New Zealand Facilitates Visitor Visa Rules for Remote Workers to Boost Economy

Key Takeaways

  • New Zealand has decided to ease visa rules for visitors starting from today, January 27.
  • As part of the new changes, visitors will be eligible to work in New Zealand while staying there without breaching visa conditions.
  • The decision aims to boost the country’s economy.

In a bid to boost its economy, New Zealand will permit holidaymakers to work remotely while visiting the country starting today, January 27.

Announcing the facilitation of visa rules, the Immigration Minister of New Zealand, Erica Stanford, said that New Zealand wants people to see the country as the ideal place to visit and work while they do it, VisaGuide.World reports.

The Minister said that she was unsure how many people would take the opportunity. However, she emphasized that digital nomad visas had been extraordinarily popular overseas, noting that New Zealand was targeting people who would like the opportunity to work and travel to this country.

I expect in their time here that they will spend longer than they normally would, they will spend more because they’re here for longer, and the thing that we’re really hoping is that they fall in love with the place. 

Immigration Minister of New Zealand, Erica Stanford

New Zealand’s Minister of Economic Growth, Nicola Willis, said that the ambitious plan of the government is that new visa rules will put New Zealand on the map as a welcoming haven for the world’s talent, quoted by Reuters.

We hope that in some cases, it will encourage those people and the firms they represent to consider doing more business with New Zealand in the future. 

New Zealand’s Minister of Economic Growth, Nicola Willis

Conditions for Benefiting From a New Zealand Visa

The recent changes applied by the government of New Zealand allow tourists and people visiting family and partners, as well as guardians on longer-term visitor visas, to benefit from the facilitated visa rules.

It means that tourists will be eligible to stay in New Zealand and work for clients or businesses located outside this territory as digital nomads without breaching New Zealand’s visa rules.

Visitor visa recipients, as well as those entering the country with an NzeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority), will be subject to some conditions.

Through a statement, the government of New Zealand emphasizes that visitor visa holders must not do any of the following things:

  • Work for an employer in New Zealand
  • Provide goods or services to people or businesses in New Zealand
  • Engage in work that requires them to be physically present at a workplace in New Zealand.

The statement from the government of New Zealand emphasizes that all persons planning to work remotely from this country for a period of more than 92 days in a 12-month period must ensure that they are aware of tax implications.

In a bid to attract a larger number of wealthy investors from other countries, New Zealand also applied new changes to its Golden Visa Program, in December 2024.

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