1860s The first Chinese arrived as goldminers, brought in to rework the abandoned Otago goldfields when European miners flocked to the newly discovered West Coast. When gold began to run out, some returned to China, while others started up hand laundries and market gardens.
1950s-70s Students from the Colombo Plan began arrivinginto the country. The plan was devised to allow less developed countries in Asia and the Pacific to learn from their more developed counterparts. The period also marked the beginning of arrivals of professionals from English-speaking Commonwealth countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and India.
1960s Ethnic Chinese refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam arrived in New Zealand, with mainland Chinese refugees fleeing the cultural revolution. The decade also saw noticeable numbers of Chinese Samoans.
1980s A major change to immigration policy in 1987 saw a fresh wave of mainly professionals from Commonwealth countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. The majority arrive with ready jobs to go into.
1990s-2000s The mid-90s was the time of the business migrant. Mainly from Hong Kong and Taiwan, these migrants were wealthier and saw New Zealand as a good place to live and raise families. International students without families also begin arriving in noticeable numbers. Those with jobs stayed on, but many returned home. The latter part of the period saw arrivals under the Immigration Service's skilled migrant category. These latest arrivals were made up of a high number of mainland Chinese, and chronic levels of underemployment remain rife among this group.
