New Zealand locks out foreign home buyers even as golden visa rules eased
Other than citizens and tax residents, only Australian and Singapore citizens can purchase houses, due to pre-existing trade agreements
NEW Zealand’s ban on foreign home buyers will remain a sticking point for some overseas investors as they look to take advantage of a more permissive golden visa programme.
The South Pacific nation plans to simplify its investor visa and remove the English language test from Apr 1, but it still has one of the world’s most prohibitive policies on foreigners buying residential real estate. Other than citizens and tax residents, only Australian and Singapore citizens can purchase houses, due to pre-existing trade agreements.
“We are letting Singaporeans buy residential property here, we are letting Aussies buy residential property here and we are inviting the world to come and bring NZ$10 million (S$7.7 million) and invest it here,” said Marcus Beveridge, a business migration specialist and managing director at Queen City Law in Auckland. “We would strongly urge the government to get this issue resolved.”
Keen to attract foreign investment, New Zealand has tweaked its Active Investor Plus visa to reduce the amount of time investors must stay in the country and to narrow the investor categories to just two, including a low-risk option. The government is betting that wealthy migrants can help generate the capital needed to spark economic growth and fund infrastructure.
The changes have sparked “strong interest”, Beveridge said, with his firm working with about 20 families that are keen to apply under the new rules. The majority are from China, with others from Indonesia, Japan and the US, he said.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said normally when a new investor visa is introduced or existing settings altered there is dip in applications before they gradually rebuild.
‘Ready to Sign’
“I’m not expecting that, I’m expecting a huge amount of interest,” she said when unveiling the changes on Sunday (Feb 9) in Auckland. “I know four lawyers and agents who alone between them who have 50 people who are ready to sign on the dot on day one.”
The Active Investor Plus Visa had historically attracted rich individuals to New Zealand and raked in an average NZ$1 billion a year, but it languished after rule changes in 2022. Just 43 applications have been fully approved since those adjustments were made.
The latest changes to the visa are an improvement but still fall short, said Willy Sussman, an Auckland-based partner at law firm Bell Gully who specialises in high-net-worth people and immigration. He said he was waiting to hear more about the foreign buyer ban.
“The foreign buyer ban is not just important because people would like to be able to own a home here, but even the words ‘foreign buyer ban’ are words that turn people off, that make them feel unwelcome,” Sussman said. “It’s one thing saying, ‘do not worry about the English language test’, but it’s another thing to say, ‘you can park your money here but can’t buy a house’.”
Following a passport-for-sale scandal involving PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2018 imposed the ban on foreigners buying residential property to prevent wealthy buyers from abroad hoovering up land.
The governing National Party campaigned before the 2023 general election on a relaxation of that ban, proposing to allow foreigners to buy a home valued at NZ$2 million or more, but the policy was blocked by the New Zealand First Party during the formation of the coalition government.
Since then, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has said he’s open to allowing foreigners to buy expensive houses if they also invest in the country.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis told NewstalkZB on Monday that there are discussions under way about what the conditions New Zealand First would need to see meet to allow the ban to be lifted.
“New Zealand First have their position,” she said. “It’s up to them to decide when they are going to come to the table on this one and as I say they are at the table and I hope that we get there.” BLOOMBERG
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
