New Zealand Loses Record Number of Citizens but Overseas Migrants Surge 258 Percent

An Air New Zealand plane taking off from Auckland Airport in New Zealand, on Aug. 26, 2021. William West/AFP via Getty Images

New Zealand has experienced a record net exodus of New Zealand citizens in the year ending September 2023, with 44,735 leaving the country, setting a new record.

However, this void appeared to be filled with a record influx of overseas migrants, contributing to an overall gain of more than 118,000 people.

The substantial net migration gain included 163,570 non-New Zealand citizens, consisting of 210,646 migrant arrivals and 47,077 migrant departures.

These non-New Zealand citizens were mostly from India, the Philippines, Fiji, and South Africa, with the easing of COVID-19 border restrictions and “changes to immigration settings” contributing to this surge.

Provisional estimates published by Stats NZ, New Zealand’s official data agency, revealed a 258 percent increase in migrant arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens compared to the previous year, while departures of New Zealand citizens soared 59 percent.

Young adults appear to be driving migration, as the statistics show that those aged 18 to 44 accounted for 67 percent of non-New Zealand citizens arrivals.

Among departing New Zealand citizens, 39 percent of people were aged between 18 and 30, while 61 percent were aged 31 or higher.

Overseas Migrants Soar

Examining the trend over time, the net migration of non-New Zealand citizens was 61,842 in the year up to September 2019, rising from 56,711 in 2018 and 34,631 a decade ago.

However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a net loss of 17,042 non-citizen migrant arrivals, which significantly increased in 2023 following the reopening of borders.

Milford Sound airport in New Zealand. Henning Gloystein/Reuters

The data agency considers anyone changing their country of residence to be a migrant, despite their country of citizenship or visa status.

The country uses a 12-month threshold to classify a migrant as a non-migrant, based on international guidelines on measuring migration.

New Zealand Citizens Move to Australia

An interesting factor contributing to the exodus of New Zealand citizens is a new direct citizenship pathway in Australia.

In August, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said that 15,000 of Australia’s “closest friends” had applied for citizenship in six weeks, following the new path for citizenship opening up on July 1, 2023.

“Australia and New Zealand share a common bond,” he said. “The government’s common-sense change has created a pathway to citizenship for so many who have been living and working in Australia for years and contributing to our local communities,” Mr. Giles said.

Stats NZ’s population indicators manager Tehseen Islam noted that the majority of the record departures went to Australia.

“Migrant departures of New Zealand citizens are just under record levels. Based on the latest estimates available, just over half of these departures went to Australia,” Mr. Islam said on Nov. 15.

On July 26, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicated that more than 100,000 people had applied for Australian citizenship and he expected this number to surge.

The Institute of Public Affairs had earlier predicted 130,000 New Zealanders moving to Australia between 2023 and 2027.