New Zealand 2026 election: Where the parties stand on immigration

The main divide is between parties that want to reduce or more tightly restrict migration, parties that want to attract skilled workers while managing immigration, and parties that prioritise migrant rights, family reunification and fair treatment.

For the 2026 New Zealand general election, three issues are particularly important to distinguish:

• Migration levels: How many people should New Zealand admit, and should immigration be reduced to ease pressure on housing, infrastructure, public services and employment?
• Skilled workers: How should New Zealand recruit overseas workers to fill shortages, and what pathways should those workers have to permanent residency?
• Settlement services and migrant rights: What support should newcomers receive to settle in New Zealand, including language assistance, employment protections, family reunification and access to public services?

The parties do not always follow a simple left-versus-right divide. For example, a party may support recruiting more skilled workers while wanting to restrict access to welfare, or support immigration while seeking stronger employment protections.

The comparison below focuses on the six major parliamentary parties—National, Labour, the Greens, ACT, New Zealand First and Te Pāti Māori—using published 2026 election positions and recent policy announcements. I'll distinguish announced policies from proposals that have not become law.

1. National, Labour, Greens, ACT, New Zealand First and Te Pāti Māori compared

Party	Migration levels	Skilled workers	Settlement and migrant rights
National	Manage migration to meet economic needs while controlling compliance and migration risks.	Attract skilled migrants, with additional residence pathways for experienced workers and tradespeople.	Focus on immigration compliance and enforcement, alongside protections against migrant exploitation.
Labour	Plan immigration around workforce needs, housing, infrastructure and New Zealand's capacity.	Strengthen work-visa protections and allow workers to change accredited employers after three months.	Provide community support, orientation and civic education; protect humanitarian appeals against deportation.
Green Party	Opposes broad reductions in immigration and supports fair, accessible migration pathways.	Supports fair treatment and stronger protections for migrant workers, including pathways to settle.	Emphasises dignity, inclusion, family and humanitarian pathways, and fair treatment of migrants.
ACT	Supports immigration as economically important, but wants tighter targeting and stronger conditions.	Review skilled-occupation categories annually against demonstrated demand; develop a rural workforce visa.	Proposes a five-year welfare stand-down for residence-class visa holders and stricter residence requirements.
New Zealand First	Wants to substantially reduce non-essential immigration and proposes a referendum on a 20,000 annual resident-visa cap.	Prioritises domestic workers and tighter controls over work and student visas.	Proposes longer residence and citizenship qualifying periods, a 10-year welfare stand-down for non-citizens, and more restrictive deportation rules.
Te Pāti Māori	Does not have a clearly established, comparable headline net-migration target in the published material reviewed.	Its position should not be assumed to be identical to Labour's or the Greens'.	A party-specific, detailed package covering migrant settlement services and skilled-migration pathways was not clearly established in the sources reviewed.

Important: These are summaries of parties' positions, not guarantees of what a future government would implement. National's position is informed by its current government policies and published commitments; ACT and New Zealand First have announced specific proposals that would change existing settings. Labour and the Greens place greater emphasis on migrant protections, although Labour also proposes tighter planning and a longer wait for permanent residence. labour.org.nz, greens.org.nz, act.org.nz, nzfirst.nz, national.org.nz, retail.kiwi

2. National: Attract skills while managing immigration risks

Overall approach: National's stated objective is to attract the skilled people New Zealand needs while ensuring that immigration complements the domestic workforce.

Migration levels

National has not made a specific numerical reduction in net migration the central feature of its published approach. Instead, its policy combines recruitment of workers with immigration compliance, visa-condition enforcement and action against serious offending.

The government introduced the Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill in March 2026, proposing changes to immigration enforcement, serious offending and migrant exploitation. Its approach is to retain skilled migration while strengthening the tools available to manage risks. beehive.govt.nz

Skilled workers

National's existing policy programme includes new residence pathways announced in September 2025 and intended to open in mid-2026.

These include:

• Skilled Work Experience pathway: For eligible migrants with at least five years of directly relevant work experience, including at least two years in New Zealand at the specified pay threshold.
• Trades and Technician pathway: For eligible workers with relevant qualifications at Level 4 or above and at least four years of post-qualification experience, including at least 18 months of qualifying work in New Zealand.

The government also announced changes to reduce the time some New Zealand university graduates need to work in the country before qualifying for residence. These measures are designed to help employers retain skilled and experienced workers. national.org.nz

Settlement services and migrant protections

National's published approach places emphasis on compliance and enforcement as well as protecting migrants from exploitation.

In its May 2026 Budget announcement, the government committed $18 million over four years to strengthen responses to migrant exploitation and immigration non-compliance, including three additional frontline teams. beehive.govt.nz

That is a commitment to enforcement and protection, rather than a broad new settlement-services programme. The material reviewed does not establish a comparable National commitment to expand community settlement services, English-language support or migrant orientation programmes.

Official sources: National Party policy platform and National's skilled-migrant residence announcement.

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3. Labour: Plan migration around capacity and protect migrant workers

Overall approach: Labour wants immigration to support New Zealand's workforce and economic needs, while reducing exploitation and helping migrants establish lasting lives in the country.

Migration levels

Labour proposes a Government Policy Statement on immigration that would set goals reflecting:

• Workforce demographics and skills needs.
• Housing availability.
• Infrastructure capacity.
• New Zealand's ability to accommodate population growth.

This would make immigration planning more explicitly connected to the country's capacity to support its population. It is not the same as adopting a fixed annual resident-visa cap. labour.org.nz

Skilled workers

Labour proposes changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa system, including allowing migrants to move between accredited employers after three months.

The aim is to reduce workers' vulnerability when their visa is tied to a particular employer. If a worker experiences poor treatment, changing jobs can be an important protection against exploitation.

Labour also proposes strengthening the work-visa system and improving migrants' access to support in their communities. labour.org.nz

Permanent residence

One significant detail is that Labour proposes extending the time migrants must live in New Zealand before becoming eligible for permanent residence from two years to four years.

Labour says this would encourage migrants to put down roots. It proposes supporting the longer qualifying period with orientation and civic education delivered through community education providers. labour.org.nz

Settlement services and family connections

Labour's published policy includes:

• New Zealand orientation and civic education.
• Improved access to community support.
• Protection for humanitarian appeals against deportation.
• Reviews of parent-visa, health and English-language requirements.
• Expanded visa-waiver access for citizens of Pacific Islands Forum nations, making it easier for Pacific families to visit relatives in New Zealand.

The Pacific visa-waiver proposal is particularly relevant to family connections and visits, although it is not itself a permanent-residence or settlement-services programme. labour.org.nz

Official source: Labour's immigration policy.

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4. Green Party: Fair pathways, migrant rights and inclusion

Overall approach: The Greens frame immigration as a matter of fairness, dignity, inclusion and the right to build a life in New Zealand.

The party's 2026 manifesto describes its objective as creating welcoming, safe and fair pathways for people who want to make New Zealand their home. It also emphasises that migrant workers should be treated fairly and have opportunities to settle. greens.org.nz

Migration levels

The Greens do not frame their approach around a headline target for reducing net migration. Their emphasis is on making migration pathways fairer and ensuring people who come to New Zealand are treated with dignity.

That does not mean every category of visa should necessarily be unrestricted. The important distinction is that the party's stated priorities centre on fairness and access to pathways rather than an across-the-board reduction in migrant numbers.

Skilled workers

The Greens' approach emphasises migrant workers' rights and fair employment conditions.

Their broader immigration position favours improving opportunities for migrants to settle and challenging arrangements that leave workers vulnerable to exploitation.

For someone considering skilled migration, the distinction is between simply being admitted to fill a vacancy and having fair working conditions and a realistic opportunity to establish a life in New Zealand.

Settlement services and migrant rights

The party's stated priorities include:

• Welcoming and fair migration pathways.
• Respectful treatment of migrants.
• Fairer conditions for migrant workers.
• Humanitarian and family-related migration pathways.
• A more inclusive approach to people seeking safety and a future in New Zealand.

The manifesto's general commitments establish the party's direction, but they should not be mistaken for a fully specified budget or delivery plan for every settlement service. The material reviewed does not establish a single quantified commitment covering all settlement services. greens.org.nz

Official source: Green Party 2026 manifesto.

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5. ACT: Target migration to genuine skills shortages

Overall approach: ACT supports immigration as an important contributor to economic growth, but wants the system to respond more directly to skills shortages and impose stronger conditions on residence.

In his May 2026 immigration speech, ACT leader David Seymour argued that New Zealand needs migrants, including nurses, software engineers and agricultural workers. He also argued that population growth must be matched by sufficient infrastructure and that the immigration system should target people with the skills employers actually need. act.org.nz

Migration levels

ACT does not advocate stopping immigration altogether.

Its focus is on improving the composition and management of migration, addressing infrastructure pressures and strengthening compliance.

ACT has also proposed a daily infrastructure levy for migrants. This should be distinguished from a policy that would directly cap the number of people entering New Zealand.

Skilled workers

ACT's May 2026 announcement included a proposal to make skilled-work visa categories expire automatically each year unless there is current evidence of demand for the relevant skills.

The aim is to prevent visa categories from remaining open when the shortages they were designed to address have disappeared. act.org.nz

ACT has also proposed a new residence pathway for certain rural workers, including those in dairy, sheep and cattle farming and general farm work. The details and eligibility conditions would determine which workers could use that pathway.

Settlement, welfare and residence

ACT's proposals go beyond work-visa settings.

• Five-year welfare stand-down: ACT proposes that residence-class visa holders would be ineligible for specified benefits, including Jobseeker Support and the Accommodation Supplement, during their first five years.
• Residence requirements: ACT proposes removing the separate Permanent Resident Visa category and requiring resident-visa holders to spend at least 730 days in New Zealand during a rolling five-year period to maintain their travel facility.
• Enforcement: ACT supports expanded deportation powers for serious offending.

Under ACT's announced residence proposal, existing Permanent Resident Visa holders would not be affected retrospectively. act.org.nz

These are important distinctions for migrants who intend to bring their families, establish permanent residence or rely on public assistance during periods of unemployment.

ACT's focus is on economic contribution, ongoing ties to New Zealand and conditions attached to residence. It is not primarily a policy programme for expanding publicly funded settlement services.

Official sources: ACT's immigration policy announcement and ACT's permanent-residence proposal.

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6. New Zealand First: Reduce non-essential immigration and tighten residence rules

Overall approach: New Zealand First has announced the most explicit numerical restriction among the six parties covered here: a proposed referendum on a legislated cap of 20,000 resident visas a year.

The party argues that population growth should not outpace the country's ability to provide housing, infrastructure and public services. It also wants immigration policy to place greater emphasis on citizenship and integration into a shared national community. nzfirst.nz

Migration levels

New Zealand First's September 2026 immigration package proposes:

• A referendum on an annual cap of 20,000 resident visas.
• A long-term population plan coordinating immigration, housing and infrastructure.
• Linking population growth to infrastructure that already exists or is fully funded and scheduled for delivery.
• Giving citizens priority for social housing.

The proposed 20,000 figure is a cap on resident visas, not a target for net migration.

Those measures should not be interpreted as an existing legal cap. They are campaign proposals that would require further action to implement. nzfirst.nz

Skilled workers

New Zealand First's stated approach is to recruit workers who are needed while placing greater emphasis on domestic workforce planning.

The party also proposes tighter rules for international students who want to work or transition to another visa.

Its package would remove automatic work rights for international students, requiring those who want to work to apply under specified conditions. It would also require students intending to transition to another visa to leave New Zealand before applying again from overseas. nzfirst.nz

The party's emphasis is therefore on limiting migration it regards as unnecessary and ensuring immigration settings serve New Zealand's workforce requirements.

Settlement, residence and welfare

New Zealand First's proposals would significantly change the conditions under which migrants settle permanently.

Policy area	New Zealand First proposal
Permanent residence	Increase the qualifying period from two to five years.
Citizenship	Increase the qualifying period from five to at least ten years.
Welfare	Introduce a 10-year stand-down from specified benefits for non-citizens.
Voting	Restrict voting rights to New Zealand citizens.
New Zealand Superannuation	Restrict eligibility to citizens.
Social housing	Give citizens priority.
Overstayers	Provide a 24-month period for voluntary departure, with a separate provision allowing Pacific overstayers to seek a valid visa.

These proposals are described in the party's September 11, 2026 announcement. nzfirst.nz

The welfare proposal is particularly consequential: it would extend well beyond the initial period after arrival and could affect migrants who have established residence but have not obtained citizenship.

Official source: New Zealand First's immigration reform policies.

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7. Te Pāti Māori: What can be established?

Te Pāti Māori requires a more cautious assessment because the sources reviewed did not establish a detailed, current immigration policy package that could be compared with the specific proposals announced by Labour, ACT or New Zealand First.

In particular, I could not verify a published commitment establishing:

• A numerical target for net migration.
• A specific annual resident-visa cap.
• Detailed eligibility criteria for skilled-migrant residence.
• A quantified programme for expanding settlement services.

This is not proof that the party has no position on these questions. It means the available evidence is insufficient to attribute detailed commitments to the party confidently.

For a reliable comparison, it is important not to infer its immigration policy solely from its positions on other issues, or assume that its approach is identical to that of the Greens.

Reference point: Policy.nz's 2026 party policy comparison provides an additional starting point for checking published migration policies across parties.

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8. What do the differences mean for settlement services?

The question of settlement services deserves separate attention because parties can have similar positions on skilled migration but different ideas about what happens after a migrant arrives.

Settlement services can include:

• English-language tuition and language assistance.
• Information about employment rights and workplace protections.
• Help navigating education, healthcare and other public services.
• Employment advice, recognition of overseas qualifications and career support.
• Community orientation and information about New Zealand's laws and institutions.
• Support for families, including access to information about schools and community networks.
• Specialist assistance for refugees and other humanitarian migrants.

The six parties' published positions point to different emphases.

Settlement issue	Relevant party positions
Orientation and civic education	Labour explicitly proposes orientation and civic education delivered by community education providers.
Protection against workplace exploitation	Labour proposes stronger work-visa protections and more freedom to change accredited employers. National has committed additional resources to enforcement against exploitation. The Greens emphasise fair treatment of migrant workers.
Economic contribution and skills matching	National and ACT emphasise attracting workers with the skills New Zealand needs.
Longer-term residence conditions	Labour proposes four years before eligibility for permanent residence; New Zealand First proposes five years. ACT proposes substantial changes to permanent-residence status and physical-presence requirements.
Access to welfare	ACT proposes a five-year stand-down for residence-class visa holders; New Zealand First proposes a 10-year stand-down for non-citizens. National has separately announced an extension of the residence requirement for main benefits to five years from April 2028.
Family and Pacific connections	Labour proposes expanded Pacific visa-waiver access and reviews of parent-visa rules. The Greens emphasise fair and inclusive migration pathways.
Infrastructure and settlement capacity	National emphasises managing immigration responsibly; Labour proposes planning around housing and infrastructure; ACT stresses infrastructure pressures; New Zealand First proposes explicitly linking population growth to infrastructure capacity.

Sources: Labour's immigration policy, National's immigration announcements, ACT's immigration proposals, New Zealand First's immigration package and Green Party 2026 manifesto. National's benefit-residency proposal is set out in its welfare policy.

An important distinction: settlement support versus access to benefits

These are not the same thing.

For example, a party could support English-language tuition, community orientation and employment assistance while restricting access to income-tested benefits. Conversely, a longer qualifying period for permanent residence does not automatically mean that a party intends to reduce settlement services.

When comparing the parties, it is worth asking two separate questions:

1. What practical assistance would migrants receive to help them settle successfully?
2. What rights and entitlements would migrants have while living and working in New Zealand?

The policies discussed above provide more detail on the second question than on the first. Specific funding commitments for settlement organisations, language classes and community integration services are less consistently documented across the parties.

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9. Where the parties differ most

Four policy differences stand out.

A. Whether to reduce migration or improve how it is managed

• New Zealand First explicitly wants to reduce non-essential immigration and proposes a 20,000 annual resident-visa cap referendum.
• ACT supports immigration but wants tighter skills targeting, stronger residence conditions and measures addressing infrastructure costs.
• National focuses on attracting skilled workers while managing compliance and migration risks.
• Labour proposes planning immigration against workforce, housing and infrastructure capacity.
• The Greens emphasise fair and inclusive pathways rather than numerical restrictions.
• Te Pāti Māori: A directly comparable numerical position could not be established from the material reviewed.

B. Whether skilled migrants should have clearer pathways to residence

National has announced specific pathways for experienced skilled workers and tradespeople.

Labour focuses more on work-visa protections, workforce planning and settlement support, while proposing a longer period before permanent residence.

ACT wants visa categories to remain open only where current evidence demonstrates demand. New Zealand First wants substantially tighter control over the overall number of resident visas and longer qualifying periods.

The Greens emphasise fairer pathways and treatment for migrants, although a direct comparison of every skilled-residence eligibility criterion would require more detailed policy documentation.

C. How long migrants should wait for permanent residence

Three particularly clear proposals are:

• Labour: Four years, rather than two.
• New Zealand First: Five years, rather than two.
• ACT: Remove the separate Permanent Resident Visa category and introduce ongoing physical-presence requirements for the proposed five-year travel facility attached to resident visas.

These are different proposals. ACT's approach concerns the status and conditions of residence, rather than simply extending a qualifying period from two years to a longer fixed number of years. labour.org.nz, nzfirst.nz, act.org.nz

D. Whether settlement is primarily about support or conditions

Labour explicitly links longer-term settlement with community orientation and civic education.

The Greens emphasise dignity, inclusion and fair treatment. National places more emphasis on enforcement and protecting workers from exploitation. ACT stresses economic contribution and conditions attached to residence. New Zealand First proposes longer residence and citizenship qualifying periods, alongside much stricter limits on benefit eligibility.

These differences could affect migrants' experiences well beyond the initial visa application.

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10. How to check the latest policy details before the election

Election commitments can change, and some announced proposals may be modified during coalition negotiations. The following sources are useful for checking the parties' latest published positions.

• Official election-policy comparison: Policy.nz — Migration.
• National: 2026 election policies.
• Labour: Immigration policy.
• Greens: 2026 manifesto.
• ACT: Immigration policy announcement.
• New Zealand First: Immigration reform proposals.

When reviewing a policy, check whether it is an existing rule, a proposed legislative change, a campaign commitment or an idea that would require a referendum. Those distinctions are especially important for the proposed resident-visa cap, welfare stand-down periods and changes to permanent residence.

Bottom line

For the 2026 New Zealand general election, the most consequential differences concern how many migrants New Zealand should admit, how easily skilled workers can obtain residence, and what rights and support migrants should have after arriving.

National emphasises skilled recruitment and immigration management. Labour combines workforce planning with employment protections and settlement support. The Greens emphasise fairness and inclusion. ACT supports migration but wants stricter skills targeting and conditions on residence. New Zealand First proposes the most explicit numerical restriction on resident visas, alongside substantial changes to welfare eligibility and citizenship. Te Pāti Māori's detailed position on these specific questions remains less clearly documented in the material reviewed.

For anyone assessing the parties specifically on settlement services, the key remaining question is not simply whether they support or oppose immigration. It is what practical support they would fund, what rights migrants would retain, and how easily skilled workers and their families could build a stable long-term life in New Zealand.