More than 22,000 residence visas approved since the start of this year

Public Policy / news

Eightfold increase in the number of residence visas being approved so far in 2022

17th Mar 22, 10:48am by Greg Ninness

The number of residence visas being approved has risen sharply since the beginning of this year, with 10,803 approved in January and another 11,805 approved in February.

That compares with an average of 2677 residence visas approved per month last year (see graph below).

Nearly all of the latest batch of approvals were made under the special 2021 Resident Visa scheme established by the Government last year.

That provided a fast track to residency for migrants who were already in this country on September 29 last year, mostly those on work visas, provided they had already been living here for most of the previous three years.

It was estimated when the scheme was announced that up to 165,000 people already in New Zealand on work visas would be eligible for the special residence visa.

Immigration NZ says it has received around 70,000 applications for the new visas since applications opened on December 1 last year.

If they were all approved it would give NZ residency to about 132,000 people.

Most of the 22,608 residence visas approved in January and February were for the new special visa.

Immigration NZ said that by March 10, 22,364 people had become NZ residents under the new scheme.

"Becoming a New Zealand resident can be life-changing for many individuals as it gives them the certainty that they can stay in New Zealand permanently," Immigration NZ General Manager Geoff Scott said.

"The fact that so many people have been approved in such a short time shows that the 2021 Resident Visa category is delivering on being quick and easy to access." he said.

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22 Comments

by Squishy | 17th Mar 22, 11:08am 1647468508

Have to keep the population Ponzi scheme going, house prices can never be allowed to fall.

by GV 27 | 17th Mar 22, 11:12am 1647468730

Or wages allowed to rise...

by Zack Brando | 17th Mar 22, 12:05pm 1647471915

Nearly all of the latest batch of approvals were made under the special 2021 Resident Visa scheme established by the Government last year.

So people that are already living in NZ, but yes.. they might buy a house or two - certainly battery-tenants.

by HouseMouse | 17th Mar 22, 12:23pm 1647473037

I doubt very many of them will be able to afford to buy. Most of them seem to be working in areas of low to low-medium income.

It's pretty meaningless in terms of the housing market. And they have been here for a couple of years and already renting.

by Advisor | 17th Mar 22, 2:34pm 1647480888

I would be really concerned by this development if were I the leader of NZ Nat or ACT. Labour is literally on-track to add at least 120k* new voters until the next election, mostly from lower income households who wouldn't have qualified for residence otherwise. Isn't that 3-4% of total number of voters, mostly in upper North, which are traditionally centre-right regions.

These people won't have the prospects to own a house or a business, at least until the next couple of election cycles, and are more likely to vote Labour-Greens.

* - assuming 75% of total people in approved resident applications are adults

by HouseMouse | 17th Mar 22, 3:22pm 1647483773

very good point!!!!

Strategic thinking.

While we are on this topic - political polls don't canvas kiwis overseas do they? I would think that quite a few kiwis overseas might switch to National given the debacles around getting back home.

by singautim | 17th Mar 22, 3:41pm 1647484865

Immigrants from some 3rd world countries are working in poorly paid jobs in NZ but usually they come from middle-class back grounds; they have to be at least middle class to be able to afford NZ's tertiary education fees, airfares, immigration agents fees, etc. I suspect they will change their voting patterns to right wing parties once they get a decent foothold in NZ. Nobody dislikes beneficiaries living off the welfare state as much as the low-paid hard-working employee getting up early for their shift while their unemployed neighbours sleep in.

by NZBilly | 17th Mar 22, 11:21am 1647469279

It would be good to know the long-term direction for population numbers in NZ, whether we should stay at roughly the current population, or go to higher numbers such as 10 - 20 million in x number of years. Currently, NZ is not a densely populated country and we should be informed of whether we will grow and how the growth will be effectively managed.

by Squishy | 17th Mar 22, 11:26am 1647469593

Population will probably peak at about 6m in 2095, that was pre-covid when birthrates where higher however:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)3067…

by CourtJester | 17th Mar 22, 12:27pm 1647473259

I'm just a layman, so I have no right to criticise the results of a study I didn't even bother to read, but 6 million by 2095 sounds impossibly low.

2m to 3m took 21 years,

3m to 4m took 30 years,

4m to 5m took 17 years.

Why would it take 75 years to go from 5m to 6m? Are we gonna get hit by a nuke, or the black plague?

by singautim | 17th Mar 22, 12:57pm 1647475066

My family added 6 (plus 3 Kiwi grandchildren since then) to the population 20 years ago. Then they said NZ would have 5 million sometime after 2030 - they got that wrong and we suffer for it - desperate needing more nurses, teachers, doctors and houses, roads, sewers.

If those 1million new residents who arrived after me were all young and highly skilled then NZ's economy would be thriving. Instead we have retired skilled professionals like myself and too many Uber drivers.

Why not have a plan? I'd vote for a decline but would go along with the majority if they really want growth but only if this time it is planned growth - build a hospital and a few schools and staff them ready for the next say 100,000 arrivals.

by CourtJester | 17th Mar 22, 1:11pm 1647475901

Planning ahead doesn't seem to be the kiwi way. The "she'll be right" attitude is rampant at every level of decision making.

The country's motto could be: "Fixing yesterday's problems tomorrow!"

by HouseMouse | 17th Mar 22, 3:24pm 1647483884

Exactly!

A fancy phrase for how kiwis do it might be 'Just-in-Time planning and implementation'. But that's never 'just in time'!

by singautim | 17th Mar 22, 3:32pm 1647484378

I've just received an email from Auckland Council that starts: ""Tāmaki Makaurau is growing. We’re fast approaching two million people with another million expected in the next 30 years."".

Auckland (apparently someone has chosen to rename it but not their email-id: aucklandconversations@aucklandcouncil.uq.co.nz ) is currently 1.7m. So they expect either 2.7m or 3m by 2052 (it is ambiguous). Either the rest of NZ is moving into Auckland or there will be serious promotion of immigration. If immigrants are distributed equally then NZ Auckland council's planners are expecting NZ to reach 8.8m in 30 years or roughly 125,000 pa so 6m in 8 years. That means 20% more teachers, nurses, doctors, schools, hospitals, houses, etc. [The lower figure of 2.7m would mean NZ reaching 6m about two years later.]

by Jarlaith | 17th Mar 22, 7:13pm 1647497589

What do you define as “highly skilled”? Immigrants appear to have the skills required by the New Zealand economy.

by singautim | 17th Mar 22, 8:06pm 1647500782

Skilled: having acquired mastery. So it applies to flipping burgers and to brain surgery.

To a normal person it implies not only being able to do something others cannot do but also something others find very difficult or impossible to do. So the Brain surgeon could easily acquire the burger flipping skill but the burger flipper would be highly unlikely to learn to perform brain surgery. Realistically the only definition that makes sense is how much can they earn. My son is paid modestly to play rugby; if he improves he will be paid more. My daughter used to play rugby; she could find no one willing to pay her for it.

If NZ wants immigrants willing to work for lower wages than Kiwis then that is what is how it should be described and the phrase 'highly skilled' abandoned.

by Jarlaith | 17th Mar 22, 8:58pm 1647503894

You haven’t really answered the question.

by Squishy | 18th Mar 22, 3:55pm 1647572119

Why would it take 75 years to go from 5m to 6m?

Many of the countries New Zealand imports labour from have, or will soon have, declining populations which will reduce the immigration rate.

by Due Diligence | 17th Mar 22, 9:35pm 1647506128

Merit-based immigration is good for this country. Almost all of them are hard workers that contribute to society. And very few of them buy into the idea that people should be treated differently based on when their ancestors arrived here. The more we can dilute that sort of ideology the better, so immigrants welcome I say. Saffas, Aussies, Brits, Indians - can’t recall ever meeting one I didn’t like.

by pacifica | 18th Mar 22, 12:16am 1647515782

Why did you play by the colonial racist playbook when it is so easy to make a point without it. It only diminishes and disqualifies your argument when you do. You could have said "hopefully they all have skills not available here in NZ and would likely perform some work" which we can prove is clearly false when many just given residence visas are just literally here for low skill untrained work a student should be hired for (literally pulling from the immigration skills list: cleaner, barista, vacuum cleaner, kitchenhand, shop retail staff, waitstaff, local tourism guide etc), or investment for which there is only one market going in NZ and we need less in that area, or the all too popular pathway to residency through study and/or overstaying to get the pension and medical benefits. Really all you have done is clearly identify why so many NZders, even those with high skilled experience and training, cannot get work. You simply fail to see that we are taking both the opportunity and access to work away from them even in low skill roles with the hodgepodge of importing anyone so long as the population numbers and living crisis keeps on going up. NZs emergency departments were already in mass code blacks before covid due to the population numbers and incredibly poor provisioning of basic health needs for the nation. 50% of youth often cannot even find work and have poor access to training. What next as you seem to be damning your own future health care in your elderly years.

by Te Kooti | 18th Mar 22, 10:12am 1647551536

"And very few of them buy into the idea that people should be treated differently based on when their ancestors arrived here"

DD, not only are you in complete denial of the Crown's legal obligations under Te Tiriti, it was also a mean-spririted and unnecessary remark. Colonised indigenous are treated differently in recognition of the land theft and human rights abuse they suffered. It is the same in Australia, Canada or the USA. You don't get to re-write history and you don't get to contract out of your obligations.

by Chris-M | 18th Mar 22, 1:20pm 1647562854

No difference between Labor and National. They are both wedded to the population/property value/low wage ponzie scheme.

Neither of them are worthy of votes.

Young people should leave as soon as they can because they are competing with people who will work for unreasonably low wages and our house prices will never be affordable in this economy.

The next change of government is only going to make these matters worse.