The Department of Labour has been trying to find out what migrants really think about New Zealand - by interviewing them after they have been here for 6, 18 and 36 months.
The first results are out today - the 6 month interviews of 7,137 migrants.
Why Choose New Zealand?
People were asked to choose the main reasons they decided to apply for permanent residence in New Zealand.
The most common reasons were:
- the relaxed pace of life or lifestyle 44%
- the climate or clean, green environment 40%
- to provide a better future for their children 39%
- employment Opportunity 28%
- friendly People 27%
Now That You’re Here, What Do You Like About New Zealand?
- climate and natural beauty 77%
- friendly people or relaxed pace of life 63%
- the ability to achieve one’s desired lifestyle 62%
- safety from crime and violence 44%
- recreation and leisure activities 43%
What Don’t You Like About New Zealand?
- the high tax rates or difficulties understanding the tax system 36%
- New Zealand’s distance from home or family 34%
- the cost of health services 28%
How Well Have You Settled in New Zealand?
- settled or very settled 87.3%
- unsettled or very unsettled 2.4%
How Well Have Your Children Settled in New Zealand?
- settled or very settled 94.0%
- unsettled or very unsettled 1.2%
90.8 percent of parents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their child(ren)’s school
Working in New Zealand
Employment rates were highest - over 90 percent - for skilled principal migrants.
Employment rates were lowest for business migrants at 50 - 60 percent.
No English, No Job
Employment rates were highest for migrants reporting English as a language they spoke best (76.9 percent), followed by those who rated their English language ability as good or very good (69.1 percent).
Migrants who rated their English ability as moderate to poor had the lowest employment rate (45.2 percent).
Are You Satisfied with life in New Zealand?
Migrants from all categories expressed a high degree of satisfaction with life in New Zealand.
Overall, 92.5 percent of migrants said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with life in New Zealand.
A very small proportion - 1.1% said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
Are You Going To Stay in New Zealand?
At the time of 6 month interview, 92.2 percent of migrants planned to live in New Zealand (either all of the time or part of the time) for three years or more.
Family parent migrants were the least likely to know how many years they intended to live in New Zealand (10.4 percent did not know).
Who Was Interviewed?
The largest proportion of migrants interviewed were from the UK/Irish Republic (32 percent), followed by North Asia (18 percent), the Pacific (12 percent) and South Africa (9 percent).