It's about to get easier and cheaper for wealthy people to move to New Zealand. Americans are the most intrigued.
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- Starting April 1, New Zealand is easing its golden visa rules to lure wealthy people to move there.
- Most visa inquiries so far have come from Americans, the New Zealand government told BI.
- Americans jarred by political tumult may be drawn to New Zealand's lifestyle, safety, and stability.
New Zealand's breathtaking landscapes and temperate climate lured 370,000 American visitors in 2024, according to government arrival data.
Other Americans may want to make more permanent trips.
About 40% of inquiries about New Zealand's "golden visa" program have come from the US, according to Benny Goodman, the investment general manager for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, or NZTE.
Some Americans are exploring moves out of the country because of dissatisfaction with the political climate. Google searches for "moving to New Zealand" spiked around Election Day and Inauguration Day, as did related searches for "moving to Canada" and "how to move out of the US."
Starting April 1, it'll get a little easier for wealthy foreigners to pay for a pathway to New Zealand residency. The country is changing the requirements for its golden visa program, formally called the "active investor plus" visa.
The lightening of golden visa requirements comes as New Zealand is trying to boost an economy grappling with recession, its worst downturn since 1991 except for the pandemic.
The government is itching for high-net-worth immigrants, according to Dominic Jones, the managing director of Greener Pastures New Zealand, which helps people get residency through investment.
Jones said there are three main reasons wealthy Americans might be drawn to New Zealand: its laid-back lifestyle, its political stability, and its lack of crime.
"If you go back 10 or 20 years, the drivers around safety in particular may not have been that important, but now it's increasingly on people's minds," he said.
Americans are intrigued by the new visa options
The new golden visa requirements are as follows: Prospective residents can invest $5 million New Zealand dollars (or about $2.8 million) in "higher-risk" investments, like managed funds, and hold them for at least three years to receive permanent residency.
Investors can choose a second option and invest $10 million New Zealand dollars (or about $5.7 million) — with somewhat safer investing options, like bonds or a list of equities — and hold them for five years.
Previously, there were three, not two, different investment groups, more time required in the country to qualify for residency, and an English-speaking requirement that has been removed. The previous minimum investment was more expensive: $15 million New Zealand dollars.
Bloomberg reported in February that only 43 golden visa applicants from all countries were approved between 2022 and 2025, when the old rules were in place. They brought in a total of $545 million New Zealand dollars.
According to the New Zealand Herald, since the changes were announced in February, NZTE saw a 400% rise in visits to its visa web pages.
Since Greener Pastures' website launched in December, inquiries about relocating from America to New Zealand have tripled, beating out increases in interest from other countries, said Mischa Mannix-Opie, the director of client experience at Greener Pastures.
"Americans have been our key focus — that's been our priority," she told BI. "That's where we've seen the biggest lift which has been quite pleasing for us to see."
There are also less-expensive options to spend a few months in New Zealand, including a digital nomad visa that allows travelers to work from New Zealand for up to 92 days. If you qualify, it costs about $193.
Some Americans are already enjoying the New Zealand lifestyle.
Take Garvey Daniels, who moved his family from California to New Zealand in 2022, after falling in love with the scenery while living there in the '90s.
Daniels told BI in 2023 that he worries less about his kids' safety in New Zealand.
"My kids just get to go and have an education," he said. "They can walk to the dairy with their friends, and if they decide they want to go eat ice cream on the beach and they're not home right away, I don't go into a mad panic."