Chinese PhD students seeking to study in New Zealand have faced long delays due to national security checks (NSC) conducted by Immigration New Zealand. At least 20 students, most of whom are enrolled in science and engineering faculties and on Chinese government scholarships, have been waiting for months, and in some cases more than a year, for decisions on their visa applications due to the slow NSC process. The students have been forced to work towards their PhD offshore while they wait, many unable to conduct their research experiments.
An immigration lawyer has challenged the legality of what appear to be blanket checks of Chinese students and said that people should not be singled out for security checks solely based on their nationality.
Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Michael Wood would not say whether the students’ nationality or the fact that some had Chinese government scholarships triggered the long security checks. Immigration New Zealand has not disclosed how many Chinese PhD students have been waiting for more than six months for visas or whether science, technology and engineering students are regarded as a high security risk.
