Migration Trends 2004/05

What’s new in the 04/05 report? Migration in a broader context External migration Temporary flows Temporary to residence Gender ratios for Student and work permit holders Residence approvals More occupation information Work permit holders (labour market tested) Skilled Migrant Category principal applicants

Temporary Residence Over 1.5 million people granted temporary entry in 2004/05 Plus almost 700,000 arrivals from Australia Work Permit holders 82,500 in 04/05 12% more people than in 03/04 Student Permit holders 77,600 in 04/05 to students from over 160 nationalities Down 11% from 87,000 in 03/04

Growth in Temporary Residents Work and student arrivals between 2000/01 and 2004/05

International Students Falling numbers from China 34,100 in 04/05, down from 40,700 in 03/04 Offshore approvals fell from 15,700 in 02/03 to 2,400 in 04/05 Number of students approved offshore: top 10 countries

Temporary to Permanent Residence Strong link between temporary and permanent residence Reinforced through policies Research shows good outcomes for migrants with NZ experience About 25% of students go on to gain permanent residence Over 30% of work permit holders go on to gain residence 88% of principal applicants approved for residence in 04/05 had previously held a work, student, or visitor permit

Work permit holders gaining residence Cumulative residence take-up by principal applicants approved for a work permit between 1997/98 and 2004/05 Year approved for work permit

Residence Approvals 48,815 people were approved in 04/05 Approval numbers were buoyed by: Prioritisation of SMC applications Very low SMC decline rates Successful marketing initiatives in NZ and key markets (particularly the UK) Slightly higher average family size Residence approval numbers: last two financial years NZIP Stream2003/042004/05 Skilled/Business20,59629,826 Family/Sponsored13,46213,949 International/Humanitarian4,9595,040 Total39,01748,815

Source Countries 55% of residence approvals from 4 countries in 04/05 49% of SMC approvals were from the UK 17% of Family Sponsored migrants were from the UK Proportion of approvals by main source countries Financial year Nationality02/0303/0404/05 UK14%21%31% China16%12%10% South Africa5%7% India Other 16% 49% 8% 52% 7% 45% Total in Cohort48,53839,01748,815

Applications Inflows High demand for permanent residence Residence application inflows: last two financial years

Skilled Migrant Category SMC approvals made up 49% of all approvals 23,854 people in 04/05 87% of principal applicants had a job or offer 61% had a main occupation in a skill shortage area Growing spread throughout the regions *Of the 8,782 SMC principal applicants with a job or offer of employment, 7,863 recorded their region of employment.

Business Categories Entrepreneur Category approvals increasing Now 61% of Business Category approvals Steady increase in application inflows as LTBV holders apply for residence Decreasing Investor Category approvals in recent years From 4,400 in 01/02 to 1,400 in 04/05 New Investor policy in 05/06 Applications through the Entrepreneur and Investor Categories

Family Sponsored Stream High demand for places in the Family Sponsored Stream Particularly from partners and parents Demand outnumbers the places available Applications for residence through the Family Category

Long Term Absence Relatively steady rate of absence across cohorts 23% of migrants approved in 1998 were long term absent at 30 June Long term absence at six-monthly intervals of the cohorts of migrants approved for residence between

New Migrant Follow up Survey Survey of skilled/business migrants 3-5 months after taking up residence 2,060 respondents in June 05 analysis, from over 60 nationalities Some indicative results are positive: 96% of SMC principals were reportedly employed A high proportion of employed respondents worked in shortage areas – health (27%) and education (15%) High level of satisfaction with jobs (79%), accommodation (81%), schooling (89%), and life in New Zealand (93%)

Migrants’ likes and dislikes *This option was added in April 2005 and was only available to 782 respondents

Migration Trends Report The full report is now available at this link: If you would like a hard copy, you can your name and address to