Over the months there have been a lot much speculation doing rounds over student work permit rights for international students studying in New Zealand. Today, the Immigration NZ has finally put an end to the extended work rights i.e. 3 years for international students, and has cut back to one to two years now.
Beyond doubt, the Immigration NZ has tried to make the trade-off between advantages of studying in Auckland and out of it. International students studying diploma or advanced diploma degree will only be able to work for a maximum time period of two years after their course completion, and only one year if they have chosen a university located in Auckland. This clearly suggests that the government wants international students to populate other regions than Auckland.
In the past or right now we can say that international students are offered post study work permits up to three years regardless of the region they have chosen for their studies. These new regulations will be effective from November this year. The existing students will see no impeding effects on their work rights as these regulations are of no retrospective nature.