International students in New Zealand aren’t reporting mental health problems because they fear their visa status will be affected if they do so.

Students hoping to study in New Zealand have been dealt a blow with Immigration New Zealand announcing it will cease processing student visa applications from applicants outside the country until further notice.

Declining visa applications from India have led to a 20% drop in the total number of students applying for a visa to study in New Zealand from offshore in 2016. The first drop in three years.

New Zealand has launched a pilot programme that will enable international students to study for up to three consecutive study programmes under a single, five-year pathway visa, which aims to simplify the visa process for international students and thus make New Zealand more competitive as a study destination.

A snapshot of New Zealand's international education sector from January to April of this year shows overall enrolments declined by 3% due to a significant 10% drop in private training establishment (PTE) numbers. The high value of the New Zealand dollar, increased investment in domestic education in key source markets and competition from top English speaking destinations continue to afflict the industry.

Despite efforts to boost education exports, the number of students being issued visas to study in New Zealand for the first time fell by a quarter in 2009-2012, new figures reveal. The government blames the Christchurch earthquakes, global economy and high New Zealand dollar, but others say poor immigration policies are a factor.

It appears the UK is not the only country closely scrutinising the activities of overseas recruiters—this month four private tertiary education providers in New Zealand had their right to recruit abroad suspended after failing to meet basic obligations to their overseas students.

New Zealand is to take all student visa applications online from late 2013 in a bid to speed up processing and improve customer service. It will be the first service to be delivered through the country's Immigration Global Management System (IGMS) – a new "fit for purpose" IT system aimed at modernising the immigration system by 2015.