US applications for New Zealand citizenship rise by 70%

Americans living in New Zealand say their friends and family have been asking about moving there since elections

In the days after Donald Trump was elected US president many joked about moving across the border to neighbouring Canada. However, another country that became a popular destination among Americans was New Zealand.



Immigration records obtained by The Associated Press show the number of Americans who applied for a grant of citizenship rose by 70 per cent in the 12 weeks after Trump was elected.

Figures also showed that number of Americans who visited New Zealand had risen from last year, as had the number of Americans who obtained a work visa.

New Zealand's Department of International Affairs told AP that after the US election in November, the visitors on its website seeking information about citizenship had increased tenfold when compared to a month ago.

While the number of people actually applying for a citizenship remains low, some Americans living in New Zealand told AP their friends and family have been asking about moving there since the election results.



Cameron Pritchard, an immigration consultant at Malcolm Pacific Immigration in Wellington said that his company noticed a spike in inquiries from the US during the election.

“It’s been more of a flurry of excitement initially than anything that’s translated into a huge avalanche of numbers,” he said.

This story originally appeared on New York Post.