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For the 2026 New Zealand general election: What are parties' current positions on migration levels, skilled workers and settlement services?
As of 1 November 2026, immigration is an increasingly prominent issue in the campaign for New Zealand's general election on Saturday 7 November 2026.
The parties differ considerably on three questions:
- Migration levels: How many people should New Zealand admit, and should immigration be linked to infrastructure and housing capacity?
- Skilled workers: Should immigration primarily address labour shortages, attract highly qualified people, or protect opportunities for the domestic workforce?
- Settlement services: How much support should migrants receive to establish permanent lives, integrate into communities and reunite with family?
The comparison below focuses on the six main parliamentary parties: National, Labour, ACT, New Zealand First, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.
1. Party positions at a glance
| Party | Migration levels | Skilled workers | Settlement approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | Managed, economically driven | Attract and retain skilled workers | Maintain established residence pathways |
| Labour | Planned around infrastructure and workforce needs | Fill genuine workforce gaps and prevent exploitation | More community support and orientation |
| ACT | Controlled, with stricter enforcement | Employer-led recruitment for demonstrated shortages | Greater obligations on migrants; restricted welfare |
| NZ First | Substantial reduction in non-essential migration | Prioritise domestic workers and genuine shortages | Longer residence requirements and stronger integration expectations |
| Greens | Welcoming, with no proposed numerical cap in its manifesto | Fair access to residence for migrant workers | Expand settlement, family reunification and refugee support |
| Te Pāti Māori | No comprehensive new 2026 numerical target identified | Emphasises Māori interests and Treaty obligations | No detailed new settlement-services package identified |
Sources: Policy.nz election comparison and individual party policy announcements. NZ Election 2026: Immigration Policy by PartyImmigration
2. Individual party positions
National Party
New Zealand National Party
Skills and economic growth focus
Migration levels
National favours immigration that supports economic growth, fills labour shortages and attracts international investment.
Its approach is broadly to retain the existing immigration framework rather than introduce a substantial reduction in migration numbers.
Skilled workers
National has introduced significant changes to skilled migration:
- New Skilled Migrant Category pathways for skilled workers.
- A dedicated Trades and Technician pathway.
- A Skilled Work Experience pathway.
- Improved recognition of New Zealand qualifications.
- Greater opportunities to retain international graduates and experienced workers.
The new Skilled Migrant Category changes took effect on 24 August 2026. Further changes to the Skilled Migrant Category to come into effect on 24 August 2026 :: Immigration New ZealandFinal details about changes to the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa and work to residence visas :: Immigration New ZealandNew residence options to bolster workforce
Settlement services
National's emphasis is on employment and economic contribution, with residence pathways for people meeting skilled migration requirements.
It has not presented a comparably extensive new migrant settlement-services programme to Labour or the Greens.
Overall: National wants New Zealand to remain attractive to skilled migrants while making immigration more closely serve economic requirements.
Official information: National 2026 election policies.
Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
Planned migration and migrant protections
Migration levels
Labour proposes a more coordinated approach to immigration.
It wants a Government Policy Statement on immigration that sets migration goals based on:
- New Zealand's workforce demographics.
- Housing availability.
- Infrastructure capacity.
- Longer-term economic requirements.
This is not a fixed numerical migration cap.
Skilled workers
Labour wants to protect migrant workers from exploitation while allowing businesses to recruit the people they genuinely need.
Its proposals include:
- Allowing migrants to move between accredited employers after three months.
- Strengthening the Accredited Employer Work Visa system.
- Improving access to community support for migrants.
Settlement services
Labour has several specific proposals:
- Extend the period before permanent residence eligibility from two years to four years.
- Provide New Zealand orientation and civic education through community education providers.
- Improve migrants' access to support within their communities.
- Protect humanitarian appeals against deportation.
- Review parent visa rules to make family reunification more accessible.
Labour also proposes expanding visa-waiver access for citizens of Pacific Islands Forum countries, making it easier for Pacific families to reconnect. Immigration
Overall: Labour wants immigration to be planned around New Zealand's capacity, while giving migrants stronger employment protections and structured opportunities to become established.
Official policy: Labour – Immigration policy.
ACT Party
ACT New Zealand
Stricter controls and employer-led migration
Migration levels
ACT supports immigration but argues that it must be controlled and linked to genuine economic demand.
It argues that immigration has placed pressure on infrastructure and that the system has sometimes allowed employers to recruit workers when genuine shortages no longer exist.
Skilled workers
ACT's proposals include:
- Reviewing skilled occupation categories annually.
- Automatically expiring occupation categories unless employers demonstrate continued demand.
- Extending basic English-language requirements across Accredited Employer Work Visas, with lower standards permitted for seasonal workers.
- Establishing a dedicated overstayer enforcement unit.
Settlement services
ACT places more emphasis on migrant responsibilities and financial contributions than on publicly funded settlement support.
Its proposals include:
- A five-year stand-down from income-tested welfare benefits for residence-class visa holders.
- A $6 daily infrastructure surcharge on temporary work visas.
- Stronger English-language requirements.
- Removing the existing Permanent Resident Visa category and changing the conditions attached to resident visas.
The last proposal has been publicly opposed by National's immigration minister, illustrating a potential coalition disagreement. ACT New ZealandACT New ZealandNZ Election 2026: Immigration Policy by Party
Overall: ACT wants a more market-driven immigration system, where employers demonstrate genuine skill shortages and migrants are expected to contribute financially and socially.
Official policy: ACT – Making immigration work for New Zealand.
New Zealand First
New Zealand First
Strongest proposed migration restrictions
Migration levels
NZ First has announced one of the most restrictive immigration programmes in the election.
Its proposals include:
- Substantially reducing non-essential immigration.
- Holding a referendum on a legislated annual resident visa cap of 20,000.
- Linking immigration directly to infrastructure capacity.
- Developing a 30-year population plan covering housing, infrastructure and migration.
Importantly, the 20,000 figure is a proposed referendum option, not an already established annual limit.
Skilled workers
NZ First wants to prioritise New Zealand workers and address genuine labour shortages.
It proposes:
- Scrapping the Accredited Employer Work Visa model.
- Replacing it with a shortage-led Skilled Work Visa.
- Restricting international students' automatic work rights.
- Requiring international students wishing to transition to other visa categories to leave New Zealand and reapply from overseas.
Settlement services
NZ First proposes substantially tougher residence and citizenship conditions:
- Permanent residence eligibility after five years instead of two.
- Citizenship eligibility after at least ten years instead of five.
- A ten-year stand-down from welfare benefits for non-citizens.
- Social housing prioritised for New Zealand citizens.
- Greater emphasis on integration into a shared national community.
There is also a proposed 24-month clemency period for Pacific overstayers to apply to remain legally in New Zealand.
These proposals were announced on 11 September 2026. NZ First Announces Immigration Reform PoliciesOur Policy
Overall: NZ First sees immigration as something that should be significantly reduced and more tightly controlled, with priority given to domestic employment, infrastructure and citizenship.
Official policy: NZ First – Immigration Reform Policies.
Green Party
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
Strongest settlement and migrant-rights emphasis
Migration levels
The Greens take a more welcoming approach to migration.
They oppose policies that treat migrants as disposable labour or blame migrants for New Zealand's economic and housing difficulties.
Their 2026 manifesto does not set a numerical migration cap.
Skilled workers
The Greens propose:
- Fair and achievable residence pathways for people coming to New Zealand to work.
- Allowing migrant workers to change employers.
- Removing the 12-month stand-down period requiring workers to leave New Zealand between visas.
- Ending rules they believe contribute to migrant exploitation.
Settlement services
This is one of the Greens' strongest policy areas.
Their proposals include:
- Creating residence pathways for long-term migrants, including people whose visas have expired.
- Removing the Acceptable Standards of Health requirements.
- Expanding family reunification.
- Removing income barriers to sponsoring parent visas.
- Expanding work rights for partners.
- Clearing refugee family reunification backlogs.
- Increasing the refugee quota progressively to 5,000 by 2029.
- Increasing funding for refugee resettlement programmes.
- Providing Treaty education to new migrants and refugees.
- Giving hapū and iwi greater involvement in immigration decisions and resources.
The Greens also propose a humanitarian visa for family members of New Zealanders in conflict zones. Immigration and Refugees
Overall: The Greens place the greatest emphasis on migrants' rights, permanent settlement, family connections, humanitarian protection and community inclusion.
Official policy: Greens – Immigration and Refugees manifesto.
Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori
Te Tiriti and tangata whenua focus
Migration levels
Te Pāti Māori has not published a comparably detailed 2026 immigration programme with a specific migration target.
Its broader political approach emphasises:
- Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- Tangata whenua rights and interests.
- Māori self-determination.
- The social and economic effects of government policy on Māori communities.
Skilled workers
There is no clearly established new 2026 skilled-worker immigration programme that can be directly compared with National, ACT or NZ First.
Settlement services
There is likewise no detailed new 2026 migrant settlement-services package identified in the published cross-party policy comparisons.
Its approach should therefore not be interpreted as opposition to migrant settlement. Rather, its immigration position is less fully specified in the current election material. ImmigrationNZ Election 2026: Immigration Policy by Party
3. Comparing settlement services in particular
This is an important distinction because attracting skilled workers and helping them establish permanent lives are two different policy objectives.
The following comparison focuses on the practical support and rights parties propose.
| Settlement issue | Main party proposing it |
|---|---|
| Community orientation and civic education | Labour |
| Community-based migrant support | Labour |
| Easier access to permanent residence for long-term migrants | Greens |
| Ability to change employers | Labour and Greens |
| Easier family reunification | Greens |
| Expanded refugee resettlement funding | Greens |
| Increased refugee quota to 5,000 | Greens |
| Longer permanent residence qualifying period | Labour and NZ First |
| Ten-year welfare stand-down | NZ First |
| Five-year welfare stand-down | ACT |
| Prioritising citizens for social housing | NZ First |
One important distinction: settlement services are not the same as welfare entitlements.
For example, orientation, English-language support, employment assistance, community integration and refugee resettlement are different from eligibility for income-tested benefits.
The parties have different approaches to these areas.
4. What are the biggest differences?
National versus Labour
Both support skilled migration and want immigration to serve New Zealand's economic needs. Labour places greater emphasis on formal workforce, housing and infrastructure planning, migrant protections and community orientation.
ACT versus NZ First
Both want tighter controls, but ACT emphasises employer demand and economic contribution, whereas NZ First proposes more extensive restrictions on overall immigration, residence and citizenship.
Greens versus NZ First
These parties are furthest apart on settlement. The Greens want more accessible residence, family reunification and refugee support. NZ First proposes longer residence requirements, benefit restrictions and a potential resident visa cap.
Labour versus Greens
Both emphasise migrant protections and community integration. Labour proposes a longer four-year permanent residence qualifying period, whereas the Greens favour more accessible pathways for long-term migrant workers.
5. Where to check the full policies
For further reading, these are the most useful sources:
- Policy.nz – 2026 election policy comparison — compare parties across migration and other policy areas.
- Labour immigration policy.
- Green Party immigration and refugee manifesto.
- ACT immigration proposals.
- NZ First immigration reform proposals.
- Immigration New Zealand – Skilled Migrant Category changes.
Overall assessment
There are three broad approaches emerging:
- Economic recruitment and managed migration: National and Labour. Both want skilled migrants, although Labour puts greater emphasis on planning and protections.
- Restriction and stronger controls: ACT and NZ First. Both want more stringent immigration requirements, with NZ First proposing the more extensive restrictions.
- Inclusive settlement and migrant rights: The Greens, with Labour sharing some of these priorities. The Greens have the most extensive proposals for family reunification, refugee resettlement and pathways to residence.
The key question for voters is whether New Zealand's immigration system should primarily be designed to attract the workers the economy needs, control population growth, or help people who come here establish lasting lives and communities. The parties offer quite different answers.
One final qualification: these are campaign proposals and published policy commitments, not necessarily changes that will become law. Under MMP, the eventual coalition agreement will be particularly important in determining which policies are implemented.
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