Annual net migration slows

Annual net migration is dropping steadily, with far fewer migrant arrivals and departures in the eight months since border restrictions were imposed in March 2020, Stats NZ said today.

Overall, net migration in the year ended November 2020 is provisionally estimated at 52,400, based on 102,900 migrant arrivals, and 50,500 migrant departures.

“Almost all the net migration gain in the November 2020 year occurred from December 2019 to March 2020, before border restrictions were imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” population indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.

Latest estimates show annual net migration falling from a provisional peak of 95,500 in the year ended March 2020. This peak was due to many people who arrived in New Zealand in late-2019 and early-2020 being unable to, or choosing not to, return overseas and staying longer than usual.

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Low net migration since April 2020

Border restrictions, disruptions to international travel, and capacity limits in managed isolation and quarantine facilities have monthly net migration estimates well below levels seen in previous years.

In the eight months from April 2020 to November 2020, net migration was provisionally estimated at 5,100.

This was made up of a net gain of 11,200 New Zealand citizens, and a net loss of 6,100 non-New Zealand citizens.

“Historically, net migration gains have been dominated by non-New Zealand citizens, but since April 2020 this pattern has reversed, and New Zealand citizens are driving the small net gain,” Mr Islam said.

MonthNet migration (NZ citizens)Net migration (non-NZ citizens)
Nov-171364401
Dec-179931817
Jan-18-3637151
Feb-18-6497030
Mar-18-13084678
Apr-18-15823135
May-18-15163221
Jun-18-14153443
Jul-18-11625862
Aug-18-5695184
Sep-18-165447
Oct-18-1065556
Nov-181224285
Dec-189532188
Jan-19-2926618
Feb-19-5077293
Mar-19-10014544
Apr-19-10122869
May-19-10593897
Jun-19-9553963
Jul-19-1686573
Aug-195206844
Sep-197927225
Oct-1910708933
Nov-1916867058
Dec-1941944315
Jan-20161710210
Feb-20222212842
Mar-2057716120
Apr-20829-671
May-20847-429
Jun-201065-577
Jul-201549-1220
Aug-201922-546
Sep-202067-1317
Oct-201573-682
Nov-201331-659

The net gain in the population from migration since border restrictions has averaged about 600 people a month. In the same eight months in 2019 the gain from migration averaged close to 6,000 a month, about 10 times higher.

“With slowing net migration, New Zealand’s population growth is lower than at any other time in the last seven years.”

Border crossings remain low

There were 210,600 border crossings in the eight months from April 2020 to November 2020, down 98 percent from the same period in 2019.

From April 2020 to November 2020 there were 77,600 arrivals and 133,000 departures, compared to 4.44 million arrivals and 4.43 million departures in the same period in 2019.

Arrivals and departures include all people crossing the border, either for short-term trips or longer term. April 2020 to November 2020 were months under full border restrictions imposed by the government to slow the spread of COVID-19. From April 2020 to November 2020, 50,600 arrivals (65 percent) were New Zealand citizens and 27,000 (35 percent) were non-New Zealand citizens.

Non-New Zealand citizens include: people arriving on residence, work, or critical purpose visas; Australian citizens and permanent residents; and others who meet border entry criteria .

From April 2020 to November 2020 104,800 departures (79 percent) were by non-New Zealand citizens and 28,200 (21 percent) were by New Zealand citizens.

2020-04-016256
2020-05-015622
2020-06-019270
2020-07-019140
2020-08-0111515
2020-09-0111700
2020-10-0112392
2020-11-0111741
2020-04-0131975
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2020-07-0118390
2020-08-0114443
2020-09-0115823
2020-10-0113496
2020-11-0113610
2020-11-012020-12-01
1174111326
2020-11-012020-12-01
1361017347

Provisional data for December 2020 show a slight increase in the number of departures, with arrivals relatively unchanged from previous months.

Provisional border crossing data are currently being published on the Stats NZ COVID-19 data portal. Provisional international travel data are also published weekly.

Correction to passenger type for arrivals from July to October 2020

‘Overseas visitor’ and ‘Permanent and long-term’ (PLT) arrivals have been corrected for the months July to October 2020. This does not impact total passenger arrival numbers or official migration estimates.

When Stats NZ initially processed the card data for July to October 2020 the number of ‘PLT’ arrivals were understated, and the number of ‘overseas visitor’ arrivals were overstated. We have reprocessed the data for the July to October 2020 months to correct these passenger types. See International travel: November 2020 for more information.

Who is a migrant

‘Migrant arrivals’ are overseas residents, including New Zealand citizens living overseas, who cumulatively spend 12 of the next 16 months in New Zealand after arriving.

‘Migrant departures’ are New Zealand residents, including non-New Zealand citizens living in New Zealand, who cumulatively spend 12 of the next 16 months out of New Zealand after departing.

Migrant arrivals and departures include the flows of New Zealand citizens as well as the flows of non-New Zealand citizens as both affect the population living in New Zealand. The classification of travellers as migrants is based on their time spent in and out of New Zealand, not what visa type or passport they cross the border on, and not on their responses on arrival cards. Given this, we need to observe up to 16 months of travel history, using the 12/16-month rule, to definitively classify a border crossing as a migrant movement. Border crossing data after November 2020 therefore informs the latest migration estimates.

Travel to Australia

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has recently released an article that focuses on New Zealand residents visiting Australia. See Kiwi travel to Australia during COVID-19.

/Stats NZ Public Release. View in full here.