The education sector is delighted to start welcoming back international students.

From Wednesday, borders open for up to 5000 international students for Semester 2.

Of that, universities are getting around 1400.

The rest are allocated to secondary schools, polytechnics, English language schools and private training establishments.

Universities New Zealand Chief Executive Chris Whelan told Mike Hosking it's a great start.

“But we could’ve probably taken the full 5000 ourselves. Our normal annual intake would be about 7 or 8000.”

Whelan says their counterparts in the UK and Canada have met 10-year growth targets in a year.

“Demand out there for students who haven't been able to do their study. So, they've gone wherever they can that's open. Unfortunately, that hasn't been New Zealand this year.”

LISTEN ABOVE