Jacinda Ardern forced out wealthy foreigners. Now New Zealand is desperate to win them back

Telegraph

17-07-2025

New Zealand had long lured wealthy foreigners with its golden visas.
The hurdles were low: applicants needed to maintain an investment of NZD$10 million (£4.4m) in the country for three years, and spend just six weeks a year there. No English language skills or business experience was required, and the money could sit quietly in an investment fund overseen by Kiwi managers.
It opened a pathway to permanent residency and the lifelong right to stay in the Pacific nation.
But in 2022, New Zealand's leadership – under its then-prime minister Jacinda Ardern – tore up the scheme. The result was an approximately NZD$1.5bn hit to the country's economy as investment collapsed and wealthy people snubbed a stricter replacement visa scheme.
Now, the Kiwi government is desperate to win back these people – and their money. It has reversed course and made its golden visa rules more attractive than ever before.
Wealthy investors snub New Zealand
As New Zealand emerged from the pandemic, Ardern restricted its golden visa programme ostensibly to promote investments in businesses and infrastructure.
But the move came amid a slew of isolationist policies under the Ardern government, which included banning foreigners from buying residential property in 2018.
A long-term stagnation in foreign direct investment, vital to New Zealand's geographically remote economy, followed. This was compounded when the country became one of the first outside China to impose a Covid lockdown, sealing its borders.
Troy Hanley, of migration consultancy Henley & Partners, says: 'During Covid, the foreign direct investment into New Zealand really plummeted which had a massive impact on a country that [already] is quite isolated. The government also changed the investor visa rules and increased the price.'
Applicants for the new Active Investor Plus visa had to have at least NZD$15m, speak English and spend 117 days over four years in the country.
They could no longer park their investments purely in bonds, property and investment funds, and a weighted system incentivised them to put their money into New Zealand's businesses.
The new scheme received just 61 applications in its first two years compared with 145 under its predecessor, official figures show. It also brought in far less money.
In the years prior to the Covid pandemic, the old scheme's rules attracted NZD$2.2bn in investments, while the new scheme saw just NZD$70m.
The government later accepted changes to the scheme 'had the effect of discouraging potential investors from seeking New Zealand residence'.
'We should be rolling out the welcome mat'
A new Right-wing coalition government has attempted to revive New Zealand's economic fortunes after it only recently emerged from a technical recession last year.
In February this year, the country unveiled a new 'growth' visa that is even more generous than the older scheme, in an attempt to encourage investment. It is one of a number of policies introduced by Ardern that are now being rolled back.
The country's new government has also relaxed visa rules for so-called 'digital nomads' – people who typically use freelance remote work to fund travel – and will allow them to work remotely for an overseas employer for 90 days while visiting.
Nicola Willis, the country's economic growth minister, said at the time: 'We should be rolling out the welcome mat and encouraging investor migrants to choose New Zealand as a destination for their capital.'
Just NZD$5m was required as a minimum investment to qualify, while the requirement to be physically present in New Zealand dropped to just 21 days over a three-year period, about a week every year. To be approved for this scheme, applicants must invest in New Zealand-based funds or put their money directly into the country's businesses.
A further 'balanced' visa was also introduced, and is similar to the old scheme with a minimum NZD$10m investment required over five years. For a higher price, applicants have a wider choice of investment options including bonds, shares in companies, property development and charitable donations. They must also spend 105 days across five years in New Zealand.
Hanley says: 'The price is now more reasonable and more accessible to a larger number of high-net worth people.'
Ardern also imposed a ban on foreign buyers of property in the country, though this remains in place. Foreigners are still banned from buying property for personal use in New Zealand, however, and golden visa applicants are encouraged to invest in the construction of new housing to increase overall housing stock, which has failed to keep pace with demand in recent years.
This is something New Zealand has sought to address through its golden visa programme. A qualifying investment for applicants to the 'balanced' visa can be in property development if it is judged to expand housing stock in the country.
Once approved for permanent residency in New Zealand, which is typically possible after the investment visa period ends, investors become eligible to buy housing to live in. But, they must pay taxes in the country and have lived there for at least the last 12 months.
A 'bolthole' in an unstable world
The new scheme has succeeded in attracting significant interest, says Hanley. 'It has really changed the types of people who are looking at New Zealand. Previously, it was dependent on people who wanted to spend quite a bit of time down there but now you just have to get a few flights down there.'
This is combined with a relatively light tax burden in New Zealand. The top rate of income tax is 39pc for incomes of more than NZD$180,001. The country also abolished inheritance tax in 1993.
While Hanley says he has seen interest in New Zealand from British clients, most prospective applicants he has worked with are from China. 'There's also no English language requirement and we are seeing a lot of interest in China now that requirement has gone.
'In China, and this has been quite longstanding, the government has targeted wealthy people and entrepreneurs and [Chinese parents have] always had that mindset of getting your kids educated overseas.'
Americans are also increasingly seeking alternative residency abroad as the country's politics become more fraught. The low requirements to be physically present are particularly attractive to American applicants.
'You can do it while you are based in Los Angeles and do three trips a year and you get permanent residency for life.'
He says US clients 'love the idea' that New Zealand could function as a safe haven in the event of a global conflict in the future.
'Even if there was a conflict in the South China Sea, New Zealand is a 12-hour flight from there. It's a bolthole.'