krewel and Professor Jack Vowles have been leading a team of coders examining the use of social media by political parties during the election campaign, and […]

Analysis – No fewer than five announcements in the last week have changed the immigration landscape for some workers, visitors and employers. Some partners of New Zealanders and temporary visa holders stuck overseas were given respite, and Labour announced it wants to give 10 percent of managed isolation facilities over to skilled foreign workers and […]

Migration has slowed to a trickle in New Zealand, with just 300 or so people a month migrating here since the borders closed in late March. Overall net migration from April to August was provisionally estimated at 1700, Statistics New Zealand said on Monday – as a net 5200 New Zealand citizens came into the […]

The Australian government says it has finalised a deal for a limited travel bubble across the Tasman, but New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern says the country is still not ready to have quarantine-free travel. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he spoke to his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern earlier today. Announcing the news across the […]

In a year full of travel misery and Covid chaos, there is one ironic bright spot – the New Zealand passport is now the world’s most powerful according to one visa index. The Passport Index is one of several indices which measure the amount of visa-free world travel. It looks at the passports of 193 […]

More schools have signed up to the government’s donation scheme for 2021 leaving just 99 eligible schools outside the scheme next year. Education Minister Chris Hipkins said 45 schools were opting into the scheme for the first time next year and five that were in it this year were leaving in 2021. The scheme introduced […]

The Film Commission says border exemptions for Hollywood actors and crew have kickstarted what could be a record year for the New Zealand screen industry. More than 200 overseas cast and film workers were allowed into New Zealand in the three months to July. Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Cowboy Bebop and Sweet Tooth are in production, another […]