The combination of the departure of foreign migrants and Government policies means net annual migration is expected to drop from about 70,000 now to 10,000 in 2021. The fall in annual net migration from the July-year peak was mainly caused by an increase in non-New Zealand citizen migrant departures. Looking at the breakdown of the monthly flows, a continued falling trend in net migration was on the cards for the coming year. Importantly, this trend looks likely to continue for some time and will drive a substantial downturn in total net migration over the coming year. Mostly, the change was due to natural forces that drove net migration, like the strength of the global economy, rather than policy, Mr Ranchhod said.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 22, 2017 15:56 UTC