Moving to New Zealand
Visas and residency, citizenship, tax, company and banking, cost of living and the places to live in New Zealand, in one place.
Australia and New ZealandThinking about moving to New Zealand?
Here's how long you can stay, the ways to live there for good, what you'd pay in tax and what everyday life costs, each figure from an official source.
In this guide, I'll show you:
- How long you can stay, by passport
- The visas and residency routes that let you live there
- How long citizenship takes
- How tax works, with the rates
- What it costs, and the internet and safety
- The best places to live
- The basics: capital, currency and languages
Pick your passport at the top of the page, and the stay rule shows for you.
TL;DRKey takeaways
New Zealand at a glance
How long can you stay in New Zealand?
It depends on the passport you hold.
Here's the rule for the most common ones:
US passport- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 90 days
UK passport- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 180 days
EU passport (German)- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 90 days
Canadian passport- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 90 days
Australian passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- –
Indian passport- Rule
- Visa needed
- Stay
- –
For any other passport, pick yours at the top, or see every country on the visa-free countries map.
Visas and residency in New Zealand
These routes don't need a local job either:
- Active Investor Plus Visa (golden visa (residency by investment)) – NZ$5 million for 3 years (Growth) or NZ$10 million for 5 years (Balanced), and it can lead to permanent residency
See the investor routes side by side in the golden visa finder, and the ones for retirees in the retirement visa finder.
Citizenship in New Zealand
Naturalization takes about 5 years of residence.
Dual citizenship is allowed, so you can keep your passport.
Work out your own timeline with the second passport calculator.
Tax in New Zealand
New Zealand taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
See where it sits among every country on the territorial tax map.
The main rates:
- Lowest income tax band – 10%
- Top income tax rate – 39%
- Corporate tax – 28%
- VAT or sales tax – 15%
Where you're a tax resident usually comes down to days.
Count yours with the 183-day rule calculator.
Company and banking
Compare the banks and cards that work for people abroad in the bank account finder.
Move money for less with the money transfer comparison.
Setting up a company here?
See the fees and yearly costs in company formation compared.
Many people who live abroad run a US LLC instead; check yours with the US LLC for non-residents checker.
Cost of living in New Zealand
Everyday prices in New Zealand are about 86% of US prices.
That's the World Bank's price level for 2025: its purchasing power conversion factor divided by the exchange rate.
It's close to US prices, or above them.
Convert what things cost with the currency converter.
Is New Zealand safe?
The US State Department rates New Zealand Level 1 ("Exercise normal precautions", updated 2026-04-29), the same level it gives Austria, Portugal, Japan and Australia. Level 1 is normal travel. Some advisories are stricter for parts of a country, so read the full advisory before you go.
For a second view, the UK has no warning against travel.
See every country's level on the travel advisory map.
Internet in New Zealand
In M-Lab's open speed tests across New Zealand over the last 12 months, half came in above 93 Mbps download.
The fastest quarter of lines came in above 281 Mbps, closer to a good fiber connection (4,073,835 tests).
By place:
- Auckland – 94 Mbps typical
- Wellington – 103 Mbps typical
- Queenstown – 75 Mbps typical
Test your own line when you arrive with my internet speed test.
The best places to live in New Zealand
Compare them with places everywhere in digital nomad locations.
New Zealand: the basics
| What | New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Capital | Wellington |
| Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
| Languages | English, Māori |
| Population | about 4.9 million |
From GeoNames' country data (CC BY 4.0).
More tools for New Zealand
- Passport index and compare passports
- Time zone overlap calculator for calls with home
- eSIM finder for data when you land
- Card fees abroad calculator before you spend
New Zealand FAQs
eTA before you fly, for 90 days.
Pick another passport at the top of the page to see its rule.
It depends on your passport.
Pick yours at the top of the page to see the days, and whether you need a visa first.
Not that I've found in official sources as of 2026-09-29.
The digital nomad visa finder lists every country that has one.
Yes: Active Investor Plus Visa.
NZ$5 million for 3 years (Growth) or NZ$10 million for 5 years (Balanced)
About 5 years of residence.
Yes.
Check that your own country allows it too.
New Zealand taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
Check the details with a tax adviser before you move.
Everyday prices are about 86% of US prices, by the World Bank's price level for 2025.
Rent in the biggest cities can be higher than that suggests.
The US State Department rates it Level 1.
Levels 1 and 2 are everyday travel; read the full advisory for any regions it warns about.
Half of M-Lab's tests there came in above 93 Mbps download over the last 12 months.
The fastest quarter of lines passed 281 Mbps.
The places I cover there are Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown.
Each has its own guide with the weather by month, internet and costs.
The New Zealand dollar (NZD).
The main languages are English and Māori.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
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