Britain has a rich history with New Zealand. People, commerce and ideas have flowed between the two countries for many generations. The first British settlers arrived in the early 1800s but it was from a post-World War Two depressed UK, that immigration from Britain to NZ ramped up with thousands of men, women and children moving to a new life, under the assisted immigration scheme.

These days the attractions of New Zealand continue to appeal to Britons looking for a better life in the country that is consistently ranked at the top of global quality of life surveys. British migrants can enjoy New Zealand’s incredibly high quality of life whilst benefiting from no language, culture or professional barriers. The laid-back lifestyle, friendly Kiwi nature, positive work-life balance and short commuting time are all huge motivations for Britons as well as the relatively low cost of living, a leading education system and spacious housing. These pull factors are on top of the obvious attractions of a favourable climate and stunning scenery.

Recent figures show that New Zealand’s annual net-migration gain once again hit record levels in February 2016 – making it the nineteenth consecutive month in a row to show a record net gain. According to Statistics New Zealand data the annual net gain of migrants hit 67,400 in the year to the end of February 2016.

Over half of these arrivals settled in Auckland and the migrants are led by those coming from the UK, France, Germany and Australia.