New Zealand Immigration Information

If you are interested in migrating to New Zealand, we trust that the following information will help you with your decision.

New Zealand

New Zealand is situated in the South Pacific Ocean, about 1600 km east of Australia. With an area of 266,000 sq. km, New Zealand is similar in size to Britain or Japan. The country is approximately 2000 km long, with a population of 4.2 million spread over two main islands, known as the 'North Island' and the 'South Island'. Approximately half of the population live in the top third of the North Island with over 1 million living in the Auckland metropolitan area.

Climate

Day temperatures range from 19 to 28 Celsius in summer, (January and February) and 5 to 15 Celsius in winter (July and August).

The People

Our native people, the Maori, arrived in New Zealand about 1000 years ago, purportedly from islands in the South Pacific. European settlement developed from the early 1800s and migration from all parts of the world has continued since that time. The principal language is English, and Maori is New Zealand’s other official language.

Politics

New Zealand is a self-governing democracy within the British Commonwealth. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General and the country is governed by elected Members of Parliament, who sit in The House of Representatives in the capital city of Wellington. Guide to government in New Zealand.

Ponga

The fern leaf in our Access Immigration logo is a representation of the ponga which is the Maori name for one of our native tree ferns, the Silver Fern (Cyathea Dealbata). These sub-tropical tree ferns are prehistoric in origin and grow to 8 metres high. The fern leaf has been chosen as a national symbol and is used particularly by our international sporting teams including the All Blacks rugby team and Silver Ferns netball team.

The Kiwi

The Kiwi is a bird unique to New Zealand and is one of our national symbols. The kiwi is nocturnal and flightless, standing up to 35 cm high. Its most obvious features are its long curved bill, round shape, shaggy brown feathers and extremely large egg (Up to 12.5% of its adult body weight). Because New Zealand had no natural predators up until the 19th Century, the kiwi developed for life on the ground and nests in holes and burrows. Diminished numbers of kiwis have prompted the Department of Conservation and other environmental groups to put in place breeding and protection programmes. Kiwi is also the popular nickname for a New Zealander.