New Zealand 2026 general election: Immigration and migration policies

Position as at 30 October 2026 · Nationwide comparison · Party proposals and published policy

Immigration is an area of considerable difference between the parties in the 2026 election. The main disagreement is not simply whether New Zealand needs migrants, but how many should arrive, which skills should be prioritised, how easily migrants should obtain residence, and what support they should receive after arriving.

There are three particularly important dimensions:

1. Migration levels: Should New Zealand reduce immigration, maintain controlled levels or make it easier to attract migrants?
2. Skilled workers: How should New Zealand recruit workers for genuine shortages, and what pathways should they have to permanent residence?
3. Settlement services: What should be provided to help migrants, refugees and their families integrate, find work and participate in New Zealand society?

Below is a comparison of the major parliamentary parties, followed by some smaller-party positions where information is available.

1. Party-by-party comparison

National Party

Skills and economic growth focus

Migration levels

• Supports managed immigration, with an emphasis on attracting migrants who contribute to economic growth.
• Has not published a specific overall annual migration reduction or cap as a central 2026 election commitment.
• Emphasises balancing skilled migration with infrastructure capacity and prioritising New Zealand workers.

Skilled workers

• Has introduced two additional skilled residence pathways:

  • Skilled Work Experience: for migrants with at least five years of relevant experience, including two years in New Zealand at the specified wage threshold.
  • Trades and Technician: for qualified workers with at least four years of relevant post-qualification experience, including 18 months in New Zealand.

• Wants to make it easier for employers to retain experienced migrants.

• Has also extended minimum English-language requirements for Accredited Employer Work Visa applicants in skill level 3 roles.

Settlement services

• No major new, separately costed migrant settlement-services programme was identified in its published 2026 election material.
• Its approach is more focused on employment, skills, employer needs and compliance.

Sources: New residence options to bolster workforceImmigration2026 Election Policy

Labour Party

Managed migration and migrant protection

Migration levels

• Proposes planning immigration through a Government Policy Statement.

• The framework would consider:

  • Workforce demographics.
  • Housing availability.
  • Infrastructure capacity.
  • Long-term economic requirements.

• Its published policy does not specify a firm numerical immigration cap.

Skilled workers

• Wants to strengthen the Accredited Employer Work Visa system.
• Proposes allowing migrants to move between accredited employers after three months.
• Seeks to reduce migrant exploitation and improve access to community support.
• Wants immigration to complement the domestic workforce rather than operate independently of workforce planning.

Settlement services

• Proposes extending the period before migrants become eligible for permanent residence from two to four years.
• Would accompany this with New Zealand orientation and civic education delivered through community education providers.
• Wants to improve migrants' access to support within their communities.
• Proposes expanding Pacific visa-waiver access to citizens of Pacific Islands Forum countries.

This means Labour combines more structured immigration planning with a stronger emphasis on migrant protection and integration. ImmigrationImmigration

Green Party

Migrant rights and humanitarian approach

Migration levels

• Opposes an approach centred on reducing immigration numbers without considering humanitarian, environmental and social obligations.
• Supports a fair, flexible and sustainable immigration system.
• Wants Māori to have a partnership role in determining immigration policy under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Skilled workers

• Supports equal pay and working conditions for temporary migrant workers and New Zealand workers.
• Wants migrant employment conditions to be fair and non-discriminatory.
• Supports family reunification and fair immigration pathways.

Settlement services

• Supports increasing the refugee quota.
• Explicitly proposes providing the additional resources needed for adequate refugee settlement services.
• Wants migrants and refugees to feel welcomed and included in New Zealand society.
• Advocates a Pacific Passport to facilitate movement between Pacific countries and New Zealand.
• Supports immigration provisions for people displaced by climate change.

The Greens have a particularly explicit focus on refugee services, inclusion, migrant rights and the social dimensions of settlement. Immigration PolicyGreen Party: policies and record 2026

ACT New Zealand

Tighter controls and skills-based migration

Migration levels

• Does not make a fixed numerical immigration cap its central proposal.
• Wants immigration to be more closely connected to genuine labour shortages and infrastructure capacity.
• Argues that immigration should contribute to the country's economic and infrastructure development.

Skilled workers

• Proposes automatically reviewing and expiring Accredited Employer Work Visa skill categories every year unless employers can demonstrate continuing demand.
• Wants English-language requirements across all Accredited Employer Work Visa categories, with exceptions for seasonal workers.
• Wants migrants to contribute to infrastructure through a proposed NZ$6-per-day surcharge on temporary work visas.

Settlement services

• Proposes a five-year welfare stand-down for residence-class visa holders, affecting access to jobseeker support, accommodation supplements and other income-tested benefits.
• Proposes a dedicated Immigration New Zealand overstayer enforcement unit.
• Supports stronger deportation provisions for serious offending.

ACT's approach is to make skilled migration more directly responsive to employer demand, while imposing additional requirements on migrants and employers. ACT New ZealandImmigration

New Zealand First

Substantial reduction in immigration

Migration levels

• Wants to substantially reduce non-essential immigration.
• Proposes a referendum on introducing an annual resident visa cap of 20,000.
• Wants immigration settings linked to infrastructure capacity.
• Proposes a 30-year population plan coordinating immigration, housing and infrastructure.

Skilled workers

• Supports immigration where workers are genuinely needed.
• Advocates long-term domestic workforce planning.
• Wants to prevent international students from automatically obtaining work rights.
• Proposes requiring international students who wish to work to apply separately under stricter conditions.
• Wants to prevent student visas being used as an indirect pathway into employment and residence.

Settlement services

• Proposes extending the qualifying period for permanent residence from two to five years.
• Proposes extending citizenship eligibility from five to at least ten years.
• Would introduce a ten-year welfare stand-down for non-citizens.
• Wants social housing to be prioritised for New Zealand citizens.
• Proposes a 24-month period for overstayers to regularise their situation or leave, with a specific provision for Pacific overstayers to apply for lawful status.

This is a much more restrictive approach to migration, residence and access to public assistance than the other major parties' published policies. NZ First Announces Immigration Reform PoliciesNZ First Announces Immigration Reform Policies

Te Pāti Māori

Migration levels

• No specific numerical immigration target or comprehensive 2026 migration-level proposal was identified in the published material reviewed.
• Its broader policy approach emphasises Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori rights and the interests of tangata whenua.

Skilled workers

• No sufficiently detailed, specific 2026 skilled-migration programme was identified.

Settlement services

• No specific 2026 settlement-services funding commitment was identified.
• Its wider political approach places emphasis on Māori communities, equity and the rights of marginalised communities.

It is important not to interpret the absence of a published immigration policy as opposition to migration. ImmigrationNZ Political Parties 2026

2. Smaller parties

• Opportunity Party: No sufficiently detailed, specific 2026 immigration or settlement-services policy was identified in the material reviewed.
• Te Tai Tokerau Party: No specific 2026 immigration policy announcement was identified in Retail NZ's October policy review.

These parties should not be assigned positions without further published evidence. ImmigrationImmigration and visas: party comparison 2026

3. Side-by-side comparison

Party	Migration levels	Skilled workers	Settlement approach
National	Managed, economically focused	Additional skilled residence pathways	Employment and compliance focus
Labour	Planned around national capacity	Stronger work visa protections and mobility	Orientation, civic education and community support
Greens	Fair, flexible and sustainable	Equal employment conditions	Strong refugee and migrant support
ACT	Controlled, shortage-led	Annual review of skilled occupations	Five-year welfare stand-down
NZ First	Substantial reduction; proposed 20,000 resident visas annually	Prioritises domestic workers and essential skills	Ten-year welfare stand-down; longer residence pathway
Te Pāti Māori	No specific numerical target identified	No detailed published programme identified	No specific settlement programme identified

4. What are the key differences on settlement services?

Settlement services deserve particular attention because they are different from immigration policy itself.

Settlement services can include:

• English-language education.
• Employment assistance and recognition of overseas qualifications.
• Information about New Zealand laws, institutions and culture.
• Support accessing healthcare, education and housing.
• Community integration and social inclusion.
• Refugee-specific services, including trauma support and assistance establishing a household.

The parties' approaches differ in emphasis:

Area	Party with an explicit proposal
Migrant orientation and civic education	Labour
Community support for migrant workers	Labour
Increased refugee settlement resources	Greens
Equal employment conditions	Greens
Infrastructure contributions from temporary workers	ACT
Longer waiting periods for permanent residence	Labour and NZ First
Restrictions on access to welfare	ACT and NZ First

One important distinction: Labour's proposed orientation and civic education is a settlement-related commitment, whereas the Greens' refugee services proposal concerns the resources available to support refugees. They are not interchangeable policies.

ImmigrationImmigration PolicyACT New ZealandNZ First Announces Immigration Reform Policies

5. Overall political landscape

The parties can broadly be understood through three different approaches:

A. Economic and workforce-led migration

• National prioritises skilled workers, economic growth and employer requirements.
• ACT also prioritises genuine labour shortages, but proposes more stringent enforcement and additional migrant obligations.

B. Managed migration with integration and protections

• Labour emphasises planning immigration around infrastructure and workforce needs while improving migrant protections.
• The Greens emphasise humane immigration, equal employment conditions, refugee support and inclusion.

C. Restrictive migration and stronger citizenship requirements

• NZ First proposes the clearest reduction in immigration, including a potential 20,000 annual resident visa cap, longer residence requirements and restrictions on welfare access.

6. Sources and further reading

For checking the actual policy wording rather than relying on political commentary, these are particularly useful:

• Policy.nz – 2026 Election migration policy comparison.
• Labour – Immigration policy.
• Green Party – Immigration policy.
• ACT – Making immigration work for New Zealand.
• NZ First – Immigration reform policies, 11 September 2026.
• National – New residence options to bolster workforce.
• Retail NZ – Immigration policy tracker, updated 21 October 2026.

An important qualification: These are published party positions, not necessarily enacted policies. Some are detailed commitments, while others are broad principles. In particular, there is a considerable difference between announcing a skilled-worker pathway and committing funding to long-term settlement services.

For a deeper comparison, I would suggest examining one additional question: which parties are proposing to invest in helping migrants become established, economically independent and socially integrated, rather than simply regulating how many people enter New Zealand? That is where the differences in settlement policy become especially significant.