New Zealand Work Visa Trends & Stats (2014-2024)

New Zealand Work Visa Applications (2014-2024)

The highest number of visas approved was in 2018/19, with 242,391 approvals.
The most visa declines happened in 2017/18, with 19,884 declines, but this dropped in the following years.
During the pandemic in 2020/21, visa approvals fell to their lowest at 152,174.
Visa approvals started recovering, reaching 226,065 in 2022/23 but slightly decreased to 200,579 in 2023/24.

Work Visa Application	Decision Type
Financial Year (Jul-Jun) Decided	Approved	Declined	Total
2014/15	186,018	10,790	196,808
2015/16	209,590	12,057	221,647
2016/17	226,369	16,304	242,673
2017/18	230,254	19,884	250,138
2018/19	242,391	14,720	257,111
2019/20	197,818	12,309	210,127
2020/21	152,174	7,671	159,845
2021/22	173,865	6,484	180,349
2022/23	226,065	8,922	234,987
2023/24	200,579	10,421	211,000

Source: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/

NZ Work Visa Trends by Nationality (2021/22 – 2023/24)

India saw the most approvals in 2023/24, with 38,455 approvals, up from 31,019 in 2021/22.
China approvals peaked at 26,041 in 2022/23 but dropped to 15,608 in 2023/24.
The Philippines had 19,243 approvals in 2023/24, down from 23,311 the previous year.
Germany approvals decreased from 8,664 in 2022/23 to 7,267 in 2023/24.
France remained stable, with 7,838 approvals in 2023/24, down slightly from 9,194 in 2022/23.
United States saw a decline in approvals, from 8,256 in 2022/23 to 6,022 in 2023/24.
Vanuatu slightly increased approvals, from 7,610 in 2022/23 to 7,794 in 2023/24.
South Korea had a sharp drop in approvals, from 4,251 in 2022/23 to 2,338 in 2023/24.
Japan saw an increase in approvals, rising from 4,167 in 2022/23 to 4,908 in 2023/24.
Vietnam approvals decreased slightly, from 4,541 in 2022/23 to 4,376 in 2023/24.

	2022/23		2022/23		2023/24
	Decision Type		Decision Type		Decision Type
	Approved	Declined	Approved	Declined	Approved	Declined
Nationality
India	29,665	1,588	29,665	1,588	38,455	2,980
China	26,041	1,398	26,041	1,398	15,608	1,061
Great Britain	14,658	547	14,658	547	13,920	586
Philippines	23,311	830	23,311	830	19,243	951
Germany	8,664	98	8,664	98	7,267	76
France	9,194	79	9,194	79	7,838	76
United States of America	8,256	294	8,256	294	6,022	286
Vanuatu	7,610	81	7,610	81	7,794	61
Fiji	9,356	504	9,356	504	6,607	534
South Africa	7,001	197	7,001	197	4,510	134
South Korea	4,251	165	4,251	165	2,338	91
Samoa	5,769	169	5,769	169	5,264	186
Japan	4,167	96	4,167	96	4,908	96
Malaysia	5,591	122	5,591	122	4,406	87
Canada	3,408	226	3,408	226	2,887	162
Tonga	3,257	129	3,257	129	3,002	131
Sri Lanka	3,984	161	3,984	161	4,309	222
Brazil	2,620	81	2,620	81	1,816	74
Ireland	2,420	36	2,420	36	1,998	44
Italy	2,834	84	2,834	84	2,142	64
Argentina	3,087	66	3,087	66	2,990	102
Chile	2,822	67	2,822	67	2,409	55
Thailand	2,519	106	2,519	106	2,120	109
Vietnam	4,541	376	4,541	376	3,657	719
Czech Republic	2,497	30	2,497	30	1,439	21
Netherlands	1,776	31	1,776	31	1,377	39
Nepal	1,549	75	1,549	75	1,926	111
Indonesia	1,577	106	1,577	106	1,462	69
Russia	1,175	190	1,175	190	1,558	135
Taiwan	1,456	43	1,456	43	1,860	20
Ukraine	723	68	723	68	803	36
Solomon Islands	1,198	10	1,198	10	1,336	5
Bangladesh	1,145	44	1,145	44	1,066	159
Belgium	882	32	882	32	604	27
Hong Kong	672	45	672	45	468	40
Sweden	546	16	546	16	462	21
Spain	976	11	976	11	1,136	19
Uruguay	1,061	19	1,061	19	736	20
Pakistan	717	73	717	73	1,163	143
Mexico	873	29	873	29	564	22
Singapore	757	54	757	54	612	45
Colombia	529	18	529	18	490	21
Denmark	487	15	487	15	479	13
Kiribati	801	18	801	18	750	23
Finland	378	20	378	20	243	18
Iran	430	41	430	41	495	49
Cambodia	610	20	610	20	916	50

Source: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/

Key Trends in NZ Work Visa Categories (2020/21 – 2023/24)

Accredited Employer Visas:

In 2022/23, 71,311 visas were approved. This dropped to 50,962 approved in 2023/24.
There were more declined visas in 2023/24 (4,729) compared to 2022/23 (1,878).

Essential Skills Visas:

In 2020/21, 39,062 visas were approved, but by 2023/24, only 6 were approved.
This shows a significant drop in the use of this visa.

Working Holiday Visas:

Canada: Approvals increased from 438 in 2020/21 to 2,076 in 2023/24.
France: Visas grew from 84 approved in 2020/21 to 6,812 in 2023/24.
Germany: Similarly, approvals rose from 70 in 2020/21 to 6,262 in 2023/24.

Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Visas:

In 2020/21, 15,135 visas were approved.
This number increased to 18,986 in 2023/24.

Asylum Seeker Visas:

The number of approved visas increased from 753 in 2020/21 to 1,895 in 2023/24.

Entertainers and Associated Workers Visas:

In 2020/21, 386 visas were approved.
By 2023/24, this grew to 2,481 visas.

Variation of Conditions (VOC) Visas:

There were 21,019 approvals in 2020/21, but by 2023/24, approvals had dropped, leaving only 639 visas declined.

Chile and Argentina Working Holiday Visas:

These programs saw steady activity, with Argentina approving around 914 visas in 2023/24 and Chile approving 917 visas.

Asylum Seeker Visas:

Visa approvals went from 753 in 2020/21 to 1,895 in 2023/24, showing a steady increase.

United Kingdom Working Holiday Visas:

Approvals rose from 1,712 in 2020/21 to 6,954 in 2023/24, but declines also increased to 10,210 in 2023/24.

Application Criteria	Financial Year (Jul-Jun) Decided
	2020/21	2020/21	2021/22		2022/23		2023/24
	Decision Type		Decision Type		Decision Type		Decision Type
	Approved	Declined	Approved	Declined	Approved	Declined	Approved	Declined
Application Criteria
AEWV transitional	.	.	.	.	13	88	3	4
ASEAN Special Work	1	2	.	.	2	2	.	2
Accredited Employer	.	.	.	.	71,311	1,878	50,962	4,729
Approved In Principle	346	23	341	20	738	143	1,380	111
Argentina Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	916	2	1,078	16	914	35
Asylum Seeker	753	50	627	33	638	11	1,895	41
Austria Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	100	.	198	1	98	.
Belgium Working Holiday Scheme	10	.	144	7	577	27	467	24
Brazil Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	.	.	598	8	299	3
Canada Working Holiday Scheme	438	18	466	27	1,833	181	2,076	146
Chef from Thailand	1	1	1	.	47	2	12	5
Chile Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	908	1	968	5	917	2
China Skilled Workers	.	2	4	.	1	.	1	.
China Special Work	16	.	1	1	180	10	91	5
China Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	425	38	1,573	166	925	96
Crew of foreign fishing vessel	521	14	60	6	60	6	104	1
Crew of foreign fishing vessel – further work visa	7	.	.	.	2	.	.	.
Croatia Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	.	.	84	2	65	5
Czech Working Holiday Scheme	2	.	686	.	1,171	15	841	7
Denmark Working Holiday Scheme	14	.	67	.	288	14	301	9
Domestic staff for consular personnel	8	.	2	1	16	.	5	1
Domestic staff for seconded business personnel	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Entertainers and Associated Workers	386	14	187	2	1,738	37	2,481	43
Entrepreneur Work Visa (Balance of 3 years)	6	4	10	.	4	.	13	1
Entrepreneur Work Visa (Change of plan)	1	2	2	3	.	.	2	.
Entrepreneur Work Visa (Interim)	5	14	3	15	8	12	17	7
Entrepreneur Work Visa (Reconsideration)	.	2	1	.	1	.	.	.
Entrepreneur Work Visa (Renewal)	6	4	1	2	8	3	2	.
Essential Skills	39,062	2,689	27,561	1,051	1,392	126	6	2
Essential Skills – Skill Level 1	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	.
Essential Skills – current employment	.	.	14,488	297	2,314	143	2	.
Estonia Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	55	7	86	6	86	2
Exchange Work	53	8	.	1	86	4	172	.
Finland Working Holiday Scheme	3	3	51	3	216	12	172	13
France Working Holiday Scheme	84	4	1,351	12	6,246	35	6,812	44
General	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Germany Working Holiday Scheme	70	12	993	13	6,453	48	6,262	38
Global Impact Visa	12	.	27	.	167	6	4	11
Hong Kong Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	106	13	208	20	187	23
Hungary Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	100	.	197	3	99	1
IPT Order	69	.	87	.	104	.	77	.
Ireland Working Holiday Scheme	35	4	501	5	1,501	17	1,225	14
Israel Working Holiday Scheme	9	.	17	.	151	8	154	10
Italy Working Holiday Scheme	62	3	325	15	1,440	47	1,362	41
Japan Working Holiday Scheme	100	4	371	23	2,404	49	3,844	58
Japanese interpreter	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	3
Korea Working Holiday scheme	.	.	566	5	1,880	121	1,240	52
Latvia Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	51	.	104	6	58	3
Lithuania Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	.	.	201	.	100	.
Long Term Business (Balance of 3 years)	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Long Term Business (Change of plan)	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Long Term Business (Interim)	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Long Term Business (Reconsideration)	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Long Term Business (Renewal)	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Long Term Skill Shortage List Occupation	1,670	486	1,335	360	36	53	7	37
Luxembourg Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	6	2	18	7	22	11
Malaysia Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	1,151	3	2,280	10	1,147	5
Malta Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	.	.	7	2	6	5
Medical & dental trainee	.	.	.	.	80	2	138	.
Mexico Working Holiday Scheme	2						197
Migrant exploitation protection	.						2,070
NZ racing conference apprentice	8						7
Netherlands Working Holiday Scheme	32						987
Norway Working Holiday Scheme	4						63
Partner of AEWV (conditional)	.						9,262
Partner of AEWV (open)	.						3,366
Partner of Entrepreneur	11						26
Partner of Military Personnel	12						8
Partner of NZAID Student	38						52
Partner of Student	1,598						3,936
Partner of a worker	16,458						7,458
Partnership	12,859						16,438
Partnership deferral	.						.
Peru Working Holiday Scheme	.						89
Philippines Working Holiday Scheme	.						102
Poland Working Holiday Scheme	.						52
Portugal Working Holiday Scheme	1						50
Post-study – Employer Assisted	.						.
Post-study – Open	15,228						5,319
RSE Variation of Conditions	2,810						.
RSE VoC Critical Purpose	2,260						.
Recognised Antarctic Programme	.						.
Recognised Seasonal Employer	15,135						18,986
Reconsideration	305						62
Religious Trainees	19						77
Religious Worker	318						847
Replacement Working Holiday Visa-Covid 19	.						.
Section 61	981						1,103
Silver Fern Job Search	.						.
Silver Fern Practical Experience	36						.
Singapore Working Holiday Scheme	.						283
Skilled Migrant	.						702
Slovakia Working Holiday Scheme	.						101
Slovenia Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	55	1	82	58	2
South Island Contribution	252	6	252	3	2	.	1
Spain Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	194	7	638	864	13
Specialist skills	.	.	1	.	.	1	.
Specific Purpose or event	1,670	154	1,820	563	8,509	7,717	474
Supplementary Seasonal Employment	4,880	81	249	47	1,436	969	128
Sweden Working Holiday Scheme	9	2	73	4	316	307	15
Taiwan Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	564	3	634	1,111	6
Talent (Accredited Employer)	3,773	154	7,780	339	163	39	91
Talent – Arts, Culture and Sports	34	38	42	22	22	29	30
Thailand Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	.	.	195	93	15
Turkey Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	.	.	201	101	2
Ukraine 2022	.	.	721	13	568	578	32
United Kingdom Working Holiday Scheme	1,712	116	1,987	113	6,954	10,210	429
United States Working Holiday Scheme	133	28	1,012	33	3,569	2,889	149
Uruguay Working Holiday Scheme	.	.	.	.	624	195	1
VOC Critical Purpose	3,609	162	1,659	37	13	.	.
Variation of Conditions	21,019	818	12,489	1,221	11,811	10,840	639
Victims of Domestic Violence	114	8	94	1	56	131	15
Victims of People Trafficking	1	.	.	.	.	12	14
Vietnam Working Holiday Scheme	.	1	.	.	200	100	6
WHS Extension	3,091	147	16	8	768	5,308	92
Work experience for student	8	3	3	1	320	325	33
Total	152,170	7,636	173,863	6,459	226,057	200,573	10,420

Source: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/

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