Immigration’s Contribution to New Zealand
Immigration makes a vital contribution to New Zealand’s economy, workforce, and community. It reunites friends and families, provides employers with access to key skills and capital, contributes to New Zealand’s international and humanitarian commitments, and supports the security and integrity of our border.
Since New Zealand’s border opened after COVID-19, interest in visiting and working here has continued to grow, showing just how integral immigration is to New Zealand.
📊 Immigration Statistics (2024)
- ✅ Over 1.1 million visas were decided
- ✅ More than 12.8 million movements at the New Zealand border
- ✅ Nearly 540,000 visitor visa applications were decided
- ✅ More than 1.6 million NZeTA requests were processed
- ✅ Nearly 50,000 Working Holiday Visa applications were decided
- ✅ Over 40,000 AEWV applications were approved
- ✅ More than 73,000 International Student Visas were granted
- ✅ 1,522 refugees were resettled under New Zealand’s Refugee Quota Programme
- ✅ 543 investigations into immigration breaches were carried out
Who We Are
The primary role of the New Zealand immigration system is to facilitate the travel of visitors, students, workers, families, and refugees while protecting New Zealand from immigration risk.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has four key responsibilities:
- 🛂 Granting visas for work, travel, study, and residence
- 🚪 Ensuring that people crossing the border are entitled to do so
- 🏠 Helping migrants and refugees settle in New Zealand
- 🌏 Working with global partners to maintain border security
Our Ambition
INZ aims to provide a trusted, world-class immigration service that balances facilitating entry into New Zealand with protecting the country from immigration risk.
Our commitment includes:
- ✔️ Making the visa process transparent and easy to navigate
- ✔️ Reducing wait times and improving communication with applicants
- ✔️ Offering customer-friendly online platforms
What Our Customers Can Expect
INZ continuously improves its processes to make visa applications easier and faster.
- 🔹 Online forms and tracking to provide real-time application updates
- 🔹 Fair and transparent processing of visa applications
- 🔹 Reducing delays by ensuring complete application submissions
Applicants are encouraged to check visa processing timeframes before making any travel plans.