Without the opportunity to work and get residency, virtually no international students would choose to study here, according to top student agents in India.
That's in direct contrast with the Government's position, which claims New Zealand is one of the most sought-after places to get an education.
Throughout India there are pockets where international education is big business, but one of the first things you notice with almost every advertising hoarding is that New Zealand isn't there at all - or it's tacked on down the bottom.
And that's a problem, according to many in the industry - because it means we're getting the students who can't get into any of the countries further up the list.
"I am worried about New Zealand's reputation as a higher education destination," former Immigration New Zealand officer Pankaj Malhotra said.
Another officer, Rajni Garg, agreed.
"I'm sorry to say, Education New Zealand - though it may say it's promoting quality education, that is not so."
Pankaj Malhotra and Rajni Garg are both agents in Delhi selling New Zealand to potential students.
They say the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia all rank well above us as a place students want to go.
The New Zealand Government claims Indian students are coming for an education, but agents here say without the potential to get residency no one would come.
"The numbers would drop drastically," Mr Garg said.
Asked whether New Zealand is selling international students an education, or simply selling them a chance to work and live here, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce has again and again trotted out the same line.
"We're selling them education, we're selling them the opportunity to come and be educated in New Zealand," he said.
However, immigration and education documents admit the main reason Indian students are coming is "driven largely by migration pathways".
"Everyone in the industry just laughs - it's a joke, because everybody knows that it's not the case," immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont said.
"It seems to be that Steven Joyce and Michael Woodhouse are the only people that believe it.
"That's the only way they can sell New Zealand education to the Indian market."
Mr McClymont says if we didn't, only five percent of the number of students would come - putting a big dent in the Government's ambition to expand the international student market into a $5 billion industry.
Newshub.
