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Loads of people in the UK want to move to New Zealand

Kiwis bracing for British invasion

Loads of people in the UK want to move to New Zealand
Danielle de Wolfe
22 August 2016

The United Kingdom may have just completed its most successful Olympics ever, but even that surge of nationalistic pride hasn't stopped people looking for a post-Brexit exit.

And it seems that, as well as the likes of nearby Ireland being inundated with applications for passports, people are looking to get as far away from the UK as humanly possible.

Immigration officers from New Zealand have revealed that they are facing a "British invasion", with more than 10,647 Brits registering with Immigration New Zealand since the result of the EU referendum in June, compared to 4,599 in the same period a year before. The day after the result, 998 people applied to emigrate, with the day before the vote seeing just 109 people register their interest.

Paul Spoonley, from New Zealand's Massey University said he was “not surprised by the spike”, telling the New Zealand Herald, "Brexit is the push factor and it confirmed the exclusive or narrow nationalism of the UK, of some at least. We'd be getting people from the UK who are tired of a narrow-minded Britain and who want to experience something quite different. New Zealand is very different, it is multicultural, very tolerant and it's got a good lifestyle and a more temperate climate. Migrants move for lifestyle reasons as much as they do for economic reasons, and New Zealand has a pretty good deal on offer."

In addition, it looks like the country should brace itself for arrivals from across the Pacific too, with Spoonley commenting: "I anticipate that post Brexit and if [presidential candidate Donald] Trump wins in America, you're going to see a spike in interest from people there about coming to New Zealand. We saw it during the Bush years from Americans, and I think over the next three to five years, you're going to see a significant increase in the numbers of migrants coming from both Britain and the USA."

However, he believes that immigrants from China and India will continue to dominate new arrivals in the near future.​

So, why should you move to New Zealand? Well, there are some very good reasons indeed:

Flight of the Conchords

It was the home of Ernest Rutherford, the father of nuclear physics

It's got incredible countryside

And fantastic wildlife

Crowded House. Seriously, what a band.

And Lorde

They're nicer than Australians

They've got a swashbulkingly brilliant cricket team

And a pretty useful rugby team

It's got a toothbrush fence. Seriously.

Air New Zealand makes amazing flight safety videos

And - yes - Lord Of The Rings

(Images: Rex/AllStar)