Wealthy Americans are moving to this country as ‘golden visa’ demand surges
A general view of Auckland's skyline as the city wakes to day two of level four lockdown on August 19, 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)
Wealthy Americans are increasingly putting money into New Zealand’s "golden visa" program as they consider relocating to the South Pacific country.
By the numbers:
The Financial Times reported that more than 700 wealthy foreign nationals have applied for New Zealand’s golden visa over the past 14 months, a sharp increase from the 115 applications submitted during the previous three years. The surge came after the government relaxed the requirements for gaining approval.
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Americans have accounted for more than one-third of applications filed since April 2025, according to the report. Of those applications, 277 came from Americans, with particularly strong interest among Californians in the golden visa, officially called the Active Investor Plus Visa.
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Dig deeper:
Under the golden visa program, applicants must invest at least $5 million in New Zealand dollars over a three-year period. The money can be directed toward local funds, businesses or charities, although philanthropic contributions are limited to 20% of the total investment.
Another 127 applicants have pursued a golden visa through a separate option requiring an investment of $10 million in New Zealand dollars in passive assets, such as bonds, over five years.
Foreign nationals who obtain a golden visa are permitted to remain in New Zealand indefinitely and are also allowed to work in the country, which has a population of more than 5 million.
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Big picture view:
New Zealand’s government has also loosened several other requirements tied to its golden visa programs. The changes include eliminating an English-language requirement and reducing the amount of time visa recipients must physically spend in the country.
Officials also lowered the minimum investment thresholds from the original $15 million requirement introduced in 2022. Applicants can now invest $5 million under the growth category or $10 million under the "balanced" category. The government also expanded the types of qualifying investments under the balanced category to include bonds and property investments.
Applicants participating in the growth category are required to spend at least 21 days in New Zealand during the three-year investment period, following the government’s decision to ease its residency requirements.
Under the balanced investment category, golden visa holders are generally required to spend at least 105 days in New Zealand over five years.
However, the time-in-country requirement can be reduced by 14 days for every additional $1 million in New Zealand dollars invested in growth-category investments. The reduction is capped at 42 days, meaning qualifying visa holders would still need to spend at least 63 days in New Zealand during the five-year period.
Any additional investments used to lower the residency requirement must be proposed before the visa application receives approval in principle.
The Source: FOX Business contributed to this report. The information in the story comes primarily from a recent Financial Times report, which cited data showing a surge in New Zealand "golden visa" applications and strong interest from wealthy Americans, particularly Californians.