The number of British citizens interested in moving to New Zealand has increased by almost 50 per cent since 50 people died in a massacre at two mosques in Christchurch.

The number of applications from Britain jumped from 505 to 753 – a 49 per cent increase - in the 10 days after the attack on March 15, according to figures from Immigration New Zealand (INZ).

The increase in registrations from Britain was second only to those from the United States, where there was a 72 per cent increase – from 674 to 1165 over the same period. The third highest increase was from South Africa.

Globally, there was a 33 per cent increase in the number of applications to live and work in New Zealand. The agency received 6,457 registrations of interest from March 15 to 24, compared to 4,844 for the preceding 10 days.

There has also been a surge of interest from predominantly Muslim countries despite their faith being targeted by a lone gunman during Friday prayers. There were 333 registrations submitted from Pakistan, 165 from Malaysia, 82 from Bangladesh, 66 from Morocco, 63 from Indonesia, 59 from Egypt and 59 from Turkey.