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AUCKLAND, Jan 25 (AFP) - India and China are replacing Britain as New Zealand's biggest source of migrants, Immigration Department figures showed.

New Zealand has traditionally attracted migrants from Britian but the figures show a significant change in source.

Post-coup Fiji is also seeing a wealth of nationals leave for New Zealand.

In the year to July 2001, Auckland granted 5,523 Indian citizens residency here. Between July 30 2001 and December 14, a further 4,008 Indian nationals arrived, indicating a sharp increase in the monthly rate of arrivals.

A diplomatic source said the interest in New Zealand had expanded rapidly and the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi had had to hire extra staff and extend office hours to deal with the queues.

In the case of China the last full year saw 5,439 migrants, and another 4,476 in the four months since.

On average over the last nine years 5,184 British migrants have entered New Zealand each year, with 5,612 in the last full year and 3,537 for the four month period.

New Zealand has a universal points based migration system which requires individuals to attain points for age, education, income and dependents. The required number changes now and again but is not influenced by politics in particular countries.

Fiji saw a coup in May 2000 which overthrew the year-old government of prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry, the Pacific nation's first ethnic Indian leader.

In the one year long period of his government, migrant numbers from Fiji to New Zealand increased 25 percent from the previous year. In the year following the coup, 3,036 individuals won residency, a 51 percent increase on the year before.

The rate of approvals in the last four months of 2001 has also jumped, up 81 percent on the year to July 2001.

In the last full year 4,082 South Africans won residency here, and a further 2,409 in the August-December last year period.

Other significant providers of migrants include Malaysia, (1,499 for the 2000/01 year), Philippines (1,165), Samoa (2,272), South Korea (1,612), Taiwan (1,171), United States (904) and Zimbabwe (525).

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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