Performance reporting for Immigration New Zealand

Find out how we are progressing against our performance goals.

Immigration New Zealand agrees specific performance goals with the government for each financial year. Find out how we are progressing against those goals.

Measure 1: Timeliness of work and visitor visas

This is a measure of work and visitor visas completed within 20 working days. We achieved a result of 77% for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 1: Percentage of work and visitor visas completed within 20 working days (target is 75%)
Date Percentage Commentary
December 2024 79%

We completed 79% of Work and Visitor visas on time in December. Visitor visas scored 85% and Work visas scored 65%. This is the best result for Work visas this year.

November 2024 72%

We completed 72% of Work and Visitor visas on time in November. Visitor visas scored 78% and Work visas scored 53%.

October 2024 81%

We completed 81% of Work and Visitor visas on time in October. Visitor visas scored 89% and Work visas scored 61%.

September 2024 84%

We completed 84% of Work and Visitor visas on time in September. Visitor visas scored 92% and Work visas scored 60%. Processing times for Work visas remain affected by earlier policy changes.

August 2024 82%

We completed 82% of Work and Visitor visas on time in August. Visitor visas scored 91% and Work visas scored 56%. Processing times for Work visas have been affected by recent policy changes.

July 2024 82%

We completed 82% of Work and Visitor visas on time in July. Visitor visas scored 89% and Work visas scored 58%. Processing times for Work visas have been affected by recent policy changes.

June 2024 84%

We completed 84% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in June. This was 9 percentage points better than target. Performance was better for visitor visas (92%) than work visas (57%). Our full-year result for this measure is 77% against a target of 75%.

May 2024 80%

There is no commentary for May.

April 2024 82%

We completed 82% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in March. This was 7 percentage points better than target. Performance was better for visitor visas (89%) than work visas (63%). We completed 60,000 work and visitor visas this month.

March 2024 82%

We completed 82% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in March. This was 7 percentage points better than target. Performance was better for visitor visas (89%) than work visas (68%). We completed 62,000 work and visitor visas this month.

February 2024 80%

We completed 80% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in February. This was 5 percentage points better than target. Performance was better for visitor visas (85%) than work visas (71%). We completed 65,000 work and visitor visas this month.

January 2024 79%

We completed 79% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in January. This was 4 percentage points better than target. Performance was better for visitor visas (85%) than work visas (63%). We completed 68,000 work and visitor visas this month.

December 2023 77%

We completed 77% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in December. This was 1 percentage point better than target. Performance was better for visitor visas (81%) than work visas (64%). We completed 56,000 work and visitor visas in the month.

November 2023 76%

We completed 76% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in November. This was 1 percentage points better than target. Performance was better for visitor visas. We completed 76,000 work and visitor visas in the month.

October 2023 75%

We completed 75% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in October. This was right on target. We completed 66,000 work and visitor visas this month.

September 2023 73%

We completed 73% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in September. This was 2 percentage points short of our target. Performance was better for visitor visas. We completed 73,000 work and visitor visas in the month.

August 2023 70%

We completed 70% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in August. This was 5 percentage points short of our target. We completed almost 75,000 work and visitor visas this month.

July 2023 71%

We completed 71% of work and visitor visas within 20 working days in July. This was 4 percentage points short of our target. Performance was better for visitor visas. We completed 63,000 work and visitor visas in the month.

Measure 2: Timeliness of student visas

This is a measure of student visas completed within 30 working days. We achieved a result of 65% for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 2: Percentage of student visas completed within 30 working days (target is 75%)
Date Percentage Commentary
December 2024 86%

We completed 86% of Student visas on time in December. This is the best timeliness for Student since border reopening in 2022.

November 2024 79%

We completed 79% of Student visas on time in November.

October 2024 84%

We completed 84% of Student visas on time in October. This timeliness improvement was linked to increases in overall production.

September 2024 72%

We completed 72% of Student visas on time in September. This is the first month-on-month drop for 4 months.

August 2024 74%

We completed 74% of Student visas on time in August. This is the fourth consecutive monthly improvement in timeliness.

July 2024 72%

We completed 72% of Student visas on time in July. This is the third consecutive monthly improvement in timeliness.

June 2024 70%

We completed 70% of student visas within 30 working days in June, 5 percentage points short of target, and 5 percentage points better than May. Our full-year result for this measure was 65% against an Estimates target of 75%.

May 2024 65%

There is no commentary for May.

April 2024 64%

We completed 64% of student visas within 30 working days in April. This was 11 percentage points short of target and 1 percentage point better than March. We completed 9,200 student visas this month.

March 2024 63%

We completed 63% of student visas within 30 working days in March. This was 2 percentage points worse than February and was 12 percentage points short of target. We completed 10,000 student visas in the month.

February 2024 65%

We completed 65% of student visas within 30 working days in February. This was 3 percentage points better than January but 10 percentage points short of target. We completed 10,000 student visas this month.

January 2024 62%

We completed 62% of student visas within 30 working days in January. This was 18 percentage points down on December and 13 percentage points short of target. This was due to very high received volumes. We completed 7,800 student visas in the month.

December 2023 80%

We completed 80% of student visas within 30 working days in December. This was our best performance this year and 5 percentage points better than target. We completed 7,100 student visas in the month.

November 2023 70%

We completed 70% of student visas within 30 working days in November. This was our best performance this year but 5 percentage points short of target. We completed 5,700 student visas in the month.

October 2023 66%

We completed 66% of student visas within 30 working days in October. This was 9 percentage points short of our target. We completed 5,600 student visas in the month.

September 2023 61%

We completed 61% of student visas within 30 working days in September. This was 14 percentage points short of our target. We completed 6,500 student visas in the month.

August 2023 60%

We completed 60% of student visas within 30 working days in August. This was 15 percentage points short of our target. We completed 7,700 student visas in the month.

July 2023 64%

We completed 64% of student visas within 30 working days in July. This was 11 percentage points short of our target. We completed 7,500 student visas in the month. 

Measure 3: People liable for deportation

This is a measure of people liable for deportation, who were deported or deported voluntarily. We achieved a result of 784 for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 3: Number of people liable for deportation, who were deported or deported voluntarily after compliance activity (target is 1,500 each year) 
Date Cumulative number Commentary
December 2024 589

A total of 66 deportations took place during Nov of which 17 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 49 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

November 2024 523

A total of 102 deportations took place during Nov of which 35 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 67 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

October 2024 421

A total of 122 deportations took place during Oct of which 52 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 70 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

September 2024 299

A total of 106 deportations took place during Sep of which 43 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 63 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

August 2024 193

A total of 89 deportations took place during Aug of which 38 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 51 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

July 2024 104

A total of 104 deportations took place during July of which 34 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 70 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

June 2024 881

A total of 106 deportations took place this month which 28 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 78 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

May 2024 775

A total of 99 deportations took place this month which 30 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 69 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

April 2024 676

A total of 80 deportations took place this month which 30 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 50 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

March 2024 596

A total of 66 deportations took place this month which 22 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 44 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

February 2024 530

A total of 55 deportations took place this month which 20 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 35 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

January 2024 475

A total of 84 deportations took place this month which 24 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 60 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

December 2023 391

A total of 79 deportations took place this month which 31 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 48 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

November 2023 312

A total of 83 deportations took place this month which 35 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 48 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

October 2023 229

A total of 65 deportations took place this month which 23 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 42 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

September 2023 164

A total of 58 deportations took place this month which 13 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 45 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

August 2023 106

A total of 50 deportations took place this month which 14 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 36 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

July 2023 56

A total of 56 deportations too place this month which 15 were enforced deportation types paid for by ICI. The remaining 41 were types carried out at the expense of the client.

Measure 4: United Nations mandated refugees (refugee quota programme)

This is a measure of UNHCR-mandated refugees and their immediate families who travelled to New Zealand. We achieved a result of 1,514 arrivals for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 4: Number of UNHCR-mandated refugees and their immediate families who travelled to New Zealand (target is 1,500 each year)
Date Cumulative number Commentary
December 2024 674

There were just 7 arrivals in December, as it fell between major intakes.

November 2024 667

There were 202 arrivals in November. 72 were from Syria, 43 from Myanmar, and 42 from Afghanistan.

October 2024 465

There were 26 arrivals in October. 14 were from Iran.

September 2024 439

There were 212 arrivals in September. 71 of these were from Syria, and 45 from Afghanistan.

August 2024 227

There were 170 arrivals in August. 47 of these were from Afghanistan and 37 from Syria.

July 2024 57

There were 57 arrivals in July. 36 of these were from Syria with 14 from Pakistan.

June 2024 1,514

We saw 284 arrivals in June, a record. This enabled us to hit our full-year target of 1,500. There were 77 arrivals from Syria, 61 from Myanmar, and 52 from Afghanistan.

May 2024 1,230

There is no commentary for May.

April 2024 1,161

There were 148 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in April. Countries with the highest numbers included Afghanistan and Myanmar

March 2024 1,013

There were 160 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in March. Countries with the highest numbers include Syria and Afghanistan.

February 2024 853

There were 129 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in February, the remainder of the January intake. Countries with the highest numbers included Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Democratic Republic of Congo.

January 2024 724

There were 97 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in January. This is half an intake, with three and a half more planned this year. Countries with the highest numbers included Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria.

December 2023 626

There were 8 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in December. These were the last people remaining for our third pre-Christmas intake. We will have another 4 intakes from January to June 2024.

November 2023 618

There were 199 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in November. Countries with the highest numbers included Syria, Pakistan, and Myanmar.

October 2023 419

There were 36 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in October. Countries with the highest numbers included Syria, Afghanistan, and Colombia.

September 2023 383

There were 186 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in September. Countries with the highest numbers included Syria, Afghanistan, and Colombia.

August 2023 197

There were 99 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in August. Countries with the highest numbers included Syria, Afghanistan, and Myanmar.

July 2023 98

There were 98 refugees and their immediate families who arrived in New Zealand in July. Countries with the highest numbers included Colombia, Afghanistan, and Somalia.

Measure 5: Registrations for highly skilled potential migrants

This is a measure of new registrations entered into the Live and Work NZ database with occupations that match those at ANZSCO skill levels 1 to 3. We achieved a result of 70,635 registrations for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 5: Number of new registrations entered into the Live and Work NZ database with occupations that match those at ANZSCO skill levels 1 to 3 (target is 50,00 each year)
Date Cumulative number Commentary
December 2024 27,115

We saw a high level of skilled registrations, with noticeable interest from new source countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

November 2024 19,711

We saw a continued surge in registrations, with a noticeable spike in demand from the United States around the date of their presidential election.

October 2024 8,484

We saw a surge in registrations due to changes to our website and increased marketing. The Philippines and India were strongly represented markets.

September 2024 4,526

We saw continued low volumes of registrations. The Philippines, United Kingdom, and United States were the nationalities most frequently represented.

August 2024 3,412

We saw continued low volumes of registrations. The Philippines and United Kingdom were out strongest source markets.

July 2024 1,989

We saw a drop in registrations as we shifted to a different marketing approach. Software Engineers, Secondary School Teachers, and Primary School Teachers were the three most common skilled registrations.

June 2024 70,635

We have finished the year with 70,600 skilled registrations against a full-year target of 50,000. Secondary and primary-school teachers, as well as engineers of various types, were strongly represented. The Philippines, South Africa, and the United Kingdom were commonly represented source markets.

May 2024 65,268

There is no commentary for May.

April 2024 59,025

There were 7,500 registrations in the Live and Work NZ website database in April. Secondary teachers in particular were strongly represented. We are well above our full-year target and expect to finish in the low 70,000 range.

March 2024 51,520

There were 11,300 registrations in the Live and Work NZ website database in March. This puts us ahead of the full-year target 3 months early. Teachers, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, and software engineers were strongly represented.

February 2024 40,328

There were 7,700 registrations in the Live and Work NZ website database in February. This puts us ahead of the curve for our full-year target. Secondary and primary teachers, as well as civil, mechanical, electrical, and software engineers, were strongly represented.

January 2024 32,619

There were 8,700 registrations in the Live and Work NZ website database in January. This puts us ahead of our full-year target for the first time this year. Teachers, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, and software engineers were strongly represented.

December 2023 23,911

There were almost 5,000 registrations on the Live and Work NZ website database in December. This almost puts us back on track for our full-year target. Secondary and primary teachers, as well as civil and software engineers were strongly represented.

November 2023 18,933

There were just over 3,100 registrations on the Live and Work NZ website database in November. This puts us a little further behind on our full-year target. Nurses, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, and electricians were strongly represented.

October 2023 15,825

There were just under 3,400 registrations on the Live and Work NZ website database in October. This puts us slightly behind track for our full-year target. Electricians, civil engineers, and software engineers were strongly represented.

September 2023 12,448

There were just over 3,600 registrations on the Live and Work NZ website database in September. This puts us roughly on track for our full-year target. Electricians, civil engineers, and mechanical engineers were strongly represented.

August 2023 8,815

There were almost 4,700 registrations on the Live and Work NZ website database in August. We remain on track for our full-year target. Civil engineers, electricians and software engineers were well represented.

July 2023 4,144

There were just over 4,000 registrations on the Live and Work NZ website database in July. This is the best month for some time and puts us on track for our full-year target. Software, civil, and electrical engineers were strongly represented.

Measure 6: Satisfaction with visa experience

This is a measure of visa applicants satisfied with the overall experience of applying for a visa. We achieved a result of 78% for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 6: Percentage of visa applicants satisfied with the overall experience of applying for a visa (target is 80%)
Quarter Percentage Commentary
2024/25 Quarter 1 81%

Satisfaction was 1 percentage points better than target. Our Work and Resident Plus customers were the most satisfied, followed by Visitor visa customers, and then Student visa customers.

2023/24 Quarter 4 81%

Our fourth quarter customer satisfaction was 81% against a target of 80%, bringing the full-year result to 78%, 2 percentage points short of target. Satisfaction for the year was highest for customers receiving work visas and lowest for those receiving student visas.

2023/24 Quarter 3 79%

Our third quarterly customer satisfaction was 79% against a target of 80%. Satisfaction was best for the Other category (which includes Permanent Resident), followed by Work (85%) and then Visitor (76%).

2023/24 Quarter 2 75%

Our second quarterly customer satisfaction was 75% against a target of 80%. Satisfaction was highest for customers receiving work visas.

2023/24 Quarter 1 78%

Our first quarterly customer satisfaction was 78% against a target of 80%. Performance was particularly good for customers receiving work or visitor visas.

Measure 7: Decision accuracy of residence visas

This is a measure of residence visa decisions rated as accurate. We achieved a result of 92% for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 7: Percentage of residence visa decisions rated as accurate (target is 85%)
Quarter Percentage Commentary
2024/2025 Quarter 1 94%

We exceeded our quality target for residence visas by 9pp in the first quarter.

2023/24 Quarter 4 95%

95% of residence visa decisions rated via our quality assurance process were rated as accurate.

2023/24 Quarter 3 92%

92% of residence visa decisions rated via our quality assurance process were rated as accurate. This is 7 percentage points better than target.

2023/24 Quarter 2 89%

89% of residence visa decisions rated via our quality assurance process were rated as accurate. This is 4 percentage points better than target.

2023/24 Quarter 1 91%

91% of residence visa decisions rated via our quality assurance process were rated as accurate. This is 6 percentage points better than target.

Measure 8: Decision accuracy of temporary visas

This is a measure of temporary visa decisions rated as accurate. We achieved a result of 91% for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 8: Percentage of temporary visa decisions rated as accurate (target is 85%)
Quarter Percentage Commentary
2024/25 Quarter 1 91%

We exceeded our quality target for temporary visas by 6pp in the first quarter.

2023/24 Quarter 4 94%

94% of temporary visa decisions rated via our quality assurance process were rated as accurate.

2023/24 Quarter 3 94%

94% of temporary visa decisions rated via our quality assurance process were rated as accurate. This is 9 percentage points better than target.

2023/24 Quarter 2 92%

92% of temporary visa decisions rated via our quality assurance process were rated as accurate. This was 7 percentage points better than target.

2023/24 Quarter 1 88%

88% of temporary visa decisions rated via our quality assurance process were rated as accurate. This is 3 percentage points better than target.

Measure 9: Migrants who feel New Zealand is their home

This is a measure of recent migrants who feel that New Zealand is their home. We achieved a result of 86% for the 2023/24 financial year.

Table 9: Percentage of recent migrants who feel that New Zealand is their home (target is 85%)
Date Percentage Commentary
2023/24 June 86%

We exceeded our full-year target by 1 percentage point.

2022/23 July 87%

We exceeded our full-year target by 2 percentage point.