Some pupils returned for the final term of schooling, with the majority expected in early 2023.
Kaikorai Valley College principal Rick Geerlofs said most school international departments had been "decimated" by Covid.
Schools had lost contact with many homestay families and had to rebuild their networks.
The situation created a juggling act, as schools had to work to get pupils in while simultaneously finding them homes.
It was a challenge, but the school would be ready for their arrival early next year.
"No student will arrive without a place to live in."
Bayfield High School principal and Study Dunedin representative Mark Jones said although sourcing families was at a bottleneck, it was important to take the time to find the right families.
There was a process that schools went through every time a pupil was put in with a homestay family, which included an interview, reference checks and police checks.
It was "one of those things you can’t shortcut."
Bayfield was planning to take about the equivalent of 20 fulltime pupils next year, less than half of the about 50 it had each year before Covid-19.
International pupils brought in "significant income" to schools, but also a cultural richness that had been missing throughout the last few years.
Earlier this year homestay parent Sonya Steele was contacted by Kaikorai Valley College to see if she could host pupils.
She said hosting pupils was a big responsibility that not everybody would be ready to return to.
For the last term this year she had two 16-year-old girls from Hong Kong, which she enjoyed having in the house.
However, the role took a lot more than just providing pupils a space to sleep and food to eat.
Many pupils were coming in speaking English as a second language and were nervous about being far from home.
They missed their parents and needed support.
"You can’t bring children into your home and neglect them."
Having anybody enter a household changed the family dynamic, which would deter a lot of people who previously hosted pupils, she said.
"You get used to having your own space again."
Covid-19 had affected a lot of people and many would not feel ready or able to take on that much responsibility again, she said.
