Do you want to live in New Zealand during your retirement years?
At New Zealand Immigration Concepts we are receiving increasing numbers of inquiries from all over the world from people who are seeking the unique lifestyle New Zealand has to offer and have either reached their retirement age or are simply ready to retire.
New Zealand is famous for its beautiful natural landscapes, pleasant climate, relaxed lifestyle and overall quality of life.
There are many good reasons why New Zealand has traditionally been very popular with retirees from all over the world looking to move overseas. According to a recent estimate there are currently about 60,000 pensioners from Britain alone living in New Zealand.
New Zealand provides a number of visa programs tailored for retirement migrants and the right visa will entitle you to live in New Zealand permanently as a retiree.
While the age limit for the most popular immigration policy, the Skilled Migrant Category, is at 56 years, there are a number of options for migrants older than 56, or migrants choosing not to take up employment or work in their own business.
Which visa option will work best for you depends on whether you intend to come to New Zealand temporarily or permanently, and whether you have children who reside in our country.
While the Parent Resident and Parent Retirement Categories are genuine permanent residence programs, the Temporary Retirement Category is a special visitor visa, and entitles the holder to stay in New Zealand for the duration of two years.
All of the above programs require the successful visa applicant to be of good health and character, place an investment in New Zealand, and demonstrate ownership of additional settlement or maintenance funds.
Applicants under the Parent Retirement Category must also have a New Zealand citizen or resident adult child, who is willing to sponsor them.
If you hold a Temporary Retirement Visa, you need to apply for a further Temporary Retirement Visa after two years. The subsequent visa will be granted under the provision that you still meet policy provisions when the application is submitted.
The downside of this visa is, that it will not give you peace of mind in the long run, as the policy, your health or financial situation might change over the years and you might then no longer be eligible for a visa.
If you are seeking the unique lifestyle New Zealand has to offer, and none of the above visa policies applies for you, you might be able to retire to New Zealand as investor or entrepreneur.
Different levels of investments are required for different investor visa types. For more detailed information on the requirements of New Zealand's business and investor programs you can use our Investor and Business Category Self Assessment.