WELLINGTON, April 24 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's annual net migration was 68,000 in the March 2018 year, down 4,400 from a record level of 72,400 in the July 2017 year, but it still remains high by historical standards, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said Tuesday.

"More non-New Zealand citizens are leaving," population insights senior manager Brooke Theyers said in a statement. "But there are just as many migrants arriving as a year ago."

There were 29,700 departures of non-New Zealand citizen migrants in the March 2018 year, up 2 percent from the February 2018 year and up 14 percent from the July 2017 year, Theyers said.

In the March 2018 year, migrant arrivals on work visas rose 6 percent to 46,300, while there was a 13-percent fall in arrivals on residence visas, she said.

"Migrants coming to New Zealand to work were the largest visa-type group," Theyers said, adding that the sources of the largest numbers of work-visa migrants were Britain, France, and Germany.

A residence visa allows migrants to live in New Zealand permanently. There were 14,600 arrivals on residence visas in the March 2018 year, down from 16,800 in the March 2017 year, she said.