Extensive studies have been conducted on skilled and low-skilled workers to estimate the overall impact of immigration on economic growth and competitiveness. Previous researches suggest that immigration of skilled people is more than 10 times as valuable to the economy as the entry of unskilled workers. Despite the positive impression that skilled migrants provide, the academic literature suggests that the experiences of skilled migrants can often be problematic. The main purpose of this paper is to understand the experiences of skilled migrants in New Zealand. The qualitative research explored settlement experiences from the perspectives of migrants to identify the factors that influence settlement outcomes for migrants located in NZ. This study reveals mixed experiences of skilled migrants at their workplaces. Some of the respondents shared positive experiences such as friendly environment and support system while other mentioned about the negatives experiences such as language barriers, overseas qualifications and no recognition of overseas work experiences. © 2017, Springer International Publishing.

Immigration Productivity economic growth Innovation Exclusion and discrimination High-skill migrants New Zealand social integration Professional integration

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