Leaving New Zealand

By late 2020, when it was clear that Covid-19 wasn’t going to be fixed quickly, New Zealand media was awash with tales of the coming “brain gain”: talented Kiwis coming home, bringing years of experience in high-demand industries like finance, the creative arts, science and tech. For the first time in 10 years, the number of Kiwis coming home outnumbered those leaving.

But there was another group in New Zealand gearing up for a trip. About 100,000 non-New Zealand citizens move to New Zealand every year, while on average about 40,000 leave, giving us a population increase each year of around 60,000 international migrants. But in 2021, we started losing more non-New Zealand citizens than we gained, going from a gain of 67,000 non-New Zealand citizens in 2019 to a loss of 10,000 in 2021. Many of these immigrants come in on Skilled Migrant or Skill Shortage visas, boosting New Zealand industries and the economy.

Many non-New