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Story: Immigration regulation

Foreign-born residents by country of birth, 1986–2013

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By the 1990s the ‘White New Zealand’ policy was long gone. Skills, assets, education and other attributes determined who would be allowed to enter New Zealand. A new Immigration Act in 1987based entry requirements on skills. This resulted in a greater ethnic diversity of migrants. The growth in the Asian population is particularly evident.

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: New Zealand census, 1986–2013

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How to cite this page

Ann Beaglehole, Immigration regulation – 1986–2003: selection on merit, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/1383/foreign-born-residents-by-country-of-birth-1986-2013 (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Ann Beaglehole, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2015.