Wealthy Americans are dominating applications for New Zealand’s “golden visa”, driven by a love for the country’s natural beauty and entrepreneurial spirit, as well a desire to escape Trump’s administration.
New rules for the Active Investor Plus visa came into effect in April 2025, lowering investment thresholds, removing English-language requirements and cutting the amount of time applicants must spend in the country to establish residency from three years to three weeks. Successful applicants can only purchase homes in New Zealand worth more than $5m.
Immigration New Zealand said the new scheme offering residency to wealthy foreigners has attracted 573 applications, representing 1,833 people. Before the changes, the visa attracted 116 applications over two-and-a-half years.
The most recent data released by the government showed that investors from the US made up nearly 40% of applicants, followed by China and Hong Kong. Since August 2025, the number of applications from China more than doubled, from 45 to 95.
The remaining top 10 countries in order included Germany, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea tied, and Great Britain.
There are two categories of “golden visa” in New Zealand. Most have applied under the “growth” category, which requires a minimum NZ$5m ($3m) investment over three years. A smaller group applied under the “balanced” category, which sets a minimum investment of $10m over five years. The previous scheme required an investment of $15m.
Courtney and Jim Andelman, a couple from California who run a venture capital firm, were, alongside their twin daughters, the 100th family to be granted a visa.
The visa provided an opportunity for the family to spend more time in New Zealand – a country Courtney fell in love with during a backpacking trip 30 years ago, while being an opportunity “give back” to the community, she told the Guardian.
The visa was also good for business, she said.
“This is not just about fun and games and having a chance to live in one of the most amazing countries on the planet – this is also a really smart investment scheme. It’s smart for us.”
New Zealand was an “underserved” market with “incredible entrepreneurial habits, history and technologies”, she said.
The family has invested in various venture funds and is also eyeing up companies for direct investment. They are particularly interested in New Zealand’s “deep-tech” industry, including artificial intelligence, robotics and biotechnologies.
The couple have decided not to buy a home in New Zealand, in part because the $5m price tag is too hefty, and because they do not want to add strain to the housing market. Meanwhile, they will split their time between New Zealand and Santa Barbara, where they live.
“We feel a real responsibility to participating, not just in one country, but in both countries.”
Robbie Paul, the chief executive of the Auckland-based venture capital firm Icehouse Ventures, has worked with more than 30 people who have applied for a golden visa. Paul helps applicants fulfil their visa requirements by assisting with their investments in New Zealand.
Many of the Americans Paul has worked with have said the visa provides an opportunity to escape Trump’s administration.
“I’ll put it this way, never in my time in New Zealand, did I have an applicant reference Biden or Obama … and then, absolutely, a lot of references to people’s feelings towards Maga and Trump,” he said.
New Zealand had become an appealing option for those investors because it is English-speaking, political stable, beautiful and “very connected to the world”, Paul said.
It 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 societal division.
After Trump election victory in 2016, visits to the country’s immigration website rose almost 2,500%. After the US supreme court ruled there was no constitutional right to abortion – upending the landmark Roe v Wade – visits to New Zealand’s immigration site quadrupled to 77,000. After Trump’s 2024 election win, there was a surge of interest from the US in New Zealand’s property market.
Billionaires acquiring residency or citizenship in New Zealand have been subject to controversy in the past. After Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal, was granted citizenship in 2017 despite spending only 12 days in the country, the former Labour prime minister Jacinda Ardern tightened the rules on investment visas.
Ardern also banned foreign home ownership in 2018, because of concern that foreign buyers were driving up prices during a housing crisis.
In 2025, the government announced that while the ban largely remains, holders of a “golden visa” would now be able to buy homes valued at more than $5m.
At the same time wealthy investors are flocking to the golden visa, New Zealand citizens have been leaving the country in record numbers in recent years, due to a weak economy, high living costs and high unemployment. The most recent migration statistics released in February, however, show signs of improvement, with 66,300 citizens departing in 2025 compared with 67,200 in 2024.
The Active Investor Plus visa scheme has generated $3.39bn investment in New Zealand, Immigration NZ said. The immigration minister, Erica Stanford, said the new visa settings are helping to open up investment in New Zealand.
“International investment is critical for lifting productivity, supporting jobs, and helping New Zealand businesses to expand,” she said in a statement.
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