In June 2020, a U.S. resident visited New Zealand's immigration website every 30 seconds on average
In search of greener pastures.
Julia Yeo |
August 05, 2020, 08:33 PM
With the Covid-19 pandemic situation looking rather dire in the United States (U.S.), some have began looking towards greener pastures, namely New Zealand.
250,000 American visitors
More than 250,000 Americans have inquired online to check if they qualify to move to New Zealand since the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the world in 2020, reported the NZ Herald.
In June 2020, 112,800 more Americans visited New Zealand's immigration website compared to the same time period in 2019, a 160 per cent spike.
It amounts to an average of one U.S. user clicking on the site every 30 seconds in June.
There are currently 24 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, all whom are in managed isolation, according to the country's health ministry.
There are a total of 1219 confirmed cases and 22 Covid-19 related deaths in the country since the start of the outbreak, as reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In comparison, the U.S. currently has a total of 4.7 million Covid-19 cases and roughly 155,000 Covid-19 related deaths, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
U.S. facing troubles
A Kiwi demographics expert suggested that the spike in interest from U.S. citizens could reflect a failure of the American political and public health system, and disillusionment with the leadership of U.S. President Donald Trump, reported the New Zealand daily.
Judy Melinek, a well-known forensic pathologist from the U.S., felt so unsafe that in July, she moved to New Zealand to take a job in the country's capital city of Wellington.
Prior to her move to New Zealand, she was leading the Covid-19 response for a sheriff-coroner office in Oakland, California, but grew increasingly frustrated with the way state officials and the Trump administration handled the pandemic.
"I was frustrated and disappointed by the American response to the pandemic and personally I didn't feel safe at work," she told NZ Herald in July.
Melinek praised New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for her handling of the pandemic, and added that New Zealand was a "role model", and that Ardern's response to Covid-19 was the reason why she chose to move there.
Not just Americans who want to move to NZ
Besides the U.S., New Zealand has also become increasingly attractive to residents of other countries, including Brits.
Around 46,800 British citizens visited the site last month, up from 27,100 a year previously, reported the NZ daily.
Paul Spoonley, a professor from Massey University, said that such patterns are likely to see an upward trend with the global pandemic situation deteriorating.
"I absolutely anticipate more interest from places like the UK, Germany and Singapore looking to New Zealand as a migrant destination," Spoonley said.
NZ border remains closed to most, but former NZ PM suggests to loosen restrictions
Unfortunately for the hopeful, New Zealand's border remains closed to most except citizens and permanent residents, or those who have been granted exceptions.
However, former New Zealand PM John Key, who formally left politics in 2017, remarked that the government should look at relaxing border restrictions to allow international students back into the country.
Key also suggested in an interview with NewsTalk ZB to "let in rich Americans who want to build a house in New Zealand", saying that they could create "thousands of jobs".
"Why do we care if someone who lives in New York wants to spend US$10 million building a house in Auckland, using NZ craftsmen and NZ tradespeople?" the former prime minister said.
Key, who is the current chairman of the ANZ Bank, cautioned that economic contraction was coming for the country, urging the government to loosen border restrictions to create more jobs.
Top image via Ömer Faruk Bekdemir/Unsplash (Queenstown, New Zealand)
In search of greener pastures.
Julia Yeo |
With the Covid-19 pandemic situation looking rather dire in the United States (U.S.), some have began looking towards greener pastures, namely New Zealand.
250,000 American visitors
More than 250,000 Americans have inquired online to check if they qualify to move to New Zealand since the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the world in 2020, reported the NZ Herald.
In June 2020, 112,800 more Americans visited New Zealand's immigration website compared to the same time period in 2019, a 160 per cent spike.
It amounts to an average of one U.S. user clicking on the site every 30 seconds in June.
There are currently 24 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, all whom are in managed isolation, according to the country's health ministry.
There are a total of 1219 confirmed cases and 22 Covid-19 related deaths in the country since the start of the outbreak, as reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In comparison, the U.S. currently has a total of 4.7 million Covid-19 cases and roughly 155,000 Covid-19 related deaths, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
U.S. facing troubles
A Kiwi demographics expert suggested that the spike in interest from U.S. citizens could reflect a failure of the American political and public health system, and disillusionment with the leadership of U.S. President Donald Trump, reported the New Zealand daily.
Judy Melinek, a well-known forensic pathologist from the U.S., felt so unsafe that in July, she moved to New Zealand to take a job in the country's capital city of Wellington.
Prior to her move to New Zealand, she was leading the Covid-19 response for a sheriff-coroner office in Oakland, California, but grew increasingly frustrated with the way state officials and the Trump administration handled the pandemic.
"I was frustrated and disappointed by the American response to the pandemic and personally I didn't feel safe at work," she told NZ Herald in July.
Melinek praised New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for her handling of the pandemic, and added that New Zealand was a "role model", and that Ardern's response to Covid-19 was the reason why she chose to move there.
Not just Americans who want to move to NZ
Besides the U.S., New Zealand has also become increasingly attractive to residents of other countries, including Brits.
Around 46,800 British citizens visited the site last month, up from 27,100 a year previously, reported the NZ daily.
Paul Spoonley, a professor from Massey University, said that such patterns are likely to see an upward trend with the global pandemic situation deteriorating.
"I absolutely anticipate more interest from places like the UK, Germany and Singapore looking to New Zealand as a migrant destination," Spoonley said.
NZ border remains closed to most, but former NZ PM suggests to loosen restrictions
Unfortunately for the hopeful, New Zealand's border remains closed to most except citizens and permanent residents, or those who have been granted exceptions.
However, former New Zealand PM John Key, who formally left politics in 2017, remarked that the government should look at relaxing border restrictions to allow international students back into the country.
Key also suggested in an interview with NewsTalk ZB to "let in rich Americans who want to build a house in New Zealand", saying that they could create "thousands of jobs".
"Why do we care if someone who lives in New York wants to spend US$10 million building a house in Auckland, using NZ craftsmen and NZ tradespeople?" the former prime minister said.
Key, who is the current chairman of the ANZ Bank, cautioned that economic contraction was coming for the country, urging the government to loosen border restrictions to create more jobs.
Top image via Ömer Faruk Bekdemir/Unsplash (Queenstown, New Zealand)