Migration Trends and Outlook 2010-2011
7 family sponsored migrants
Highlights for 2010/11
- 14,826 people were approved for residence through the Capped Family and Uncapped Family streams (36 percent of all New Zealand Residence Programme approvals).
- 9,597 people were approved for residence through the Uncapped Family Stream, with 90 percent approved through the Partnership Policy and 10 percent through the Dependent Child Policy.
- 5,229 people were approved for residence through the Capped Family Stream, with 77 percent approved through the Parent Policy, 18 percent through the Sibling Policy, and 4 percent through the Adult Child Policy.
- In 2010/11, China was the largest source country of residence approvals in the Capped Family Stream (40 percent), and the United Kingdom was the largest source country of approvals through the Uncapped Family Stream (15 percent).
7.1 Introduction
The Capped Family and the Uncapped Family streams[50] enable New Zealand citizens and permanent residents to sponsor close family members for residence. This chapter describes the characteristics of migrants approved through these two streams and the various categories within these streams.
In 2010/11, 14,826 people were approved for residence through the Capped Family and the Uncapped Family streams. These approvals made up 36 percent of the total residence approvals through the New Zealand Residence Programme in 2010/11. The number of residence approvals through the Uncapped Family Stream decreased by 3 percent in 2010/11 compared with the previous year (see Table 7.1).
| New Zealand Residence Programme stream |
2009/10 | 2010/11 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | |
| Uncapped Family | 9,862 | 68% | 9,597 | 65% |
| Capped Family | 4,708 | 32% | 5,229 | 35% |
| Total | 14,570 | 100% | 14,826 | 100% |
Source: Department of Labour.
7.2 Uncapped Family Stream approvals
Table 7.2 shows 9,597 people were approved for residence through the Uncapped Family Stream in 2009/10, most through the Partnership Policy. This is below the planning level of 9,900 to 10,700 places allocated for 2010/11. Although the number of approvals fell in 2010/11 compared to 2009/10, the proportion of residence approvals for the Partnership and Dependent Child Policies were the same over the 2 years.
| Uncapped Family Stream | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | |
| Partnership Policy | 8,858 | 90% | 8,594 | 90% |
| Dependent Child Policy | 1,004 | 10% | 1,003 | 10% |
| Total | 9,862 | 100% | 9,597 | 100% |
Source: Department of Labour.
Figure 7.1 shows the top five source countries of approvals from 2008/09 to 2010/11.[51] In 2010/11, the main source countries were the United Kingdom and China contributing at least 10 percent each to the number of approvals from the Uncapped Family Stream. Since 2008/09, the proportion of approvals from the United Kingdom has remained the same while the proportion from China has dropped from 16 percent to 13 percent in 2010/11.
Figure 7.1: Uncapped Family Stream approvals, 2009/10 - 2010/11
Source: Department of Labour.
7.2.1 Partnership Policy approvals
The Partnership Policy is the main policy in the Uncapped Family Stream, and comprised 90 percent of approvals in 2010/11.
Figure 7.2 shows the top five source countries of people approved through the Partnership Policy from 2008/09 to 2010/11.[52] The United Kingdom and China continue to be the main source countries of residence approvals through the Partnership Policy over the past 3 years although numbers from India and Fiji have increased.
Figure 7.2: Partnership Policy approvals by source country, 2008/09 - 2010/11
Source: Department of Labour.
7.2.2 Dependent Child Policy approvals
In 2010/11, 1,003 people (10 percent of the Uncapped Family Stream) were approved for residence through the Dependent Child Policy. In comparison, 1,004 were approved in 2009/10 and 1,096 in 2008/09.
Figure 7.3 shows the five main source countries of people approved for residence through the Dependent Child Policy in the last 3 financial years. Samoa was the largest source country of approvals in this policy with more than one-third of residence approvals.
Figure 7.3: Dependent Child Policy approvals by source country, 2008/09 - 2010/11
Source: Department of Labour.
7.3 Capped Family Stream approvals
Table 7.3 shows that 5,229 people were approved for residence through the Capped Family Stream in 2010/11. This is an increase of 11 percent from the 4,708 approvals in 2009/10 but still within the stream’s cap of 4,950–5,500.
Most people in the Capped Family Stream gained residence through the Parent Policy, followed by the Sibling Policy. The proportion of approvals under the Sibling Policy and Adult Child Policy fell in 2010/11, while approvals under the Parent Policy rose.
| Capped Family Stream | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | |
| Parent Policy | 3,423 | 73% | 4,036 | 77% |
| Sibling Policy | 998 | 21% | 953 | 18% |
| Adult Child Policy | 287 | 6% | 233 | 4% |
| Other* | — | — | 7 | <1% |
| Total | 4,708 | 100% | 5,229 | 100% |
* Other includes inter-country adoptions.
Source: Department of Labour.
China and India have been the largest source countries of residence approvals through this stream over the last 3 financial years (see Figure 7.4).[53] China accounted for 40 percent of residence approvals in this stream in 2010/11, up from 35 percent in the previous year. The proportion of residence approvals from India decreased over the last 3 years.
Figure 7.4: Capped Family Stream approvals by source country, 2008/09 - 2010/11
Source: Department of Labour.
7.3.1 Parent Policy approvals
The Parent Policy accounts for most approvals under the Capped Family Stream (77 percent). A total of 4,036 people were approved for residence through the Parent Policy in 2010/11. The number of approvals has increased compared to 3,423 in 2009/10 and 3,570 in 2008/09.
Figure 7.5 shows China was the largest source country of residence approvals through the Parent Policy in 2010/11, followed by the United Kingdom and India.[54] The proportion of Parent Policy approvals from China increased from 31 percent in 2008/09 to 46 percent in 2010/11.
Figure 7.5: Parent Policy approvals by source country, 2008/09 - 2010/11
Source: Department of Labour.
7.3.2 Sibling Policy approvals
The number of people granted residence through the Sibling Policy was 953 (18 percent of the Capped Family Stream) in 2010/11. In comparison, 998 were granted residence in 2009/10 and 1,300 in 2008/09.
China, India, and Fiji have been the largest source countries of residence approvals under the Sibling Policy over the last 3 years (see Figure 7.6). In 2010/11, China accounted for about one-quarter and Fiji 18 percent of residence approvals under this policy. The proportion of people from India approved under this policy has been decreasing over the last 3 years.
Figure 7.6: Sibling Policy approvals by source country, 2008/09 - 2010/11
Source: Department of Labour.
7.3.3 Adult Child Policy approvals
In 2010/11, 233 people (4 percent of the Capped Family Stream) were approved for residence through the Adult Child Policy. In comparison, 287 were approved in 2009/10 and 212 in 2008/09. The main source countries in 2010/11 were China (16 percent), Cambodia (14 percent), and South Africa (10 percent).
[50] Before 2010/11, the Uncapped Family Stream was known as the Uncapped Family Sponsored Stream and the Capped Family Stream was known as the Parent and Sibling/Adult Child Stream. The key features of each policy are provided in Appendix D, Table D.2.
[51] Appendix R shows the number of people from the top source countries approved for residence through the Uncapped Family Stream between 2008/09 and 2010/11.
[52] Appendix S shows the number of people from the top source countries approved for residence through the Partnership Policy between 2008/09 and 2010/11.
[53] Appendix T shows the number of people from the top source countries approved for residence through the Capped Family Stream between 2008/09 and 2010/11.
[54] Appendix U shows the number of people from the top source countries approved for residence through the Parent Category between 2008/09 and 2010/11.
