According to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), 14,238 people arrived on work visas in July, down from 16,878 in June and 17,319 in May.
That may signal the rapid growth in the number of overseas workers coming to NZ that occurred since pandemic border restrictions were eased, is starting to slow.
Overseas worker arrivals slowed to just a few hundred a month from April 2020 to March 2022, then began to increase rapidly from April last year, hitting 20,442 in March this year.
That means the number of overseas workers arriving is not far below pre-pandemic levels, with 102,624 arriving over the six months from February to July this year, compared to 111,120 over the same period of 2019.
The numbers also suggest arrivals patterns are resuming their regular pre-pandemic trend, as per the graph below. This would mean their numbers would probably not peak until January next year, although there may be monthly fluctuations for the remainder of this year.
The MBIE figures show there were a total of 149,220 people in NZ on work visas at the end of July this year.
That's well down from the peak of 222,036 in March 2020. However, the steady decline that occurred between April 2020 and September 2022 was mainly due to 204,504 people who transferred from work visas to residence visas under the 2021 Residence Visa Scheme, which was only available for a limited time.
The number of work visa holders in NZ has been tracking up again since October last year.
There was also a sharp jump in the number of overseas students coming to NZ, with 12,438 arrivals on student visas in July.
That suggests overseas student arrivals are returning to the seasonal pattern evident pre-pandemic, when January, February and July were the main months for student visa arrivals.
However, while student arrivals may be following the same pattern evident pre-pandemic, their total numbers are down. The 12,438 arriving in July was well below 20,118 arriving in July 2019.
According to MBIE, there was a total of 52,248 people in NZ on student visas at the end of July this year, compared to 86,100 at the end of July 2019. So the international education sector still has a way to go to get back to pre-pandemic levels.
Greg Ninness is the Property Editor of interest.co.nz. He has worked as a business journalist since 1990 and covered the commercial and residential property markets since 2005. This article was first published HERE
That means the number of overseas workers arriving is not far below pre-pandemic levels, with 102,624 arriving over the six months from February to July this year, compared to 111,120 over the same period of 2019.
The numbers also suggest arrivals patterns are resuming their regular pre-pandemic trend, as per the graph below. This would mean their numbers would probably not peak until January next year, although there may be monthly fluctuations for the remainder of this year.
The MBIE figures show there were a total of 149,220 people in NZ on work visas at the end of July this year.
That's well down from the peak of 222,036 in March 2020. However, the steady decline that occurred between April 2020 and September 2022 was mainly due to 204,504 people who transferred from work visas to residence visas under the 2021 Residence Visa Scheme, which was only available for a limited time.
The number of work visa holders in NZ has been tracking up again since October last year.
There was also a sharp jump in the number of overseas students coming to NZ, with 12,438 arrivals on student visas in July.
That suggests overseas student arrivals are returning to the seasonal pattern evident pre-pandemic, when January, February and July were the main months for student visa arrivals.
However, while student arrivals may be following the same pattern evident pre-pandemic, their total numbers are down. The 12,438 arriving in July was well below 20,118 arriving in July 2019.
According to MBIE, there was a total of 52,248 people in NZ on student visas at the end of July this year, compared to 86,100 at the end of July 2019. So the international education sector still has a way to go to get back to pre-pandemic levels.
Greg Ninness is the Property Editor of interest.co.nz. He has worked as a business journalist since 1990 and covered the commercial and residential property markets since 2005. This article was first published HERE
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