A recent study by Statistics New Zealand showed that most people who migrated to New Zealand hoped to eventually become New Zealand citizens. Over 90% of South African and Pacific Island migrants were the keenest to apply, with 86.5% of South Asian migrants also wanting to become Kiwis.

A survey of employment patterns for new migrants showed that nearly three quarters of them got work, mostly in skilled positions, after six months of achieving permanent residency status. Most of them (84.9%) reported satisfaction with their employment here.

It was revealed that about half of all immigrants lived in or near Auckland, and that 51.9% of them were able to have full or part ownership of a home after being here for three years. More than 90% of the people who participated in the survey said they were satisfied with their lives in New Zealand and most felt safe living here.

Contributed by Chris Mahoney

Questions

1. What are some of the reasons people want to leave their country and move to another country? What are the ‘push’ factors (e.g. overcrowding in their own country) and what are the ‘pull’ factors (e.g. safety in the new country)?

2. Every country is careful about accepting new migrants. What kind of migrants does NZ want?