Foreigners are flocking to New Zealand, immigration data show

New Zealand net immigration surged further in April amid a record inflow of foreigners.

Net immigration rose to 72 330 in the year ended April 30, the biggest annual gain since July 2020 and up from a revised 65 755 in the 12 months through March, Statistics New Zealand said Tuesday in Wellington. The gain comprised the arrival of a record 98 391 non-New Zealand citizens, offset by citizen departures of 26 061.

New Zealand has loosened immigration policy, allowing more foreign workers to enter the country to ease labor shortages that had became acute when the border was shut during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Reserve Bank last month said that the impact of new arrivals on demand and inflation is highly uncertain, and that it expects the level of immigration is near a peak.

The RBNZ said in May that its tightening cycle was at an end but that it would continue to assesses incoming data, including the mix of immigrants. They include workers in the country for as little as two years but also those with families who settle and buy houses.

“It’s that kind of mix that you need to have an understanding of, and immigration data has historically been quite volatile as well,” Assistant Governor Karen Silk told Bloomberg in an interview last month.

In the year through April, there were 144 263 non-New Zealand citizen arrivals offset by 45 872 departures.

The level of non-New Zealand citizen arrivals is higher than the 60 200 average in the five years prior to April 2020, the statistics agency said.

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