13 July 2026

Stanislav Vafin moved from Thailand to Wellington and is currently studying the Master of Information Technology at Whitireia & WelTec. In his story, he talks about his long journey to New Zealand, his first impressions, the study workload and his experience with Kiwi Education. The programme is a Level 9 qualification and takes 18 months of full-time study.

Why I Chose New Zealand

Getting to New Zealand had been a dream of mine since I was studying at university in St Petersburg, sometime around 2014. At the time, I did not like the fact that you could not simply pick up and travel to any country, that there were certain requirements and restrictions on how long you could stay. I wanted the freedom to travel all over the world. At the same time, I had a bad feeling about what was happening in my country and did not want to get stuck there without the chance to see the rest of the world.

So, I started looking for a more stable country that I would like to move to first and could call home. As for travelling further, I would work that out later. It was mainly an analysis of statistics for different countries: quality of life, safety, average income, weather conditions and other criteria that mattered to me at the time. Of all the countries that suited me based on these indicators, New Zealand interested me the most.

I do not think I knew much about it at the time, apart from the fact that The Lord of the Rings had been filmed here, so I was surprised that New Zealand had made it onto my list.

I decided to take a walk around New Zealand using Google Street View. Of course, I looked at Hobbiton, but then I explored other places as well. The mountains, rivers, lakes, plains and even the cities and small settlements completely captivated me with their beauty.

From that moment, I chose a career path that would allow me to travel around the world and eventually make it to New Zealand.

As soon as I finished my studies in 2017 and got my first job, I began looking for ways to get to New Zealand. That was when I came across an agency similar to Kiwi Education and learned that it was possible to move through study, but the requirements seemed impossible for me at the time. Time passes very quickly, and after that I spent another five years working and gaining experience in IT.

I constantly felt that I was not ready to leave yet. I did not have enough experience, money or knowledge of English, and I had also built up a circle of friends I enjoyed spending time with. But 2022 gave me a pretty good kick up the backside and reminded me that life does not last forever and it was time to get off the sofa.

That year, I quit my job and first went to Belarus, then Egypt, then Sri Lanka. After that, I settled in Southeast Asia, flying back and forth between Thailand and Vietnam. I found a remote job, which allowed me to live there without any problems or the need to return to Russia. I enjoyed living in both Thailand and Vietnam, but I understood that I would not be able to obtain citizenship there and could not really call either country home.

I forgot about New Zealand for a while. Given the situation in Russia, my priority became finding a country where I could complete the naturalisation process as quickly as possible. I probably still thought that getting to New Zealand would be incredibly difficult for me. So, I considered Argentina, Mexico and several European countries.

But at some point, I remembered that it was possible to come here through study. I immediately went through my emails to find the correspondence with the agency I had contacted in 2018.

It had probably closed down because its website was no longer working, and I eventually found Kiwi Education through an online search. Only now, while writing this story, did I check my emails again and realise that it had actually been a different agency with a similar name. Nevertheless, I am glad that I found Kiwi Education.

Thanks to the team, and Denis Vlasin in particular, I made it to my destination and realised that everything is achievable and dreams really do come true.

First Impressions of New Zealand

The most unexpected thing was probably what happened just after I arrived and ordered a taxi from the airport. On the way to the accommodation I had rented, the driver and I stopped at a shop, and he insisted on paying for my purchases. It came to only NZD 3, but it was still unusual — like a tip in reverse.

Since I had lived in Southeast Asia for the four years before arriving in New Zealand, I was immediately shocked by how cold it was here. I had a general idea of how temperatures changed throughout the year, but after four years of 30-degree heat every day, it still felt extremely cold. I do not think I would have felt the same way if I had arrived here directly from Russia.

Another shock, in a good way, was that drivers here actually give way to pedestrians at pedestrian crossings. Again, that was probably because of my experience of living in Southeast Asia.

I was really delighted by the nature here. Even though I had already seen in photographs how beautiful New Zealand was, seeing it in person exceeded my expectations.

Soon after arriving, I went for a walk in Belmont Regional Park, not far from where I was living, and it was something incredible, almost alien. Some of the plants, flowers and trees seemed to be the same as those you can see elsewhere, but together they created a landscape unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Maybe it was because of all the flowers in the grass or the unusual landscape. It is difficult to explain, but there is no need to. You can simply look, admire it and be amazed.

I was also surprised that a random passer-by might simply start talking to you in passing, just sharing something with you without any particular motive.

Life in New Zealand Now

I think it is still difficult for me to fully describe what life here feels like because I am still studying, and my studies take up a huge amount of my time. My impressions are currently mostly limited to the route between home and uni.

There are occasional times when I manage to go somewhere, but I do not think that is enough yet for my story to be complete. For now, all I can say is that I am generally happy with the areas of life I have experienced so far, and I am looking forward to finally taking a full breath once I receive my diploma.

Studying at Whitireia & WelTec

My expectations did not match the reality.

I thought the programme would be similar to the first trimester of my online studies at SPbPU, but everything here is different. There is a huge amount of writing. For every course, you have to write several essays.

Overall, I have not really enjoyed that because I prefer solving problems, as I did in the courses at SPbPU. Yes, we also had to write term papers for some subjects there, but they were more closely connected to the practical implementation of a particular mechanism or project.

How difficult has the programme been? Harder than I expected.

How the Study Process Works

The study process consists of three-hour lectures for each course, or a lecture combined with a practical session that lasts three hours in total.

During my first trimester — or second, if you count SPbPU as the first — I chose four 15-credit courses. They happened to be spread out conveniently, with one course on each day: four days of classes per week, three hours a day.

All of those classes were held in person on campus, although this often depends on the courses you choose.

For example, for the following semester I chose one 15-credit course and a 45-credit research project. The course turned out to be online, while the research project is completed independently. So, you could say that my next semester will be entirely online.

At first, the workload does not seem particularly heavy. But at some point, the deadlines start catching up with you, and you realise how much work needs to be completed within a very short period.

It is better not to be misled at the beginning by the fact that the deadlines still seem far away. You should start working on your assignments straight away.

Overall, I would describe the programme as useful, but I would divide that usefulness into two categories.

The first is the experience of writing academic papers, which is useful for people who want to continue into research.

The second is practical experience in building complex systems, for example in courses such as Cloud Computing and ICT Infrastructure and Systems Architecture and Technology Integration.

I do not mean that these courses were purely practical. They also involved writing essays, but at least they included practical solutions to specific problems.

Would I Recommend the Institution and Programme to Other Students?

It is difficult to say. It depends on what you want.

As a way of moving to New Zealand, I would definitely recommend it.

As a way of developing your IT skills, on the one hand, I can recommend it because there are genuinely many useful things you can learn here. On the other hand, I would not recommend it to people who are more interested in solving practical problems than in describing those solutions.

Part-Time Work and Employment Plans

I have not had a part-time job. I am living off my savings.

I have not finished my studies yet.

What You Should Know Before Moving

It is important to know that you will have to deal with a lot of paperwork during the application process.

It is also a good idea to have more savings than Immigration New Zealand requires. Living in New Zealand is not cheap.

For anyone who is unsure about their English but wants to pass an English-language test quickly and without a large number of resits, I would definitely recommend the Pearson Test of English, or PTE.

When choosing an education consultant, pay attention to their reviews.

My Experience with Kiwi Education

I found out about Kiwi Education by chance after confusing it with another agency with a similar name that I had contacted in 2018.

The process was not simple. There were a lot of documents to collect, translations to arrange and changes to make to the application plan.

At the same time, I always received quick replies and recommendations. Overall, everything was great. I am happy to recommend Kiwi Education to others, and I already recommend the team to my friends from time to time.

Stanislav’s Instagram: @zejaven