Pacific Immigration and New Zealand: A Focus on Tongans

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In New Zealand, the immigrant population significantly consists of Pacific peoples, where there are a distinct group of 20 cultures and languages. Samoan Community is the highest among the population of New Zealand, then following are Cook Islanders, Tongans etc.…This paper will analyse the Tongan subgroup in particular, however other sub-groups will also be discussed. Pacific peoples were welcomed to New Zealand as workers during the 1950’s to the 1970’s. In the 1950’s, there was a post-war economic boom, which resulted in having a large demand of labour, which increased the immigration from many Polynesian nations. During this time, there was also an increased population growth rate in the Pacific Islands with no growth in employment opportunities. …show more content…

The Pacific Access Category (PAC) is a policy that was implemented by New Zealand where Tongans are allowed to immigrate to New Zealand based on an annual quota. Migrants include the applicants themselves, their direct children and their spouse. Usually there are an excess of applications for the quota, which is why there is a lottery, or a ballot in order to determine who can emigrate under the PAC. PAC is beneficial for migrants in some cases, where there are gains in income and employment and it is very popular in Tonga, however there are deficits in PAC being developed for economic developments in the Pacific Islands. Initially, New Zealand set out policies for immigration that not only benefits New Zealand, but also the Pacific Islands, however when immigrants like Tongans, come to the country, they face many challenges from …show more content…

However, the transaction costs for sending money between New Zealand and Tonga are very high, which has an impact on Tongan families to support their households in both Tonga and New Zealand. It is common among Tongan families to put a hold on paying household amenities and to pay for their families in Tonga due to obligations towards their families back home. Not only is gift giving important towards family, but also to Churches as it is an important part of traditional

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