New Zealand’s Record Number of Immigrants

Over the last year New Zealand’s visitor numbers have increased by 7% to 3.02 million a year. Data from Statistics New Zealand also shows a record-setting net gain in migrants – mostly from Australia, the UK, India and China.

“Holiday makers had the biggest visitor increases by purpose for both the August month and year. China, Australia, and the United States drove the increase in holiday arrivals,” said Joel Watkins, population statistics manager.

From 01 July 2011 to 30 June 2015, Immigration NZ approved 5614 temporary work visas linked to the Canterbury rebuild. Many of them are Filipino workers, which is why Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse has signed a bilateral arrangement on the recruitment and treatment of Filipino migrant workers.

“With such a significant number of Filipino workers coming to New Zealand to help with the Canterbury rebuild, we want to ensure these workers are treated fairly and not exploited,” said Woodword.

“The arrangement complements a range of Government initiatives aimed at ensuring migrant workers in New Zealand are treated well.”

Article Source: ExpatForum.com, Ray Clancy, September 21, 2015

Image Source: Wikipedia