Punjab has always been an enthusiastic state of India for foreign studies. The ratio of Punjabis going abroad for higher studies in New Zealand or seeking other career opportunities has been very high for a long time in comparison to other regions of India.
Many people belonging to Punjabi ethnicity have understood the importance of higher studies and career opportunities in foreign lands.
More than a decade ago, New Zealand started attracting international students to its universities, the general trend was to migrate to the USA, Australia, or European Countries. During those days, migration from Punjab was significant to New Zealand. In fact, Punjab was the opener state that understood the value of New Zealand’s higher education and set a trend for NZ-migration. It was one of the few regions in the world that supported NZ’s international study program in its tough times.
However, in the last couple of years, with an increase in the number of students applying for study visas for New Zealand, the rejection rate has also gone higher.
Around 50% percent of the visa applications from Indian students got rejected in the past one year, majorly from Punjab. As per the INZ (Immigration New Zealand), the reason for these visa rejections is the frauds in visa application filing. Unfortunately, this seems an illogical argument to the market experts.
New Zealand is accepting higher visa applications from the southern parts of India. It is clearly nothing but partiality for the well-established industry like Punjab
Conclusion
In the last few years, the student migration to NZ has increased significantly making it one of the major economy boosters.
In 2015 alone, about 29,000 students from India were enrolled to study in New Zealand. It was an increase of about 150% since 2010. Punjabis were the bigger piece of the pie.
