Study visa refusals for applicants from India and Bangladesh have risen sharply in New Zealand, with immigration officials linking part of the increase to fraudulent and misleading paperwork, according to reports by RNZ and B2B News published this week.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) data for July to September 2026 show that 39% of study visa applications from India and 70% from Bangladesh were declined. Both reports describe these rates as roughly double the usual level for each country.

The numbers behind the spike

Across all source countries, INZ declined 6,273 full-fee student visa applications in the three months to September. That is close to the 7,503 declines recorded for the whole of the 2025-26 year. The overall full-fee decline rate reached 34% for the quarter, compared with 13% in 2025-26, the reports said.

Application volumes have also grown. RNZ reported that study visa applications rose by about 24% in the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year. India remains the largest source of offshore applications, with Bangladesh now third.

What officials say

According to RNZ, INZ said its requirements have not changed and that every application is assessed against the same criteria regardless of nationality. It said targeted checks on some master's-level applications had contributed to the rise in declines.

INZ also told RNZ it is seeing increasingly sophisticated fraud, including genuine documents being altered or reused, and that such fraud can involve groups of applications facilitated by agents. It said recent declines from several countries, including India and Bangladesh, involved concerns about fraud or false information, and that education providers must monitor the agents who recruit for them.

Immigration advisers quoted in both reports said much of the problem centres on financial evidence, with some sub-agents allegedly recycling bank documents or presenting funds that do not belong to the student. Other advisers told RNZ the crackdown risks catching genuine applicants.

Advice for students and families

Students should prepare their own financial and academic documents, keep originals, and check that every figure matches bank and university records. Families should be wary of any agent who offers to arrange funds or documents for a fee. Applicants can confirm an adviser's licence on the official Immigration Advisers Authority register and check visa rules directly on the INZ website before paying anyone.

Sources

This News Desk report summarises information published by the sources above, written in our own words. Persons named in criminal matters are accused, not convicted, unless a court has ruled otherwise. To report an error, use our contact page.

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