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New Zealand's golden visas”: a storm of investors from all over the world expected!
New Zealand is attracting investors with new rules for golden visas: lower hurdles, shorter stay times and reduced investment amounts.
New Zealand's golden visas”: a storm of investors from all over the world expected!
The New Zealand government has significantly lowered the hurdles for obtaining “golden visas” to attract foreign investors. These new regulations came into force on April 1, 2023 and have generated great interest since then. A key aim of these measures is to enable wealthy individuals to acquire residency in New Zealand without having to live there permanently. This is particularly important given the geopolitical uncertainties worldwide.
Loud manager magazine Applicants no longer need to have knowledge of English, which lowers the barrier for many interested parties. In addition, the minimum stay in the country was reduced from three years to just three weeks. This makes the visa much more attractive for wealthy investors looking for business prospects in New Zealand.
Changes in the visa program
The minimum investment amounts have also been adjusted: for the “Growth” visa, the limit is now five million New Zealand dollars (approx. three million US dollars). For other visas that allow investments in real estate, bonds and stocks, the lower limit is ten million New Zealand dollars. New Zealand Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has already predicted a surge in applications from countries such as the US and Europe as New Zealand is seen as a safe haven.
Since the new regulations came into force, 53 applications have already been registered with Immigration New Zealand. Of these, 11 applications fall into the “Balanced” category and 42 fall into the “Growth” category. The planned minimum investment from these applications is approximately 320 million New Zealand dollars (approximately 170 million euros). The changes have also increased online interest: from March to April 2025, the application site received 4,279 visits, a 250% increase compared to the previous year.
International demand
The vast majority of applications come from the US, followed by China and Hong Kong. A total of 27 applications came from the USA (corresponding to 77 people), 15 from China and Hong Kong (47 people) and 4 from Germany (18 people). 11 applications have already been approved provisionally. Compared to the previous investor category, which only recorded 115 applications from July 2022 to March 2025, the rush is now considerable and speaks for the attractiveness of the program.
The revamped visa program offers two main options for investors:
| category | More details |
|---|---|
| Growth | At least 5 million NZD in higher risk investments, minimum stay of 21 days over three years. |
| Balanced | NZD 10 million over five years, minimum stay 105 days, can be reduced by investing more. |
New Zealand has introduced a ban on foreigners purchasing residential property since 2018. This measure is intended to curb rising real estate prices. Only New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, as well as Australian and Singapore nationals, are still permitted to purchase property.
The sweeping reforms and surge in applications suggest New Zealand is increasingly becoming a preferred destination for investors and wealthy foreigners. The country offers a stable and safe environment that is particularly attractive in uncertain times. Further developments in this area remain to be seen, while the new Conservative government promises to speed up application processing.