Longitudinal Immigration Study of New Zealand - Wave 3 (2009)

Survey population and scope The target population for the LisNZ was all migrants (excluding refugees) who were at least 16 years old and were approved for permanent 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 (onshore migrants) or have arrived in New Zealand within 12 months of their residence approval (offshore migrants). Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of all migrants in the target population were already in New Zealand on temporary permits when they were approved for permanent residence. The remainder were approved for residence offshore (28 percent). The target population excluded temporary visitors and all migrants 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. Migrants from Niue, Cook Islands, and Tokelau were excluded as they have automatic rights to New Zealand citizenship. Refugees were also excluded because their routes to permanent residence, as well as their settlement experiences, are different from those of other migrants. For practical and operational reasons, the survey was restricted to migrants who were living in the North Island, South Island, or Waiheke Island at the first interview (wave 1), and those who could speak at least one of the designated survey languages (English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Samoan, Korean, Hindi, and Punjabi). Survey methodology The survey involved a longitudinal design where the same migrants were interviewed three times over a period of two and a half years. Individual migrants (as opposed to household units) were used for the selection of the LisNZ sample, the collection of data, and the analysis of the results from the survey. The survey was designed to produce estimates for several subpopulations defined by immigration approval category and region of origin. It was estimated that 5,000 completed interviews at wave 3 would produce estimates of the required accuracy. A large initial sample was required to achieve this target and a stratified systematic random design was used to achieve this. A sample of 12,202 migrants was randomly selected for the survey. The migrants who were interviewed at wave 1 were followed up for interview at wave 2. Those who were interviewed at wave 2 were then followed up for interview at wave 3. Response rate Despite all efforts to locate migrants selected for the survey, a number of migrants could not be interviewed for a variety of reasons. From the 12,202 migrants selected for the first wave, 217 were not eligible to take part in the survey (because they were either under 16 years old at residence approval date or were unable to speak any of the seven survey languages or had passed away before the interview), 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 at wave 1. This corresponds to a 66 percent response rate. Most of the ‘non-response’ at wave 1 was due to non-contact (84 percent) rather than refusal by respondents (note that the LisNZ was a voluntary survey). Non-contact was particularly high for migrants who were approved offshore, where the response rate was 57 percent, compared with 70 perce n t for those approved onshore. Of the 7,137 migrants interviewed for the first wave, 6,069, or 85 percent, were interviewed at wave 2. (During the course of the survey, quality checks have resulted in the removal of data from 87 interviews used for the analysis of the wave 2 Hot Off the Press (Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand – Wave 2, 2008), which reported that 6,156 migrants had been interviewed at wave 2.) Of the 6,069 migrants interviewed for the second wave, 5,144 were interviewed at wave 3. This corresponds to an 85 percent response rate, and above the target 5,000 respondents. en-NZ