Leaving so soon? Skilled Migrants in New Zealand: Who says and who goes?

Abstract

New Zealand’s ability to attract the migrants it needs is crucial to maximising the contribution migration makes to the economy. However, an area of equal importance is how well New Zealand retains the migrants it attracts. This paper presents findings from an analysis of data from administrative sources and the Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand (LisNZ). We explore which factors are associated with the retention of skilled migrants in their first years after taking up residence in New Zealand – that is, ‘who stays and who goes?’.Among other results, we find that more educated migrants are generally less likely to stay in New Zealand. However, this effect is stronger for Asians and South Africans than for other migrants.