New Zealand First’s Rotorua candidate Billy Brown has claimed nearly 60,000 Indian migrants arrive in New Zealand every year, calling for a major reduction in immigration and a cap on resident visas.
In a Facebook post on 5 October, Brown declared that New Zealand had a “mass migration issue” and accused successive Labour and National governments of using immigration to cover up poor economic performance.
“We’ve got nearly 60,000 Indians coming in every year,” Brown wrote, accompanying his post with a graphic claiming there were nearly 60,000 Indian migrant arrivals in one year.
Brown said New Zealand First would “substantially reduce non-essential immigration”, prioritise local workers and hold a referendum on capping resident visas at 20,000 annually.
He also criticised the employment of migrants in occupations such as ride-share driving, pizza-making and vape shop retail.
“Immigration should serve New Zealand — not replace New Zealand workers,” he added in a comment.
Brown defended his position as part of what he described as a necessary public debate about immigration, saying he would continue raising the issue despite accusations of racism or xenophobia.
His comments come amid continuing political debate in New Zealand over immigration levels, employment opportunities and the impact of migration on the economy.
However, the figure Brown cited has drawn scrutiny from experts because it combines visa approvals across different categories rather than measuring the number of people who actually arrived in the country.
The 60,000 figure was based on data from Figure.NZ showing that 53,109 Indian citizens were granted work, student and residence visas in 2025. As per AAP, these categories can overlap, meaning the same person may be counted more than once.
Stats NZ figures show that 16,800 Indian citizens arrived in New Zealand in the year to July 2026, while 5,300 departed. This resulted in a net migration gain of 11,500.
Annual data shows Indian migrant arrivals averaged approximately 12,530 between 2002 and 2026, measured from August to July.
Arrivals peaked in the year to July 2024, following the easing of COVID-19 border restrictions. During that period, 37,611 Indian citizens arrived and 3,965 departed, resulting in a net gain of 33,646.
The figures for the year to July 2026 remain provisional, with final migration estimates released later under Stats NZ’s 12-month-in-16-months rule.
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