New Zealand gained 1600 more new migrants that those who left the country permanently in August. The latest figures, released in September 2009, point to a five-year high for New Zealand Immigration.
Visitor arrivals in September 2009 (172,400) were up 14,700 (9%) compared with September 2008. The biggest drive was the number of arrivals from Australia. September 2009 was, in fact, the sixth consecutive month of large increases from across the Tasman.
Visitor arrivals from China also saw an increase of 15%. Statistics New Zealand also recorded decreases in the number of arrivals from Korea (down 33%) and Japan (down 4%).
New Zealanders departed on 193,300 short-term trips in September 2009, representing a 1% increase. There were more trips to Fiji and Australia and fewer to the United States (down 16%).
Fewer New Zealanders chose to depart the country on permanent or long-term (PLT) trips. Additionally, PLT arrivals exceeded departures by 1800 in September 2009.
New Zealand's annual net PLT migration balance was a gain of 17,000 in the September 2009 year, up from 4,400 in the September 2008 year.