In May 2009, findings from the first wave of the Department of Labour's Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand [LisNZ] were released. 

The study will be completed over a total of 36 months, by conducting interviews with over 7000 migrants who have been granted permanent residence in New Zealand.  The first wave of interviews was conducted after migrants had spent 6 months in New Zealand, and subsequent interviews will be held after 18 months and 36 months of residence.

The LisNZ findings highlight some interesting migrant trends, in many cases supporting the professional advice Pathways to New Zealand has been providing migrants for the past 17 years.

According to the study, the median age of a migrant in New Zealand is 34 years, with the majority of migrants under 45. 

Four main ethnic groups are represented by migrant families, including:

• European (42%)
• Chinese (15%)
• South African (9%)
• Indian (8%)

With the main places of origin of migrants including the United Kingdom (32%), North Asia (18%) and the Pacific (12%).

At Pathways to New Zealand we recommend that our clients visit New Zealand before making any final decisions about emigrating here. The LisNZ findings supported this advice, suggesting that migrants who had visited New Zealand before, and who had previous New Zealand work experience, had a significantly higher employment rate than those who had not.

Currently 86% of all migrants visit New Zealand and 55% secure employment, before taking up permanent residency here.

Most commonly, factors associated with positive employment outcomes in New Zealand included:

• Being a skilled migrant
• Having English as the language spoken best
• Being the principal applicant
• Having prior work experience in New Zealand
• Having post-secondary school qualifications
• Being aged between 25-54 years old

Overall, 62% of migrants had no difficultly finding a job in New Zealand and, at the time of the research, 70% of all migrants were employed, with 4% looking for work.

Pathways to New Zealand appreciate that these statistics may have changed significantly over the last six months, with changes made to Immigration policies such as the LTSSL.  We recommend that all migrants who are affected by such changes seek professional immigration advice about their immigration status.  This is important to ensure that you and your family remain on the best pathway to permanent residence in New Zealand.

The most common reasons for migrating to New Zealand included:

• The relaxed pace of life and lifestyle (44%)
• The climate and clean, green environment (40%)
• A better future for children (39%)

Most migrants are very satisfied with life here in New Zealand (93%), with the most common complaint being associated with New Zealand's tax system and the distance of New Zealand from family and friends.

Overall, 87% of migrants felt settled or very settled, particularly those migrants who had spent two or more years in New Zealand before gaining permanent residency.

Overall these statistics indicate very positive trends for New Zealand as a migration destination.  Yes, the current economic situation will be certainly influencing some migrant's opinions negatively. However, it's important to put this into perspective, because the economic problems are not unique to NZ and will hopefully be relatively short lived.

As long as migrants continue to make well researched and informed decisions, there is no reason to suggest that these figures will not continue to be reflected in the next wave of results in 12 months time.  In fact, they may even improve further.