Are Too Many Brits Now Living in New Zealand?

Summary: Are the New Zealand government actively targeting Britons to live in New Zealand and could this create a problem?

The statistics relating to the number of Britons emigrating annually to live permanently in New Zealand are quite surprising – considering New Zealand is such a remote location for Brits it’s interesting to note that this failed to deter 22,400 of us who moved out to the islands last year alone.  The addition of 22,400 takes the total number of Brits living in New Zealand to around 215,000 making it the sixth most popular country in the whole world with British expatriates.

But New Zealand’s natural population is in fact relatively small – and such a strong level of inward migration of Britons could actually change the demographic make up of the country.  So, are too many Brits now living in New Zealand…there are those who think that this is the case.

The Daily Telegraph recently reported a story about the Maori (political) Party which has begun lobbying the government in Wellington to actively restrict the numbers of Britons moving to live in New Zealand.  Their lobbying encompasses all white immigrants but is specifically focused on British settlers as these are the vast majority that arrive annually.  Their argument isn’t race related in that they hate us Brits – far from it, the issue that they are concerned about is that the government could indeed inadvertently be changing the face of New Zealand. 

Currently white New Zealander’s birth rates are way below those of the indigenous Maori people and that of Asian immigrants who have settled in New Zealand - collectively they are referred to by the Maori Party as ‘brown’ as opposed to ‘white’.  The Maori argument is that if the government stopped letting so many white immigrants in, New Zealand would become a browner country.  They are concerned that recent changes to immigration policies actually favour British, North American and Canadian immigrants because there is a strong emphasis on the need to speak English now integrally part of the migration acceptance process.

The government aren’t currently willing to listen to these demands - which for British people is of course a good thing because far more wish to live in New Zealand than annually are granted permission and there are many good reasons why we are attracted to the nation.  For one thing it is a stunningly beautiful country of diverse natural and geographic contrasts.  New Zealander’s speak English and have similar cultural and moral values to us, the nation affords many immigrants a better and more affordable quality of life and of course the climate is more temperate in parts of New Zealand compared to the UK enabling a very active outdoor lifestyle to be enjoyed.

The Maori Party may well have a very valid point, too many Brits may now be living in New Zealand…but that won’t stop many more Britons from actively seeking a residence permit!

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