The number of people crossing New Zealand’s border went up in November 2021, mostly due to an increase in departures, Stats NZ has released.
There were 28,700 border crossings in November 2021, made up of 12,300 arrivals and 16,400 departures. Arrivals and departures were up by 1,300 and 6,600, respectively, compared with the previous month.
The increase in departures in November 2021 coincided with the opening of quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia on November 1, 2021, subject to meeting Australian federal and state entry requirements.
"Historically, travel numbers tend to increase toward the end of the year, and provisional data for December 2021 shows a further increase in the number of border crossings, although levels overall are well below those before the COVID-19 pandemic," population indicators manager Tehseen Islam says.
Border crossings include all arrivals and departures, either for short-term trips or longer-term migration, by people living overseas or in New Zealand.
New Zealand citizens drive flows across the border
Border crossing numbers overall are well down on levels before the COVID-19 pandemic, and New Zealand citizens continue to be the largest single group of arrivals and departures each month.
Departures from New Zealand in November 2021 were led by citizens of New Zealand (7100), followed by China (1,300), Australia (1200), India (1200), the United Kingdom (800), and the United States (600).
There was a provisional net migration loss of 4000 people in the year ended November 2021, compared with a net migration gain of 47,000 in the year ended November 2020.
There was a net migration gain of 5800 New Zealand citizens and a net migration loss of 9800 non-New Zealand citizens in the year ended November 2021.
Migration is the subset of border crossings involving people who are changing the country they live in. This includes the flows of New Zealand citizens and non-New Zealand citizens as both affect the population living in New Zealand. The classification of travellers as migrants is based on their time spent in and out of New Zealand, using the 12/16-month rule.
