New Zealand has relaxed visa requirements for remote workers in a bid to attract more ‘digital nomads’ skilled workers who given an internet connection can work from anywhere on the planet.
With the new policy, a visitor visa, which allows foreigners to remain for up to nine months, now also permits them to work for overseas employers during that time. However, the visitor visa does not allow people to work for New Zealand employers, so “they won’t be competing for Kiwi jobs,” said Finance Minister, Nicola Willis.
“The visa will open the doors to a whole new category of visitors,” said Willis. “The government’s ambition is that new visa rules will put New Zealand boldly on the map as a welcoming haven for the world’s talent.”
The change applies to all visitor visas, including tourist visas and longer-stay family visas, and follows a difficult economic period for New Zealand, whose economy saw a recession in the third quarter of 2024.
The new strategy intends to move New Zealand “onto a faster growth track,” said Wills, and advertising campaigns will specifically target skilled tech workers from the US and East Asia. The government hopes to draw the interest not only of those workers, but also of their companies.
“We want more of the world’s wealthy and super-talented people,” she said.
The number of people working remotely full-time — either within their own countries or internationally — boomed during the coronavirus pandemic and has continued to rise since then. Digital nomads tend to have higher incomes, which translate into spending on stores, restaurants and lodging.
Despite its remoteness — more than 6,000 miles from the mainland United States and more than 1,000 miles from Australia — New Zealand, a country of just 5.2 million people, is a popular travel destination.
About 200,000 people work in the tourism industry in New Zealand, and in the year ending in March 2024, international visitors spent about $6.3 (CA $5.14) billion in the country.
“The new visa will also enable more visitors to New Zealand to extend their stays,” Willis said, adding, “Those longer stays mean more income for local businesses.”
However, digital nomads who stay for longer than 90 days could face added taxes. Then too, meetings with colleagues in North America and Europe would would see some intricate scheduling.
New Zealand has long had a tight control on its immigration, and even as it tries to attract affluent remote workers for limited stays, in April it tightened work visas for low-skilled workers seeking to move to and work in the country and introduced, among other conditions, an English language requirement.
New Zealand is just the latest country recognising the economic impact that long stay digital nomads can bring. Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Spain and Portugal have all launched dedicated visas and immigration rules to attract remote workers.
If you enjoyed or found this story useful, we’d appreciate if you would forward it to a colleague or friend who may also enjoy it. If, on the other hand, a friend shared it with you, welcome! You can get all the latest travel news and reviews from Travel Industry by simply clicking HERE.