The Māori people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) are descendants of Polynesian peoples who had arrived by 1300 AD. There is debate over the precise date and the number of vessels, but Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand refers to ocean-going waka (canoes) having journeyed during the 1200s from east Polynesia to land on New Zealand’s coast. Fifty years after Captain James Cook’s arrival in 1769 less than 200 Europeans had settled in New Zealand, whereas there were around 100,000 Māori. As early as 1792, whalers arrived as temporary visitors, and the first mission station was set up by Samuel Marsden after his arrival under the auspices of the Anglican Church Missionary Society in 1814. During the late 1820s the number of non-Māori living in New Zealand began to increase, and by 1839 totalled about 2,000 (Māori numbered about 100,000). Two-thirds lived in the North Island with a large majority being single men. An estimated 90 percent were of British background and of these almost seven in ten were English.
Approximately 1,000 English settlers arrived in the first wave of the New Zealand Company settlement of Wellington. Of the 18,000 settlers who came directly from Britain between 1840 and 1852, about 14,000 arrived through the Company or its successors. As a result of its policy, by 1852 there were approximately 28,000 Europeans in New Zealand.
The gold rush brought an influx of migrants from Australia.
New Zealand admitted its first Chinese market gardeners.
Legislation was passed to prevent the introduction into New Zealand of convicted felons and other persons undergoing sentence of transportation.
The Immigration and Public Works Act 1870 was part of the expanded programme of immigration and public works associated with Colonial Treasurer Julius Vogel. Under this an Agent General was appointed in London over the agents acting for various provinces.
The Government offered free passage to European immigrants.
The biggest year in the 19th century for immigration as 32,118 assisted settlers arrived.
The annual migrant intake declined to less than 12,000, and the following year fell further to 5,000. From 1888 to 1891 only 764 assisted migrants were brought to New Zealand.
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Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
The regulation of Chinese immigration commenced with the Chinese Immigrants Act 1881.
The Imbecile Passengers Act 1882 required a bond from the person responsible for a ship that discharged any person ‘lunatic, idiotic, deaf, dumb, blind or infirm’ who might become a charge on public or charitable institutions.
High numbers of Dalmatian immigrants began arriving.
The New Zealand Government discontinued the practice of New Zealand residents nominating particular people, such as near relatives, for concessional passages. It was reintroduced in a modified form in 1906.
For the first time since assisted-passage schemes were introduced in the 1870s, there were no assisted migrants. It was not until 1903 that assisted passages were again offered.
The Immigration Restriction Act 1899 further restricted Asiatic immigration. Prohibited immigrants included any ‘idiot’ or ‘insane’ person, as well as those suffering from contagious diseases.
The Chinese Immigrants Amendment Act 1907 expressly provided that it was not lawful for any Chinese to land in New Zealand until it had been proven to the satisfaction of the Collector of Customs that they were able to read a printed passage of not less than 100 words of the English language selected at the discretion of the Collector.
About 3,000 wives of New Zealand soldiers who married abroad and their 600 children arrived during the demobilisation after World War One.
The Undesirable Immigrants Exclusion Act 1919 gave the Attorney–General the power to prohibit the landing in New Zealand of undesirable, disaffected, or disloyal persons and to order such persons to leave.
The Immigration Restriction Amendment Act 1920 proclaimed the principle of free entry for people of British or Irish birth or descent. Other nationalities were allowed entry only at the discretion of the Minister.
From 1923 applications for naturalisation could be made to the Minister of Internal Affairs by aliens (non-Britons) of ‘good character’ who had lived in New Zealand for at least three years, had ‘an adequate knowledge of the English language’, and did not have any ‘disability’.
The number of people who received assistance to migrate to New Zealand was limited. Only 50 immigrants received financial assistance over the decade to March 1946.
From 1928 people who had been naturalised anywhere in the Empire automatically became British subjects in New Zealand. Conversely, anyone naturalised in New Zealand enjoyed the rights of British subjects anywhere in the Empire. People seeking to be naturalised had to have lived in the Empire for five years and in New Zealand for at least one year before they applied.
From 1934 the tax on Chinese immigrants was waived by the Minister of Customs (it was finally repealed in 1944).
New Zealand accepted 82 adult and 755 child refugees from Poland.
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Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
A Dominion Population Committee was appointed to study ways of increasing the country’s population. The Committee supported migration, preferably from Britain, of those who could work in secondary and tertiary industries.
The Government introduced an assisted-passage scheme for British and Irish citizens. British ex-servicemen received the most favourable treatment. Child immigration brought 530 children to New Zealand before the scheme ended in 1953. In 1950 the policy was amended to extend the categories of British citizens eligible for assistance. It also provided for pacts with other countries for the migration of single men and women aged 20 to 35 years.
The British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 gave New Zealand citizenship to all current New Zealand residents who had been either born or naturalised as British subjects.
The Government accepted 4,582 displaced Europeans as refugees. The Government also accepted displaced persons who arrived on International Refugee Organisation ships.
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Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
The number of Dutch immigrants arriving increased from 55 in 1950-1951 to over 2,700 as a result of an agreement with the Netherlands. The peak years were between July 1951 and June 1954, when an intake of 10,583 settlers was recorded.
Following an uprising in Hungary the Government agreed to a quota of 1,000 Hungarian refugees. The quota was later increased to 1,300.
New Zealand became one of the first countries in the world to accept refugee families with ‘handicapped’ members. ‘Handicapped’ refugees were those regarded as hard to settle for various reasons. These included ill health, disability, advanced age, or having large numbers of dependent children.
Immigration policies were changed to allow recruitment of more skilled workers for essential industries.
From January 1962, all persons other than New Zealand citizens were required to be in possession of entry permits before landing in New Zealand.
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Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
The Immigration Act 1964 largely consolidated the basic structure of immigration law. The concept of prohibited immigrants was retained and, unless specifically exempted, all persons entering New Zealand were required to hold a permit (British, Canadian and Irish citizens were initially exempted but from 1974 also came under the permit system). A pre-condition to removal from New Zealand was prosecution for an offence under the Act, conviction, and the making of an order by the Court that the offender be deported.
A special Samoa immigration quota was introduced. In addition to those entering under normal immigration arrangements up to 1,100 Samoans were allowed to be granted permanent residence annually.
In response to a labour shortage in the early 1970s, an assisted passage scheme and publicity to attract migrants contributed to a record inflow of immigrants in 1973 and 1974. Many of these migrants were from the Pacific Islands. However, by this time the labour shortage had eased, and the Government started a major review of immigration policy.
The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement allowed Australian and New Zealand citizens to enter each other’s countries (to visit, live, work or remain indefinitely) without having to apply for a permit.
The first 112 Vietnamese refugees were accepted. Many people fled Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s on small and often unseaworthy vessels. These people were called ‘boat people’. In 1977, 412 ‘boat people’ were resettled in New Zealand.
The Government’s review of immigration policy was released. The review led to the end of unrestricted access for British immigrants. It reaffirmed the free access to New Zealand of those born in the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau. It also stated that Western Samoa, as a territory formerly administered by New Zealand, held a special place in the policy. Australians continued to have unrestricted access. Other immigrants had to apply for residence under family, humanitarian, refugee or general grounds. The General Category required immigrants to be selected from traditional source countries (mostly in Europe). The selection criteria included skills and qualifications.
Reference Number: EP_1979_1669_8.TIF
Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
Assisted immigration ended. In the preceding 20 years, over 82,000 assisted and subsidised migrants had arrived. Of these, 93 percent were British and 4 percent were Dutch. The rest were Austrians, Danes, Germans, Swiss, Greeks and other Europeans.
Following attempts from 1972 to locate and deport Polynesians with expired work-permits the Government opened a register to allow illegal immigrants to legalise their status without penalty.
The Citizenship Act 1977 imposed the same requirements on all people who applied for citizenship by grant regarding length of residence in New Zealand, character, and knowledge of the English language.
The Government announced that from February 1 temporary visitors would no longer be permitted to work unless they had specific authority.
The Privy Council reinterpreted the 1923 and 1928 British Nationality and Status of Aliens (in New Zealand) Acts. These allowed for the naturalisation of residents of Western Samoa, who were exempted from the usual English language requirement. The Privy Council ruled that all Western Samoans born between 1924 and 1948 were British subjects. The Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 overturned the Privy Council ruling. However, all Western Samoan citizens who were in New Zealand on 14 September 1982, and those subsequently granted permanent residence, became entitled to New Zealand citizenship.
The first working holiday scheme was introduced. The scheme was between New Zealand and Japan.
The Immigration Policy Review of 1986 symbolised a major change from the earlier focus on nationality and ethnic origin as the basis for admitting immigrants. Instead of this any person who met specified educational, business, professional, age, or asset requirements was to be admitted regardless of race or nationality. From the review came the Immigration Act 1987. This discarded source country criteria, although Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents could still enter New Zealand freely. Migrants who applied for residence under the General Category had to have skills contained in the Occupational Priority List to be approved for residence. A Business Immigration Policy also allowed migrants with proven business ability and investment capital to be accepted.
June – The Minister of Immigration confirmed that New Zealand would accept a target of up to 1,000 Indo-Chinese refugees over the next three years. More than 9,000 refugees had resettled in New Zealand since 1977.
December – The Minister of Immigration announced that a working party was to be established to advise on the implementation of the Government’s immigration policy.
March – The working party’s report on immigration was completed. The recommendations included: replacement of the occupational priority list with a points system; tighter controls on investment by business migrants; the establishment of a marketing section to promote New Zealand as a destination for migrants and improving relationships between the service and consultants; and stronger measures to ensure better compliance with immigration laws and to deal with ‘over-stayers’.
November – The Immigration Amendment Act 1991 came into effect. A formal right of appeal against declined residence applications was enshrined in legislation for the first time. The Act established two independent appeal bodies (the Residence Appeal Authority and the Removal Review Authority). Potential migrants could apply under the General, Business Investment, Humanitarian, and Family Categories. The General Category was replaced by the General Skills Category in 1995.
July – Policy changes announced included: a more rigorous definition of investment; and the requirement for statutory registration of professionals seeking to practice in New Zealand (such as doctors) with the appropriate statutory body before they could gain points for their qualifications.
New Zealand reduced its refugee quota from 800 a year to 750 and agreed to pay travel costs.
May – The Immigration (Migrant Levy) Amendment Act 1998 introduced the migrant levy.
October – Key policy changes were announced. These included: the abolishment of the English language bond introduced in 1995 and replacement with pre-purchased English language training; recognition of all work experience for General Skills Category points; a new Entrepreneur Category for residence; a new Long-Term Business Visa; a new Investor Category to replace the Business Investor Category; and streamlined processes for investors.
April – Under the Immigration Amendment Act 1999 there were faster removal procedures for people in New Zealand unlawfully without a permit. The Act also tightened judicial review procedures, and provided a statutory base for the determination of refugee status in accordance with New Zealand’s obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
January – The establishment of a Ministerial Advisory Group to advise the Immigration Minister on immigration policy and settlement issues was announced.
June – The Government indicated the number of Working Holiday Visas would double to 20,000 places per year.
September – The Government announced changes to the way it managed residence approvals with the introduction of the New Zealand Immigration Programme. The new system set the total number of residence approvals at 45,000 each year for the next three years. It also introduced three residence approval streams that operated independently of each other.
December – Under announced immigration initiatives a Talent Visa was to be introduced whereby accredited employers could recruit highly talented and skilled individuals to boost their access to global skills and knowledge.
February – Migrants seeking residence started to receive a points premium for job offers that were relevant to their qualifications or work experience.
July – The Pacific Access Category (a permanent residence annual quota) was established. The Refugee Family Sponsored Category was added to the International Humanitarian Stream.
November – Cabinet agreed to the national Immigration Settlement Strategy for migrants, refugees and their families. The Strategy’s six goals for migrants and refugees included the obtaining of employment appropriate to their qualifications and skills.
December – The Skilled Migrant Category commenced. The policy promoted the active recruitment of skilled migrants to New Zealand.
May – The Immigration Settlement Strategy was announced. This aimed to help migrants settle better by addressing issues such as access to education, health, housing and employment.
August – Measures aimed at enabling Pacific Island quotas to be filled were announced. These included swifter verification of job offers and the release of quota places throughout the year rather than during just one month.
April – The Citizenship Amendment Act 2005 increased the standard period of residence in New Zealand from three years to five years, and removed the provision for special treatment for the spouses of New Zealand citizens. This meant that applicants for the grant of citizenship who were married to New Zealand citizens would be required to meet the five-year residency period.
The Passports Amendment Act 2005 reduced the validity of adult passports from ten years to five years, allowed information to be disclosed for border security purposes, and provided for the cancellation or refusal to issue New Zealand passports and travel documents in cases where national security was threatened.
January – From 1 January children born in New Zealand (or in the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau) acquired New Zealand citizenship at birth only if at least one of their parents was a New Zealand citizen, was entitled to be in New Zealand indefinitely in terms of the Immigration Act 1987, or was entitled to reside indefinitely in the Cook Islands, Tokelau or Niue.
May – The Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 required the mandatory licensing of all immigration advisers. It became an offence to provide immigration advice without a license, unless exempt.
July – The revised New Zealand Settlement Strategy was launched. This realigned the 2004 New Zealand Settlement Strategy to the Government’s strategic priorities through its Call to Action for settlement.
August – The Government’s Immigration Bill was tabled in Parliament. The would replace the Immigration Act 1987 and proposed a simplified visa system, more flexible powers to enforce immigration law, and the ability to collect and use biometric information.
November – The Active Investor Migrant Policy opened. There were three categories: Global Investor; Professional Investor; and General (Active) Investor.
February – Changes to the Skilled Migrant Category deferred in November 2006 were introduced. The changes primarily affected the assessment of whether an applicant's job or job offer was 'skilled employment', and which qualifications were recognised.
March – A new policy took effect whereby transit visas were required for all travel via New Zealand, regardless of where the traveller came from or their destination, unless that person was specifically exempted by New Zealand’s immigration policy.
April – The New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) aimed to make it easier for New Zealand and Chinese nationals to enter each other’s country for a temporary stay related to the supply of services. For instance, the FTA provided for up to 1,800 skilled people from China to work temporarily in New Zealand at any one time under the new policies, provided they met the requirements and had a job offer. It also provided for up to 1,000 young people from China to be granted a working holiday visa each year.
Please note that the tables below are not directly comparable given differences in the data sources.
| Place of birth | Number of persons |
| New Zealand | 18,702 |
| England | 23,680 |
| Scotland | 7,976 |
| Ireland | 4,554 |
| Other British Dominions and at sea | 1,431 |
| Australian colonies | 1,410 |
| Foreign countries | 1,342 |
| Wales | 233 |
| Unspecified | 85 |
Results of a census of the Colony of New Zealand taken for the night of the 3rd of March, 1878, George Didsbury, Wellington, 1880, p.226.
| Place of birth | Number of persons |
| New Zealand | 516,106 |
| England | 111,964 |
| Scotland | 47,858 |
| Ireland | 43,524 |
| Australasia, Tasmania, and Fiji | 27,215 |
| Germany | 4,217 |
| Other British possessions | 4,049 |
| China | 2,902 |
| Sweden and Norway | 2,827 |
| Denmark and possessions | 2,120 |
| Other* | 9,937 |
* This is the total population figure of 772,719 excluding the total figure of the ten most common countries.
Results of a census of the Colony of New Zealand taken for the night of the 31st of March, 1878, John Mackay, Wellington, 1902, p.124.
| Place of birth | Number of persons |
| New Zealand | 2,079,320* |
| England | 154,869 |
| Scotland | 47,078 |
| Australia | 35,412 |
| Netherlands | 17,844 |
| Northern Ireland | 8,983 |
| Republic of Ireland | 6,784 |
| Wales | 5,811 |
| India | 4,753 |
| Western Samoa | 4,450 |
| Other** | 49,680 |
* This figure includes New Zealand’s Island Territories (the Cook Islands, 3,374; Niue Island, 1,414; and the Tokelau Islands, 23).
New Zealand Census 1961, Volume 6 – Birthplaces and duration of residence of persons born overseas , Department of Statistics, Wellington, 1964, pp.6-7.
** This is the total population figure of 2,414,984 excluding the total figure of the ten most common countries.
| Place of birth | Number of persons |
| New Zealand | 2,960,217 |
| England | 202,401 |
| People’s Republic of China | 78,117 |
| Australia* | 62,742 |
| Samoa | 50,649 |
| India | 43,341 |
| South Africa | 41,676 |
| Fiji | 37,749 |
| Scotland | 29,016 |
| Republic of Korea | 28,806 |
| Other** | 493,233 |
* This figure includes the Australian External Territories.
** This is the total population figure of 4,027,947 excluding the total figure of the ten most common countries.
Other: Wales and unspecified.
Other: China, Sweden and Norway, Denmark and possessions, and other
Other: Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Wales, India, Western Samoa, and other
Gordon McLauchlan, Michael King, Hamish Keith, Ranginui Walker, and Laurie Barber, The New Zealand Book of Events . Reed Methuen Publishers Ltd, Auckland, 1986.
Government media releases. Available from http://www.beehive.govt.nz/
Immigration New Zealand, Department of Labour, ‘Latest News’.
Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand , the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
Available from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en
The author would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
Paul Bellamy, Research Analyst
For more information, contact at ext. 9204
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