New Zealand’s migration policy is fast becoming attractive to Indian professionals

hfindian - Holi, also known as the Festival of Colours, is celebrated in various cities in New Zealand, including Auckland and Wellington. Participants throw coloured water or powder at each other, as they sing and dance.

Photo: Courtesy of Apoorva Rajashekar

Holi, a Hindu festival of colours, is celebrated in various cities in New Zealand, including Auckland and Wellington.PHOTO: COURTESY OF APOORVA RAJASHEKAR

Ong Hui Fang

Ong Hui Fang

UPDATED Apr 04, 2025, 10:34 PM

WELLINGTON – IT professional Prashant Singh, 38, is among a growing wave of Indian migrants who have chosen to make New Zealand their home.

Frustrated by the slow process in securing permanent residency after spending six years in Melbourne, Australia, he decided to cross the ditch to New Zealand. The country’s faster and more certain immigration pathway was the main draw.

“I got my residency in August 2024 and moved here in September. My New Zealand visa was granted in 20 days, which is mainly what made me decide to move,” Mr Singh told The Straits Times.

Migrants on resident visas can apply for permanent residency after two years.

Originally from Bengaluru, Mr Singh secured a job in Auckland a month before beginning the process of applying for his Straight to Residence Visa. His partner had to resign from her information technology job in Australia, but found a role about six months after they moved.

They now own a home, and Mr Singh feels that New Zealand’s welcoming culture has made the move worth the effort.

“Kiwis are much more welcoming compared with Aussies. Culture-wise, I find it more engaging. Family and tradition play a major part in everyone’s life,” said Mr Singh. The move has also brought financial benefits in the form of a higher salary, placing him among the top 10 per cent of earners in New Zealand.

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In comparing the cost of living with that of Australia, he noted that food and other items are comparable, but rent and bills in general are more costly in New Zealand.

Mr Singh’s story underscores a larger migration trend shaping New Zealand’s demographics. In 2024, a record 72,000 New Zealanders left the country due to high living costs and a weak economy.

Despite this, the country still managed to achieve a net migration gain of 27,100 people. Indian nationals led the net migrant arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens, contributing to 21,500 arrivals, double the figure in 2019 before Covid-19.

According to Immigration New Zealand (INZ), India has become the top source for work visa applications, with 34,988 submissions in 2024. Indian nationals also accounted for 72,000 international student visa applications in 2024, up from 61,500 in 2023.

Overtaking the Chinese

The New Zealand 2023 census revealed that the Indian community is now New Zealand’s third-largest ethnic group, overtaking the Chinese community. Indians make up 5.8 per cent of the population, with 292,092 people claiming Indian heritage, compared with fourth-placed ethnic Chinese, which had 279,039 people. New Zealand Europeans remained the largest ethnic group, followed by Maoris.

The census also showed that the median income of Indian adults, at NZ$51,600 (S$39,240), is higher than the national average of NZ$41,500, with more than 40 per cent holding managerial or professional jobs. Just under 7 per cent worked as labourers.

Community and industry insiders pointed to the relative inaccessibility of other popular Western destinations as reasons for increased Indian migration to New Zealand.

hfindian - Indian dancers at a Diwali celebration in Wellington in 2024

Photo: Courtesy of Apoorva Rajashekar

Indian dancers at a Diwali celebration in Wellington in 2024. PHOTO: COURTESY OF APOORVA RAJASHEKAR

Immigration adviser Richard Howard cited a shift in preferences due to changing immigration policies elsewhere, including Canada’s stricter immigration stance, Australia’s tighter student visa requirements, and limited post-study work rights in Britain, as steering Indian migrants towards New Zealand. The unpredictability of US immigration policies under the Trump administration is likely to have added to this trend.

“New Zealand appears, in comparison, as an attractive destination with clear pathways from student visas to residence/citizenship, including the ability to move with family members,” said Mr Howard, managing director of immigration consultancy firm Pathways.

For instance, a five-year work visa allows a migrant to work in New Zealand while pursuing a residence pathway. In 2022, New Zealand also reopened the parent category for residence. The parent visa, capped at 2,500 annually, allows citizens or residents to sponsor their foreign parents to gain residency in New Zealand.

Mr Howard added that eligible applications for residency are typically processed within three to six months in New Zealand, compared with longer processing times in many other countries.

The demand for skilled labour in sectors such as construction, health and transport during New Zealand’s post-Covid-19 recovery period has further attracted Indian workers.

In addition, education has been sold as a “pathway to immigration”, explained emeritus professor of history at Victoria University of Wellington Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, who is also founding director of the NZ India Research Institute at the institution. The post-study work visa allows tertiary students to stay and work for up to three years after finishing their full-time studies in New Zealand.

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A boost to New Zealand’s economy

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently concluded a high-profile visit to India in March, aiming to strengthen ties and foster bilateral trade. The two sides have committed to resuming free trade negotiations to expand the current NZ$3.1 billion trade relationship. Air New Zealand and Air India have also announced plans to have direct flights by 2028, while code-sharing partnerships are set to ease travel. Marketing campaigns are also in the pipeline to boost tourist arrivals from India.

Ms Jeannie Melville, deputy chief operating officer of INZ, highlighted to ST that immigration is crucial to growing New Zealand’s economy, and India is an important market for New Zealand.

“In the last few years, New Zealand has seen an increase in the number of Indian nationals arriving in New Zealand on a work visa, which now make up the highest market (in this visa category). India is also the second-largest source of international students and the second-largest source of visa-required visitors to New Zealand,” said Ms Melville.

Major work visa changes that began in March 2025 will simplify the hiring process for employers and relax requirements for prospective workers, including reduced work experience requirements and longer visa durations. All this will make New Zealand a more accessible destination.

In announcing the changes in December 2024, Minister for Immigration Erica Stanford said: “Our focus remains on attracting more higher-skilled workers while managing migration levels responsibly, so New Zealand has access to the skills we need to grow our economy.”

Ms Melville pointed to the importance of immigration to New Zealand’s economy, adding that “INZ works closely with the Indian market, especially tourism and education agents, to ensure that the immigration system is not a barrier for Indian nationals visiting, studying, working or settling in New Zealand”.

hfindian - Devotees gathered over nine days to celebrate Navratri Festival at a temple in Wellington in 2024. The festival honours divine feminine energy and embraces the spirit of unity and togetherness. Apoorva Rajashekar attended the celebrations with her mother who was visiting from India.

Photo: Courtesy of Apoorva Rajashekar

Devotees gathering over nine days to celebrate Navratri Festival at a temple in Wellington in 2024. PHOTO: COURTESY OF APOORVA RAJASHEKAR

Staying connected

According to the census, 60 per cent of Indians settle down in Auckland and 9.5 per cent in Wellington.

Professor Bandyopadhyay said Indians tend to live and congregate in areas within Auckland, where there is a higher concentration of ethnic Indians. This has led to a proliferation of temples and gurdwaras, or Sikh temples, in these areas, and the emergence of “cultural enclaves”, as nearly all linguistic groups among the Indians have their own cultural organisations.

Nonetheless, he noted: “A great majority of ethnic Indians, unlike some other Asian minorities, can communicate in English, and that somewhat mitigates any problem of integration.”

Mental health practitioner Apoorva Rajashekar exemplifies the education-to-employment pathway favoured by many Indian young people.

The 33-year-old Mysuru native, who has a master’s in psychology from the University of Mysore, India, was working as a lecturer at a polytechnic when she moved to Auckland to do an honours degree course in counselling psychology in 2016.

hfindian - Apoorva Rajashekar (second from right) took part in Holi, or the Festival of Colours in Auckland a couple of years ago with friends.

Photo: Courtesy of Apoorva Rajashekar

Apoorva Rajashekar (second from right) took part in Holi, or the Festival of Colours, in Auckland a couple of years ago with friends.PHOTO: COURTESY OF APOORVA RAJASHEKAR

Her plan was to get a job in New Zealand after graduation, but it was by no means plain sailing, as she did not have work experience in the country. Many of her friends who were international students had to return home without a job offer, she recounted.

“I was one of the lucky ones,” she said. She is now a citizen living in Wellington who appreciates the freedom New Zealand offers, and its natural beauty. While she had little time for cultural connection in the early years, she has now found a balance between embracing Kiwi culture and staying connected to her Indian heritage.

“I celebrate festivals intimately at home, preparing special dishes, offering prayers and following traditions that are often elaborate and deeply meaningful,” said Ms Rajashekar.

“I also take part in larger community celebrations at temples, sharing in the joy on a grander scale. Staying connected with my family across India and the world has become an important part of these moments, as we exchange prayers and good wishes.”

Diwali, Holi and various Indian key festivals are now annual fixtures on the events calendar of main cities, and celebrated by non-Indians as well. In Auckland, the annual Diwali celebrations, started in 2002, drew more than 65,000 people in 2024.

Mr Sukhvinder Singh, a 48-year-old bookkeeper who moved to New Zealand from Punjab in 2023 with his wife and three children, finds Kiwis friendly and welcoming.

“Many Indian families have lived here for generations and are accepted in NZ as wonderful people who contribute a great deal to our communities,” he said.

“Indian people are friendly, share a great sense of humour and are, in general, achievers. Kiwis love Indian food. We tend to like each other and accept each other.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5705699&forum_id=2:#48817674)