Refugee Survey 2025
We are carrying out a Refugee Survey this year, to help the Government better understand the experiences of former refugees and their families. Data collected from the survey will help us to improve the experience of refugees resettling in New Zealand in the future.
About the survey
We are working with Ipsos, an independent research company, to better understand the experiences of former refugees and their families.
While we have some data to tell us how former refugees are settling (such as how many are employed, qualification levels, etc.), we do not have any data to tell us about refugees’ own experiences.
This is the first time we have run a Refugee Survey. The survey will be online and translated into 13 different languages.
It will cover:
- Education and English language
- Employment, and
- Participation.
Your voice is important – the more former refugees and their family members who complete the survey, the better our data will be and the more able we will be to improve the experience of future cohorts. We encourage you to spread the word and help us get as many people as possible to complete it.
Participation is entirely voluntary and completely anonymous; answers will remain confidential and will not be linked to your name or contact details.
Who can take part
You are invited to participate if you are aged 16 or older and have settled in New Zealand in the last 5 years under one of the following categories:
- Refugee Quota
- Refugee Family Support Category
- Community Organisation Refugee Sponsorship
- Afghan evacuees and interpreters
- Convention Refugees (approved in the last 5 years)
Survey details
Provider: Ipsos
Duration: The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete.
Availability: Open from Wednesday, 10 September to Wednesday, 10 December 2025.
Languages: Available in English, Dari, Farsi, Pashto, Arabic, Burmese, Spanish, Somali, Urdu, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, French, Punjabi, Tigrinya, and Amharic.
Format: Online only. A paper copy is not available.
Completion: The survey must be completed in one sitting and cannot be saved for later.
Privacy and data protection
Your responses are completely anonymous and cannot be linked back to you. Ipsos follows international data protection laws. You can read more in their Privacy Policy.
Privacy & Data Protection — Ipsos
How your feedback will be used
Your responses will be used to help us improve the experience of refugees resettling in New Zealand in the future. This will include ensuring we have services and support that will make a real difference to successful resettlement.
The results from the survey will also assist agencies to better understand what is working well in settlement support and what improvements are needed. The information will be used to ensure current services and support are targeted towards better settlement outcomes and help us address any gaps identified in service or support.
Who will read your feedback
Answers will be grouped together and shown as combined results, which means it will not be possible to single out any one person’s answers to all the questions.
We will share the overall results with communities, including those that participated.
Participation
Taking part is voluntary, but your feedback is valuable and appreciated. You can choose not to participate if you do not want to, but we would really appreciate it if you could take part to make sure your experience of settlement is included in the results.
Translations
Translations of responses in other languages will be done by Ipsos’ in-house translation team based in the United Kingdom. They are not connected to local communities and follow strict confidentiality protocols.
Get help
If you have questions or need assistance, you can email us.
refugeesurvey2025@mbie.govt.nz