New Zealand Immigration Rate Fell post Earthquake

There has been a perceptible drop in the rates of immigration to New Zealand and the reason attributed for this dip in the immigration of migrants has been mainly due to the natural disasters, especially earthquakes.

During the recent earthquakes, some of the major cities in New Zealand, like Christchurch have been utterly destroyed and has filled the minds of the residents with morbid fear. This has resulted in a decline in the migrants migrating to New Zealand.

The impact of the earthquake has had a disastrous effect on the number of immigrants wanting to move to New Zealand in this financial year. The trend in the immigration is on a downward swing. During the first nine months of the year the number of migrants from other countries was around 28000 as compared to the previous year’s immigration being upwards of 33000 which indicates a steep decline in immigrants during the same period last year.

The economy of New Zealand is entirely dependent on the skilled immigrants from other countries. This steep decline in the rate of immigrants has adversely affected the economy of the country since the workforce employed in the country contributes significantly towards boosting the economy. The government is becoming increasingly worried due to the slump in the low rate of migration by immigrants.

New Zealand is at present hopeful of offering permanent residency to migrants numbering between 45,000 to 50,000 migrants during this financial year with a priority for skilled immigrants.

The earthquake in New Zealand wreaked havoc in the city of Christchurch with an estimated damage of at least 13 billion New Zealand Dollars. This natural devastation deeply impacted the arrivals of immigrants from other countries.

The trends in migration have undergone a sea change which has witnessed a reduction in the number of people visiting the country. This is mainly due to the natural disaster that has destroyed not only the city of Christchurch, but also has ruined the economy of the country. In the forthcoming months, the full effect of the earthquake might be felt fully on the migration flows.

On the positive side, it is the appropriate time for people to make plans to migrate to New Zealand since there would not be as many restrictions imposed on applicants currently as it is the need of the hour for New Zealand to phenomenally increase their demand for skilled immigrants into the country.