Nearly 164,000 non-New Zealand citizens entered New Zealand in March 2024, dominated by the 18-to-44 age group.
According to Stats NZ’s monthly data, during the same period, a total of 52,500 New Zealanders left the country, with 39 percent aged between 18 and 30 and more than half overall headed to Australia, VisaGuide.World reports.
Indian Citizens Account for Largest Number of Arrivals in March 2024
For migrant arrivals in March 2024, citizens of India were the largest group, with 49,800 arrivals. Further data points out that the next largest groups were from citizens of destinations as follows:
- Philippines: 31,900
- China: 26,800
- New Zealand: 25,800
- Fiji: 10,700
- South Africa: 7,800
- Sri Lanka: 6,900
- United Kingdom: 6,600
The previous record for annual net migration loss of New Zealand citizens was 44,400 in February 2012.
Immigrant arrivals in the country during March 2023 were 20,800, which represents a decrease of 17 percent compared to 2024 figures; departures were 16,300, an increase of 98 percent more than in March 2024. Regarding monthly net migration in March last year, the gain was 4,500, compared to a net gain of 16,800 in March this year.
For non-New Zealand citizens, the net migration gain was 163,600 in March 2024 compared with a net migration gain of 105,000 in March 2023. It is also above the long-term average for March years (pre-COVID 2002–2019) of 47,600 a year.
Number of Work Visas in New Zealand Saw a Drop by Half in April 2024
Since New Zealand has recorded consistently high levels of immigration, it appears to have reached a tipping point, with the monthly number of work visas falling and immigration flows declining. As a result, the number of Accredited Work Visa (AEWV) applications has halved from 6,414 in April 2023 to 2,788 last month.
At the same time, the New Zealand authorities introduced some changes to tighten the rules regarding AEWV. The new measures came into effect at the beginning of last month.
The figures mentioned above only show the number of people who applied for AEWV, not those who were granted visas. Meanwhile, annual statistics for AEWVs have fallen every month in 2024, with 27 percent and 53 percent during January and February, respectively.
Previous data from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment also reveals that during the first three months of 2024, 51,338 foreigners entered New Zealand on work visas during the first quarter of 2024.
The same source indicated that the most significant number of foreign workers was registered in January (20,200), followed by February (16,018) and March (15,120).
Recently, the country has been looking for workers abroad after reporting a shortage of secondary teachers. In this regard, the New Zealand authorities have moved secondary school teachers on the Straight to Residence route to the Green List of in-demand professions. The decision entered into force on May 1, 2024.