The Refugee Survey
The Refugee Survey gathers information about the experiences of former refugees and their families who have settled in New Zealand.
About the Refugee Survey
The Refugee Survey helps us understand how former refugees settle and their experiences of life in New Zealand.
We will run the survey every year. Running the survey regularly will help us better understand how refugees are settling over time and how their experiences and outcomes change.
The next survey will take place this year. It will focus on health and housing. It will build on what we have already learned and continue to highlight refugees’ lived experiences.
How the results will be used
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.
The 2025 Refugee Survey
We worked with Ipsos, an independent research company, to better understand how former refugees were settling and their experiences of life in New Zealand.
This was the first time a national Refugee Survey has been carried out in New Zealand. The survey focused on:
- education and English language learning
- employment, and
- participation in New Zealand life.
We invited people to participate if they had settled in New Zealand in the last 5 years under 1 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).
Participants in the survey were aged 16 or older.
What the 2025 survey showed
The Refugee Survey highlighted that many former refugees had been settling well in New Zealand, while also identifying areas where further support could make a difference.
The results brought together findings across education and English language learning, employment, and participation in New Zealand life. They showed where settlement was working well and where experiences varied, depending on factors such as location and access to opportunities.
MBIE Refugee Survey Pilot 2025 - Report of findings
We would like to acknowledge and thank the organisations and community partners who supported the distribution and completion of this survey through their networks, including refugee-led organisations, settlement and support service providers, and government and regional partners.