By Gill Bonnett of RNZ
More than 6500 skilled migrants have been invited to apply for residence in a one-off ballot before a policy change.
The government announced in October it wanted to overhaul skilled migrant residences.
More than 300 people and organisations made submissions on what the new policy should look like during a five-week consultation.
In the meantime, Immigration New Zealand said it saw increased demand when it opened up applications under the old points system.