Photo: 123rf
The number of Pacific migrants approved for immigration to New Zealand each year continues to drop significantly.
While immigration is at record levels in New Zealand, the number of Pacific migrants approved under the categories has dropped by 28 percent in the past five years.
Figures released to RNZ International under the Official Information Act show a significant decrease in the number of Pasifika people allowed into the country under both the Capped Family Residence and Skilled Migrant categories.
The Capped Family Residence category allows for the parents or family members of a New Zealand resident to apply for immigration, but the government recently reduced the cap from 11,000 in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 period, to 4,000 from 2016 to 2018.
The number of applications for this period has already exceeded the cap, Immigration New Zealand said, and the category has been temporarily closed.
Skilled migrant visas allow for immigration for those who meet criteria for employment in certain areas. 986 applications from the Pacific were approved under this category in 2015, but changes to New Zealand immigration policies means that just six percent of those applicants would now be eligible.
Earlier this month, the government announced a tighter points criteria for potential immigrants under the skilled migrant category, which is also hoped to arrest the rise in the number of people seeking to migrate to New Zealand.
