This report looks at people who used the Student Loan Scheme while undertaking tertiary study, and then went overseas. It profiles those overseas and looks at the characteristics of those who return to New Zealand and of those who stay away
The analysis finds that at any point in time, a high proportion of borrowers will be overseas-based. Of those who were found to have returned, most did so after a reasonably short period – three years or less. But a large proportion had been away for longer than three years and was still based overseas at the end of our data series.
While those overseas have poor student loan repayment records overall, those who return make good progress in repaying loans. Those who return repay at a slightly faster rate than those who never went overseas, in part because they are more likely to have higher qualifications that lead to higher earnings