Philippine Nurses Face Dilemma: Better Pay in New Zealand Versus Serving at Home

Filipino nurses are increasingly confronted with the choice between substantial financial incentives and improved working conditions overseas, particularly in New Zealand, and the desire to serve their home country, which faces its own healthcare staff shortages. Many choose to migrate due to significantly higher salaries and a better work-life balance found abroad.

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The allure of significantly higher earnings and improved working conditions abroad presents a profound dilemma for many Filipino nurses. A newly registered nurse in New Zealand, for instance, can command an annual salary of approximately ₱2.7 million, or NZ$75,000. This figure is more than six times the starting salary of a government nurse in the Philippines, making overseas opportunities difficult to overlook, as noted by Regie Legaspi, an associate director at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Manila.

Many Filipino nurses, like Charissa Escobia, a registered midwife nurse who moved to New Zealand in August 2023, cite better pay, fairer workloads, improved nurse-to-patient ratios, and enhanced career opportunities as key motivators for migration. Escobia, who now works in a private nursing home in New Zealand, emphasizes a significant improvement in her standard of living and a more balanced life, despite the higher cost of living. In contrast, nurses in the Philippines often face modest pay, long hours, heavy workloads, and uncertain job stability, as reported by CNA.

The Philippines has emerged as the world’s largest source of migrant nurses among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. OECD data indicates that 277,266 Philippine-born nurses were working in OECD countries in 2020 and 2021, representing a staggering 147% increase since 2000 and 2001. An OECD 2025 report further found that around 37% of Filipino nurses worked abroad during that period. Despite this exodus, some, like Legaspi, choose to stay in the Philippines, sometimes due to unique opportunities like a directorship and scholarship offer, driven by a belief in serving their fellow Filipinos.

New Zealand, with its growing demand for healthcare professionals, heavily relies on internationally trained nurses, with Filipinos making up one of the largest ethnic groups in its nursing workforce. Filipinos accounted for approximately 14% of New Zealand’s 80,000 nurses holding an annual practising certificate in the 2024-2025 registration year. Leslie Abubo, a clinical nurse manager in Masterton, New Zealand, highlights the stark contrast in working conditions, noting that Philippine hospital nurses might care for up to 20 patients each, while New Zealand nurses typically manage fewer than 10, contributing to reduced burnout and a better work-life balance for those who migrate.