Wealthy Americans are dominating applications for New Zealand’s “golden visa,” driven by the country’s natural beauty and entrepreneurial spirit as well as a desire to escape the Trump administration.
New rules for the Active Investor Plus visa came into force from April 2025, lowering investment thresholds, removing English language requirements and reducing the time applicants spend establishing residency in the country from three years to three weeks. Successful applicants can only purchase homes in New Zealand worth more than $5 million.
Immigration New Zealand said a new scheme to offer residency to wealthy foreigners attracted 573 applications representing 1,833 people. Before the changes, the visa attracted 116 applications over two and a half years.
Investors from the US accounted for nearly 40% of applicants, followed by China and Hong Kong, according to the most recent data released by the government. From August 2025, the number of applications from China will more than double, from 45 to 95 k.
The rest of the top 10 countries in the order are Germany, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea tied with Great Britain.
There are two categories of “Golden Visa” in New Zealand. Most applied under the “growth” category, which requires an investment of at least NZ$5m ($3m) over three years. A small group applied under the “balanced” category, which set an investment of at least $10 million over five years. The previous scheme required an investment of $15 million.
Courtney and Jim Andelman, a California couple who run a venture capital firm, along with their twin daughters, are the 100th family to be granted visas.
The visa allowed the family to spend more time in New Zealand – which Courtney fell in love with on a backpacking trip 30 years ago – but she told the Guardian the chance to “give back” to the community.
The visa is also good for business, she said.
“It’s not just about fun and games and having the opportunity to live in one of the most amazing countries on the planet — it’s a really smart investment plan. It’s smart for us.”
She said New Zealand was an “underserved” market with “fantastic entrepreneurial habits, history and technologies”.
The family has invested in various venture funds and is also looking at companies for direct investment. They are particularly interested in New Zealand’s “deep-tech” industry, including artificial intelligence, robotics and biotechnology.
The couple decided not to buy a house in New Zealand, citing the $5 million price tag as too high and not wanting to add pressure to the housing market. Meanwhile, they divide their time between New Zealand and Santa Barbara, where they live.
“We feel a real responsibility to be involved in not just one, but two countries.”
Robbie Paul, chief executive of Auckland-based venture capital firm Icehouse Ventures, has worked with more than 30 people who have applied for a golden visa. Paul helps applicants meet their visa requirements by assisting with their investments in New Zealand.
Many Americans who worked with Paul said the visa would provide an escape from the Trump administration.
“I’ll put it this way, never during my time in New Zealand, I didn’t have an applicant suggestion of Biden or Obama … and then, of course, there were a lot of suggestions of people’s feelings toward Maga and Trump,” he said.
New Zealand became an attractive option for those investors because it was English-speaking, politically stable, beautiful and “very connected to the world,” says Paul.
This is not the first time New Zealand has attracted the interest of Trump-weary Americans and other wealthy foreigners seeking to make New Zealand their “bolthole” at a time of social division.
After Trump’s election victory in 2016, visits to the nation’s immigration website increased nearly 2,500%. After the US Supreme Court ruled there was no constitutional right to an abortion – raising the landmark Roe v Wade – visits to New Zealand’s immigration site quadrupled to 77,000. Following Trump’s 2024 election victory, interest from the US in the New Zealand property market has increased.
Billionaires who have obtained residency or citizenship in New Zealand have been subject to controversy in the past. Former Labor Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tightened rules on investment visas after PayPal’s billionaire co-founder Peter Thiel was granted citizenship in 2017, despite spending just 12 days in the country.
Ardern banned foreign home ownership in 2018 due to concerns that foreign buyers were driving up prices during the housing crisis.
In 2025, The government has announced that “golden visa” holders can now buy homes worth more than $5 million, despite the ban being lifted.
At the same time wealthy investors are flocking to the Golden Visa, New Zealanders have left the country in record numbers in recent years due to a weak economy, high living costs and high unemployment. However, the most recent migration figures released in February show signs of improvement with 66,300 citizens departing in 2025 compared to 67,200 in 2024.
Immigration NZ says the Active Investor Plus visa scheme has generated $3.39 billion in investment in New Zealand. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the new visa settings were helping to open up investment in New Zealand.
“International investment is critical to boosting productivity, supporting jobs and helping New Zealand businesses expand,” she said in a statement.
