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New Zealand Hikes Student Visa Fees By 90% For Nigerians, Others

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The New Zealand Government has announced a 90 percent increase in student visa fees for Nigerians and citizens from other non-Pacific nations.

The new visa fee will take effect from October 1, 2024, as detailed on the New Zealand immigration website.

Currently, the student visa fee stands at NZD395 (approximately $238).

However, from October, this will rise to NZD750 (about $452) for applicants from countries like Nigeria.

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The fee revision is part of a broader adjustment across various visa categories, aligning charges more closely with the actual costs of processing applications.

New Zealand’s visa application process is categorised into three distinct bands. Band A is for New Zealand residents reapplying for visas, Band B covers citizens from Pacific nations, and Band C applies to citizens from other parts of the world, including Nigeria.

For student visas, the fees were previously structured as follows: NZD375 for Band A, NZD315 for Band B, and NZD395 for Band C. With the new adjustments, the fees have been revised across the board, significantly impacting Band C applicants.

The fee hikes extend beyond student visas. Post-study work visas, which previously cost NZD700 ($422) for Band C applicants, will now surge by 139% to NZD1,670 (around $1,006).

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Work visas have also seen a notable increase. For instance, the fee for a skilled residence visa under Band C has risen from NZD2,480 ($1,494) to NZD2,880 ($1,735), marking a 16% increase.

Similar adjustments have been made for other visa categories, with the Entrepreneur Work Visa fee seeing a significant rise, although specific figures for the new fee were not detailed.

The New Zealand Government justifies these fee increases as necessary to align visa charges with the actual costs of processing applications.
However, in a bid to support regional neighbours, the government has opted to maintain subsidised visa fees for applicants from Pacific countries.

According to a report by Indian Travel Times, the Immigration Minister, Erica Stanford, emphasised that even with these increases, New Zealand’s visa fees will remain competitive compared to those of Australia and the United Kingdom.

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In addition to the fee adjustments, the government has introduced updates to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme.

The AEWV fee, while reduced from NZD540 to NZD480, will see its immigration levy increase substantially from NZD210 to NZD1,060.

This visa is central to New Zealand’s efforts to prioritise local workers while allowing employers to hire skilled migrants during genuine labour shortages.

Moreover, new requirements have been introduced for migrant workers under the AEWV scheme.

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These include an English language requirement for migrants applying for low-skilled roles under the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) levels 4 and 5.

Employers will also now need to engage with Work and Income, New Zealand’s welfare agency, before receiving approval to hire migrants for these roles.

Additionally, the maximum continuous stay for most positions at these levels will be reduced from five years to three years.

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I Can’t Feed My Family Again; I Make N20,000 Daily But Spend N17,000 On Fuel — Taxi Driver Laments

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Despite earning N20,000 daily, Ajibaye says he takes home only N3,000 after fuel expenses, leaving him unable to cater to his children and wife.

A commercial driver identified as Wahab Ajibaye based in Ilorin, Kwara State has expressed frustration over the rising fuel prices, saying it has left him struggling to provide for his family.

Despite earning N20,000 daily, Ajibaye says he takes home only N3,000 after fuel expenses, leaving him unable to cater to his children and wife.

He said: “I am buying fuel for N1100 and I make N20,000 (daily) but I take only N3,000 with me to my house (after work). I am the owner of my car but I am no longer making enough to cater to my children and my wife. The All Progressives Congress (APC) government will not end well. Nigeria is becoming worse and we pray God takes away this set of current leaders.”

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Ajibaye blamed the ruling APC government for the hardship faced by Nigerians, saying, “Their government is bringing more suffering. They’re not ashamed, despite many Nigerians cursing them. They should rethink.”

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had recently agreed that the policies initiated by President Bola Tinubu resulted in growing economic hardships in Nigeria.

The party in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka had said this, while responding to a former national vice chairman (North West) of the party, Salihu Mohammed Lukman.

Recall that Lukman had berated the party for bad governance, adding that former President Muhammadu Buhari and incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have failed to deliver on their campaign promises.

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Lukman, therefore, urged opposition leaders to unite and work hard to defeat the APC-led government in 2027.

But reacting, Morka in a statement on Tuesday argued that President Tinubu was taking bold measures to reset the country’s “long broken economy”, explaining that his reforms had increased economic hardship in the country.

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LASG shuts down Idera market over ‘environmental pollution

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) says it has sealed off the Idera market in the Oshodi metropolis.

In a statement on Thursday, Ajayi Lukman, LAGESC spokesperson, said the agency sealed the market due to unhygienic practices and indiscriminate dumping of refuse, which contravened the environmental law of the state.

He said the measure was taken to enforce adherence to environmental cleanliness across registered markets in the state.

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‘‘Our operatives stationed across the Oshodi division during routine market monitoring identified the filth, unhygienic practices, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse around the Idera Market area, which prompted us to seal off the market until further notice,” the statement reads.

Lukman quoted Olaniyi Cole, the corps marshal of the agency, as decrying the level of hygiene at the market, which could lead to an outbreak of diseases.

He said Cole frowned at the inability of the market leadership to provide a valid waste collection contract, which resulted in the heaps of refuse in the facility.

He added that the display of wares for sale on road setbacks, lay-bys, medians, verges, kerbs, street trading, and hawking remained banned in the metropolis.

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The LAGESC corps marshal reiterated the ban on the sales, distribution, and usage of styrofoam in the state, noting that anyone found culpable would be punished decisively.

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Hours to Edo guber polls, major opposition candidate crumbles structure for Ighodalo

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Hours to the Edo State governorship election, the guber candidate of the All Peoples Party (APP)Amb Osalumese Areloegbe on Thursday morning collapsed the structure for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Osarodion Ogie Esq.

Addressing journalists at the party secretariat in Benin City, Areloegbe said his decision to collapse the structure for the PDP candidate was because he believed that Ighodalo had all it would take to govern the state to greater heights.

According to him, I urged all my followers and supporters to disregard any information that I have aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo.

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“I am supporting Asue Ighodalo because he is competent, not that I am not competent but I believe Asue is on the forefront. That is my reason for supporting his candidacy.

“My party is aware because they have been having a series of negotiations for us to align with the APC, and I told them categorically that I am supporting PDP. My eighteen local government followers are in full support of my decision, I mean 100 per cent supporting the PDP candidate, Barr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie in this election.

“My choice for Asue Ighodalo is because, apart from myself, I see him as the next better candidate that I can support and I can put my weight on because he has the capacity, mentally, physically and otherwise to pilot the affairs of Edo State to greater heights.

“The national secretariat of my party, APP – they are in Abuja and I am in the state, and know much more of what is happening in Edo State. They are not here and don’t know what is going on here in Edo. And I am in a position to tell them what will be better for the Edo people.

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“There is a parable that says, ‘You cannot shave a man’s head when he is not present’. I am here in Edo State and I know who to support and why I am supporting him. The national leadership might have taken a different tone, but this is what I and my followers have chosen.

“We had a series of other politicians who had made such decisions before. That is why I agreed with the support of my supporters to collapse my structure for the governorship candidate of the PDP Barr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie.”

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