As more New Zealand citizens depart, especially to Australia, this could change the country's social fabric faster than anticipated, Massey University sociologist Paul Spoonley says.
''Asians have moved from being 'a significant number' to 'dominating' most immigration categories,'' Prof Spoonley said.
Over 2011-12, New Zealand had its first net migration loss since 2001 - but combined Asian temporary and permanent arrivals increased.
Despite the UK still being the biggest source country for permanent residents, Prof Spoonley noted, the combined total from China, India and the Philippines more than doubled the British.
Despite the rapid rise in numbers, it would be decades before Asians would outnumber Pakeha, Prof Spoonley said, but strains were starting to show.
''We also haven't been very good at telling New Zealanders about the positive aspects of immigration.''
He said it was ''hard for people to feel positive'' about immigration during times of high unemployment and economic downturn.
In a recent annual Asia New Zealand Foundation survey, just half felt Asian immigration was positive and a third felt immigrants were taking jobs away.
Prof Spoonley said New Zealand was good at recruiting migrants, but poor in assisting with settlement. Compared with Australia or Canada, support systems and structures for new migrants were lacking here.
New Zealand First says current family migration policy favours the Chinese, and wants a review of the family reunion policy.
Under Immigration's ''centre of gravity'' rule, a parent can be sponsored if the number of adult children living in New Zealand was equal to or exceeded those in any single country. With China's one-child policy, nearly all China nationals who were permanent residents would, therefore, be eligible to sponsor parents.
New Zealand First MP Denis O'Rourke said parents from China filled more than half the total parent-reunion quota, and parent reunion migrants were eligible for superannuation at age 65 after 10 years of residence. Sponsored migrant parents were a burden on health care, superannuation, housing and welfare, he said.
Last July, the parent category was relaunched as a two-tier scheme, where applicants needed at least $65,000 and prove they could bring $500,000 to New Zealand to be in tier one, where applications would be processed faster.
''It appears the new policy has increased the parent application from China even more, with most just transitioned from `centre of gravity' to tier one,'' Mr O'Rourke said.
Figures he obtained showed applicants from the United Kingdom had dropped from 1157 to 637, but Chinese applications rose from 4891 to 5830.
Immigration New Zealand is looking to international students as ''an important source of skilled migrants'', and China, being the largest source country for international students, could soon overtake the UK in the category.
Over the past decade, one in five international students obtained permanent residence visas within five years.
Last year, 38% of skilled immigrants were former international students, with India overtaking Britain as the main source of skilled immigrants.
Prof Spoonley said ''being more generous'' with family migration would encourage more skilled migrants to come and remain here, and he did not agree parents were a burden to New Zealand.
''Studies have shown that, overall, migrants contribute far more to the economy and what they pay in taxes than what they take, including these parents,'' he said.
''They play the role of caregiver to their grandchildren, allowing their children to return to work, and provide the sense of family that would keep their migrant children rooted here.''
Nearly 40% of Aucklanders were born overseas and projections show that Asians could make up 30% of the city's population within eight years.
- By Lincoln Tan, of the The New Zealand Herald
