The role of education agents
How an education agent is defined in the Code
An education agent is defined in the Code as a person, body, or organisation acting on behalf of a signatory in relation to any aspect of their international learners' enrolment and study, including accommodation, and includes a subcontracted agent.
The different types of education agents
Education agents work in international student recruitment.
Immigration advisors provide immigration advice. They may also be education agents. People who give New Zealand immigration advice must be licensed.
Find out who is exempt (external link)
Education agents may work offshore or onshore.
Key services education agents may provide
- Information on living and studying in New Zealand.
- Assistance with applications to education providers.
- Advice on visa options or assistance with visa applications.
- Promotion and marketing of education providers.
- Market intelligence.
- Translation services.
The motivations of education agents
- Most education agents act in the best interest of the learner.
- Education agents make money through commission-based sales.
- Commission is paid by the education providers, usually in the form of a percentage of the tuition fees the learner pays.
- Some education agents also charge the learner fees for different services they offer, over and above any tuition fees the learner pays.
The benefits of working with education agents
- Education agents are a valuable channel for education providers seeking to recruit international learners and remain competitive in the market.
- Education agents extend the reach of tertiary providers in offshore markets.
- Education agents can assist tertiary providers with knowledge of the learner’s language, cultural values and contacts.
- Education agents can provide useful guidance and support to learners and their families in decision-making, before, during and post-arrival time.
The challenges of working with education agents
- Working effectively with education agents requires sustained investment of funds, time and effort from tertiary education providers.
- There may be a disconnect between the priorities, policies and values of your organisation and the education agent.
- The risks of this disconnect and not integrating education agent management in business practice include: poor outcomes for learners and their families and reputational damage to your organisation and the New Zealand education system.
On this page
Education agents' legal obligations
Under the London Statement of Principles, education agents are required to:
- practice responsible business ethics
- provide current, accurate and honest information in an ethical manner
- develop transparent business relationships with learners and signatories through the use of written agreements
- protect the interests of minors
- provide up-to-date information that enables international learners to make informed choices when selecting which education agent or consultant to employ
- act professionally.
Under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 (the Act)
People who give New Zealand immigration advice must be licensed, unless they are exempt.
People exempt from licensing (external link) - Immigration Advisers Authority
Immigration advice does not include providing information from a publicly available source or clerical work.
Education agents are exempt to advise on student visas, but only when offshore. They are not exempt to advise on any other immigration matter. Onshore education agents must be licensed to provide any immigration advice, including on student visas.
See the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 (external link) - legislation.govt.nz
The Immigration Advisers Authority has information on what is immigration advice, including factsheets for education providers and education agents.
See the Immigration Advisers Authority website (external link)
Integrating agent management into business practice
Key starting points
Include costs of managing and monitoring education agents in your organisation's annual budget.
Designate staff for the ongoing identification, recruitment, training, management, and review of your organisation's education agent network.
Develop the information systems required for the ongoing monitoring and record keeping involved in managing education agents.
Develop a policy stipulating:
- criteria for education agent selection
- appointment and review process
- support for education agents through access to information, regular contact and training
- commission for recruitment
- investigation process for learner complaints regarding education agent's conduct
- the process to terminate an education agent's contract in case of misbehaviour by the education agent.
If you have the resources, develop an education agent information portal as the main communication channel.
The portal can include:
- education agent training initiatives
- programmes of study your school or organisation wishes to promote to international learners
- any relevant fees
- policy on recognition of prior learning
- international scholarships
- marketing initiatives, events and exhibitions
- online application submission and tracking facilities
- information on the city where your school or organisation is located, such as average cost for student accommodation, food and transport
- a copy of the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.
Set and monitor key education agent performance indicators (KPIs)
An expected conversion rate for offers of place and monitor the conversion rate:
- How many of the offers of place issued to the agent result in a visa application?
The agent's visa approval rate:
- How many of the visa applications submitted result in an approval?
Use different sources of information
Contact local Business Council, Study Group and education agents’ associations.
Contact providers with experience in managing and monitoring education agents.
Education New Zealand (ENZ) Skills Lab has four training modules on education agents to assist providers.
Useful information
Choosing good agents
- Ensure the education agent is a fluent communicator in English as well as the home country language.
- Look for education agents in line with your school or organisation's international strategy and priority markets.
- Be aware of differences between regions of priority markets in terms of risks and opportunities. Not all regions of one country are the same.
- Ensure the education agent has knowledge of New Zealand and its education system, and/or is actively interested in developing this.
- The ENZ Recognised Agency directory lists agents who have completed training about learning, living and working in New Zealand.
- ENZ confirms 2021 Recognised Agencies (external link) - New Zealand Education
- The Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) website has a directory of licensed immigration advisers.
- On the INZ website you can check the agency’s student visa application approval rates (for agencies based in India, Philippines and Viet Nam only).
- Education agent performance data (external link) - Immigration NZ
- Develop a waiver or obtain the permission of the education agent for your school or organisation to check performance with INZ.
- Seek advice and references from international education professionals or providers who have used that education agent.
- Google the prospective education agent/agency.
- Attend agents and student recruitment fairs to meet education agents interested in New Zealand.
- Check the ENZ website for their events list:
- International Event Calendar (external link) - Education New Zealand
Remember it is at your school or organisation's discretion to choose to offer a contract.
Your education agent application form
Develop a robust education agent application form.
See each section below for a sample of questions you could include in the form.
Contact details
- Registered agency name and trading name
- Owner or director and main contact person
- Street and postal address
- Phone number and online contact details such as email address, website, Skype address, Zoom address, Wechat address, Facetime address and Whatsapp address.
Business background
- When was the agency formed?
- What is the main purpose of the agency? (student recruitment, travel and tourism, immigration, other – please specify)
- Does the agency have offices that operate independently from head office?
- Is the agency GST registered in New Zealand? If so, please provide GST number.
- Does the agency have membership to any professional organisation linked to the education industry?
- Is the agency registered officially in its home country? If so, please provide details.
- Are agency staff members licensed immigration advisers with New Zealand’s Immigration Advisers Authority?
- Is the agency an ENZ Recognised Agency?
- ENZ confirms 2021 Recognised Agencies (external link) - ThinkNew New Zealand Education
- Have the education agents completed ENZ’s Online Training Programme?
- AgentLab (external link) - Education New Zealand
International learner recruitment experience
- How many student counsellors/advisers does the agency employ?
- Have the education agents had experience as international learners? (If so, which providers and countries?)
- Does the agency publish a company prospectus or brochure in English? If so, please include a copy.
- What are the nationalities of the learners the agency recruits?
- Which countries does the agency send most international learners to?
- What education levels does the agency recruit most learners for (e.g. English school, primary, secondary, foundation, undergraduate, postgraduate)?
- In addition to the commission received from providers, does the agency charge learner clients any type of additional fee at any stage? If so, provide details.
- How many learners did the agency recruit last year in total? How many for New Zealand providers?
Knowledge of New Zealand, your school or organisation and relevant requirements
- Does the agency have a representative in New Zealand?
- Does the agency have current working arrangements with any other providers/schools in New Zealand?
- Does the agency assist international learners with travel and immigration requirements?
- What systems does the agency have in place for checking that learners have the required English language proficiency and other academic entry requirements?
- What systems does the agency have in place to ensure international learners meet immigration requirements (if applicable)?
- Does the agency have a protocol for dealing with international learners?
- Are the education agents aware of the New Zealand Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021?
- How many international learners does the agency anticipate sending to New Zealand and to [school or organisation’s name] per year?
- Is the agency interested in undertaking further training to learn more about New Zealand, [school or organisation’s name] and relevant requirements?
Business credentials
Please provide two education providers to act as referees (preferably from New Zealand or Australia).
Sample of reference check questions
- How long have you [referee] worked with this education agent?
- Is the education agent reliable and professional?
- Are you [referee] aware of any incidence of fraud or unethical behaviour?
- Has this agency submitted successful international learner applications (converted to offers of place) within the past 12 months?
- Please comment on the quality of the learners referred by this education agent.
- Any comments or feedback on this education agent’s knowledge, skills or ability to produce outcomes?
- How would you, as referee, describe the education agent’s knowledge of New Zealand, such as education system, immigration policies, etc?
- Do you, as the referee, recommend this education agent?
- Any other relevant information you, as the referee, would like to provide?
Drawing up a contract
Seek independent legal advice on your education agent contract before you use it.
Outline expectations of education agent behaviour in the education agent’s contract
These may include but are not limited to:
- interviewing prospective international learners and their families
- the use of subcontracted agents (whether as a school or organisation you allow this or not)
- no commission paid to learners selected when already on pathway to study at [provider’s name] (this will discourage poaching practices)
- agreement to commission schedule structure
- no learner funds are held by the education agent, payments must be forwarded and must be in gross.
Clearly define the roles and responsibilities the education agent will hold
- Promotion and marketing, such as advertising in shop front, the education agent representing your school or organisation at events, advertising campaigns, etc.
- Market research, such as informing your school or organisation of upcoming trends, demands and market conditions.
- Orientation before the student departs.
- Support and counselling after the student departs.
Request declarations
Request declarations of:
- potential conflicts of interest
- act in accordance with the New Zealand’s Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007
- act in accordance with the New Zealand Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.
- adherence to ethical standards (attach the London Statement of Principles for ethical international student recruitment)
- any material translated by the education agent must be consistent with the English version.
Request key information
Ask for:
- vetting waiver authorising INZ to provide all relevant data regarding the education agent's conversion rate of offers of place (e.g. expectation of 20% of offers issued by your school or organisation result in successful student visa applications)
- a copy of all visa decline letters that the education agent receives
- robust verification of international learner documentation before the agent submits it to the provider and/or INZ.
Supporting your education agents
The education agent relationship is two-way.
You can support education agents
To support education agents, you can:
- offer ongoing training to enable education agents to provide up-to-date and useful information to learners
- request feedback from education agents to assess how to better enable positive outcomes for your school or organisation, learners, and education agents
- keep education agents informed of any changes to government education or immigration policy.
Sample of education agent survey questions
How satisfied are you [education agent] with the services provided by [school or organisation name]?
What can [school or organisation name] do to improve its relationship with you [education agent]?
Have you [education agent] kept in contact with learners after they started studying at [school or organisation name]?
Are you [education agent] confident you have the support needed to maintain your contract? Would you like further training?
How easy is it to access [school or organisation name]’s information needed to keep learners informed?
How satisfied are you [education agent] with [school or organisation name]’s:
- length of time to process enquiries
- length of time to process applications
- quality of information received
- accuracy of information received.
Managing risk
Manage the risk to you, learners and the reputation of the international education sector
You can manage any risk by:
- consolidating the number of contracted education agents so that they can be actively managed and monitored by your school or organisation
- including the education agent name in the offer of place whenever possible
- if education agents use subcontracted agents, including both the primary education agent and subcontracted education agents’ names on the offer of place
- if your school or organisation does not allow subcontracted agents, stating on the offer of place that it is invalid if submitted to INZ by anyone other than the education agent named on the offer
- measure the percentage of learners enrolled through education agents to assess your school or organisation's dependency on education agents
- developing an education agent-focused webpage for all relevant information
- regularly checking education agents’ marketing (including immigration related statements), such as on their websites and social media pages
- visiting offshore education agents when possible, to get a first-hand understanding of how they operate
- surveying international learners and families for their experiences dealing with your school or organisation's education agents
- translating surveys into different languages to access families’ feedback.
Sample of learner/family survey questions
Describe your overall level of satisfaction with [education agent name]'s performance.
Describe [education agent name]'s level of knowledge about [school or organisation]:
- programmes of study
- entry requirements (such as English language proficiency)
- learner support
- refund policy
- facilities
- accommodation options
- International Learner Handbook
- other relevant information
Did the education agent charge a service fee? If so, how much?
How well did the education agent prepare you [international learner] for your arrival in New Zealand?
Do you [international learner] have any suggestions on how [school or organisation] can help education agents to improve the service to our learners?
Any other comments on the service from received from your education agent?
Risk analysis and follow-up action
Look for trigger points and trends in the education agents’ KPIs and surveys that lead to poor outcomes for learners.
Assess education agent engagement with your school to determine future partnership, for example, following process, responding in a timely manner.
Where risk is identified, send information to the learner, the education agent and relevant government agency:
| NZQA | code.enquiries@nzqa.govt.nz |
| INZ | educationproviders@mbie.govt.nz |
| ENZ | agenthelp@enz.govt.nz |
| IAA | info@iaa.govt.nz |