Longitudinal Immigration Study of New Zealand - Wave 1

Survey population and scope The target population for the LisNZ consists of all migrants (excluding refugees) who were at least 16 years old and were approved for residence in New Zealand from 1 November 2004 to 31 October 2005. These migrants could have already been in New Zealand at the time of residence approval or arrived in New Zealand within 12 months of their residence approval. The target population excluded temporary visitors and all people from Australia, Niue, Cook Islands, and Tokelau. Migrants from Australia were excluded because they are entitled to enter New Zealand without applying for a residence permit or visa. In addition, migrants from Niue, Cook Islands, and Tokelau were excluded, as people from these countries have automatic rights to New Zealand citizenship. Refugees were also excluded from the target population because their routes to permanent residence, as well as their settlement experiences, are very different from those of migrants. For practical and operational reasons, the survey population for the LisNZ was restricted to migrants in the target population who were living in the North Island, South Island, or Waiheke Island at the first interview (wave 1), and those who could understand at least one of the designated survey languages (English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Samoan, Korean, Hindi, and Punjabi). Survey methodology The survey involves a longitudinal design where the same migrants are interviewed three times over a period of three years. At wave 1 (six months after residence uptake), a sample of 12,202 migrants was randomly selected to participate in the survey. These migrants are then followed up for interview in waves two and three. Migrants who do not complete an interview in any wave are not followed up in subsequent waves. Response rate Despite all efforts to locate migrants selected for the survey, a number of migrants could not be interviewed. From the 12,202 migrants selected in wave 1, 217 were not eligible to take part in the survey, 145 did not arrive in New Zealand in time and 984 had no initial contact address in New Zealand. Of the remaining 10,856 migrants, 7,137 were interviewed. This corresponds to a 66 percent response rate . Most of the ‘non-response’ is due to non-contact (84 %) rather than refusal by respondents (note that the LisNZ is a voluntary survey). Non-contact was particularly high for migrants who were approved offshore, where the response rate was 57 percent, compared with 70 percent for those approved onshore. en-NZ