September 19th, 2024
New Zealand has witnessed a record annual net migration gain of 65,400 in the year ending March 2023, according to provisional estimates released by Stats NZ on Thursday. This comes in stark contrast to the net migration loss of 19,300 reported in the March 2022 year.
A significant factor contributing to this substantial net gain was the influx of non-New Zealand citizens. The estimates suggest a net gain of 88,900 non-New Zealand citizens, offset by a net loss of 23,500 New Zealand citizens.
"For non-New Zealand citizens, 88,900 was provisionally a record annual net migration gain, exceeding the previous peak in the March 2020 year," stated Tehseen Islam, the population indicators manager at Stats NZ in a media release.
Islam suggested that the significant rebound of non-New Zealand citizen migration was influenced by two factors - the progressive relaxation of COVID-19-related border restrictions from early 2022 and changes to immigration settings.
The data further indicated that citizens from India, the Philippines, China, and South Africa have been instrumental in driving these net migration gains in the March 2023 year.
Additionally, out of the 133,500 migrant arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens in the March 2023 year, a considerable 63% arrived on work or visitor visas, and 14% on residence visas.
There has been a contrasting trend among New Zealand citizens. The March 2023 year saw a provisional net migration loss of 23,500 New Zealand citizens, marking the largest annual net migration loss of New Zealand citizens since the October 2013 year.
Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Zealand typically saw an annual net migration loss of its citizens, with the losses peaking at 44,400 in the February 2012 year.