According to Stats NZ, New Zealand recorded a net migration gain of 24,200 people in the year to March, up from 14,000 during the same period a year earlier.
However, that figure remains far below the recent peak, when New Zealand saw a net migration gain of about 130,000 people in the year to October 2023.
The rise in the year to March was driven by a slight 1% increase in total arrivals, which reached 135,500, alongside an 8% decline in migrant departures to 111,300.
On a monthly basis, New Zealand recorded a net migration gain of 2,800 in March, compared with a net loss of 200 in the same month last year.
New Zealand recorded a net migration loss of 36,500 New Zealand citizens in the year to March, alongside a net gain of 60,800 non-New Zealand citizens.
The net loss of New Zealand citizens in the year to March was down by around 6,400 compared with the same period last year.
Meanwhile, New Zealand recorded 3.63 million short-term visitor arrivals in the year to March 2026, an increase of 305,000 compared with the previous year.
Australian tourists led the growth, rising by 161,000 in the year to March to reach 1.56 million visitors, followed by Chinese tourists, who increased by 48,000 to 297,000.
Visitor arrivals for the month of March totalled 358,900, up 47,100 compared with March 2025.
Stats NZ said total overseas visitor arrivals in March 2026 were 95% of the 378,300 recorded in March 2019. The figure points to a continued rebound in inbound travel, with arrivals edging closer to the volumes seen pre-pandemic.