International Students are facing growing debt from Covid-19

As we complain about our Kiwi student debts growing, consider our international students whose fees dwarf our own. Covid-19 has only exacerbated this inequality, with increased border fees and lingering uncertainty about debt and travel. International Vet students at Massey pay a whopping $68,000 a year for tuition alone, while Kiwi Vet students pay close to $60,000 for the entire five-year degree. In other words, it’s cheaper for a Kiwi student to do the whole five-year degree than it is for an international student to study for one year. 

For international Vet students Ella* and Rafael*, on top of their fees are the restrictions of not being able to see their families due to Covid-19. 

Before New Zealand’s borders closed, Rafael would visit his home (an island close to New Zealand) four times a year to see his family and friends. Once New Zealand announced the border closure, he feared the unknown time away he’d have from his home. Now, he’s spent a year and two months away from his family which has been his longest period of time apart from them. “My younger brother has grown up, my parents are getting older, it’s quite scary to not be able to see them,” Rafael says. 

As the pressure of finishing his degree builds, so does the pressure of not being able to complete it if he decides to take a plane out of New Zealand. The factor of quarantine and quarantine fees isn’t the issue as most may assume. “If I decide to go home, even though I’m in the middle of a Vet degree and my country is Covid-free, I’m not allowed to come back across the New Zealand border, even after four years of being part of this country.” 

USA student Ella is in the same predicament. “I have to choose either my studies or my family which is a difficult situation. I have a 5-year-old sister and she has to wear a mask to school every day. Seeing my family go through this pandemic is a lot worse when I’m not able to be there to help them.” 

Ella has a close relationship with her father, who has struggled with his mental health and alcoholism while not being able to see his daughter. “On FaceTime, I had to have an intervention with him,” she admits.  

Both students expressed that it’s been difficult to get the information they needed from Immigration New Zealand. Rafael understands that they are just doing their job, however, each time he calls to get some clear information they “make me cry”.  

“I get treated like a full-on stranger to this country when I’ve been living here for four years. My life is here. It can be harsh to be treated this way [over the phone].” 

Another international student said they’ve been advised that if the borders do open, Massey wouldn’t support them to be able to go home and finally see family due to the practical nature of the degree and the physical requirements to be there. 

Since the pandemic started, Ella said she only got around two emails from the University stating what was happening with the Kiwi borders, “but they never reached out to tell us about our options”. She continues, “The US doesn’t feel like I’m their responsibility and New Zealand doesn’t either, so I’m in this weird limbo.” 

It’s not just the pandemic that’s causing international students’ grief. The exchange rate has tanked in the USA which has caused huge issues with the amount of money American students with loans have been getting for their living costs in New Zealand. 

The way that Ella’s loan works is that her loan gets taken from her US bank to Massey for tuition fees. Then, Massey transfers the left-over money to her New Zealand account to cover her living costs. “Last year in the first semester I received $14,000, and this year I only received $8,500, even though the same amount of money has been converted from USD… I’m receiving less money in NZD but I’m going to have to pay back the same amount of loan fees as last year in USD – even more with the interest on top of my loan.” 

“We’re not even allowed to take out extra money to compensate for that loss, so now a lot of us are struggling financially.” 

Ella is up at around $220,000 (NZ$309,000) in student loan debt. She still has another two years of study to go. This is still more efficient than studying back home in the states. “I think it’s definitely fair that I pay more than a Kiwi student, but I don’t think it’s fair that I have to pay over five times the amount.” 

Massive was tipped off that an international student requested a remittance letter from Massey to be able to see the breakdown of where parts of their tuition fees are specifically being spent. However, this letter was apparently refused. When Massive reached out to Massey about the request, Mike Shaw, Associate Director of Massey Communications said, “At no time has Massey University refused to provide students with an itemised statement of their costs. Students have immediate access to their Statement of Account on their Student Portal under the Fees and Finance tab.”

As Massive reported this year, a new policy has also meant that returning international students will face a 78% price increase for their stay in managed isolation. As temporary visa holders, the cost of a one-person stay will increase from $3,100 to $5,520 on 25 March. This cost is on top of the $20,000 in living costs that international students are required to bring across the border, alongside course fees totalling around $30,000 per year. Quite frankly, it’s shitty and fucking ridiculous.  

International students are struggling right now. Reach out to them, offer them support. God knows the NZ Government isn’t.