- New Zealand is easing visitor visa rules to allow tourists to work remotely while there.
- The country has faced economic headwinds, with a recession and rising unemployment in 2024.
- The digital nomad initiative aims to boost tourism, a vital industry for New Zealand’s economy.
New Zealand’s government is relaxing visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while in the country, in a bid to boost its struggling economy.
Starting Monday, tourists will be allowed to work remotely for a foreign employer while vacationing there, as part of a new “digital nomad” initiative.
“The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto a faster growth track,” the country’s economic growth minister, Nicola Willis, said in a joint statement.
Last year, New Zealand’s economy faced significant challenges, with the OECD describing its economic momentum as “weak.”
In the third quarter, New Zealand sank into a technical recession, and in November unemployment rose to a nearly four-year high.
New Zealand experienced the largest GDP contraction among developed nations in 2024, Paul Bloxham, HSBC’s chief economist for New Zealand and Australia, told RNZ.
The relaxation in rules aims to bring in digital nomads, who have already flocked to countries such as Spain, Portugal, and Malta.
Many countries are targeting this market of often affluent young people. Twenty-nine other countries offer residence visas for remote workers, or “digital nomad visas,” Business Insider reported last year.
“Making the country more attractive to ‘digital nomads’ — people who work remotely while traveling — will boost New Zealand’s attractiveness as a destination,” Willis said in the statement.
Tourism, once New Zealand’s largest export earner before the COVID-19 pandemic, remains a vital industry for the country. Now the second-largest earner, it generates billions of dollars annually and supports nearly 200,000 jobs, Willis said.
Louise Upston, New Zealand’s Minister for Tourism, said in the statement that digital nomads are a “brand-new market of tourist” that New Zealand can tap into.
She said they have the potential to spend more time and money in the country, including during the “shoulder season,” when fewer tourists traditionally visit.
“Many countries offer digital nomad visas and the list is growing, so we need to keep pace to ensure New Zealand is an attractive destination for people who want to ‘workcation’ abroad,” Upston said.
The rules have been relaxed for all visitor visas, including those for tourists, family visits, and partners or guardians on longer-term stays.
“This Government is committed to supporting a smarter, efficient and predictable immigration system to grow our economy,” Erica Stanford, New Zealand’s immigration minister, said.
However, New Zealand’s Immigration Department urged digital nomads who intend to work remotely in the country for more than 92 days in a 12-month period to be aware of the tax implications.
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