Retirement in New Zealand

Do you want to live in New Zealand during your retirement years?

Find out how you can retire to New Zealand.

New Zealand offers a great lifestyle for your retirement years

New Zealand is famous for its stunning natural landscapes, pleasant climate, relaxed lifestyle and overall quality of life.

"New Zealand is fantastic! Everything we hoped for: good weather, friendly people and a lot of opportunities!"

At New Zealand Immigration Concepts, we are receiving an increasing number of inquiries from around the world from people seeking the unique lifestyle New Zealand has to offer: a more relaxed pace of life, access to outdoor activities and a stable political environment.

New Zealand consistently ranks highly in key areas for quality of life:
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Which visa pathway will allow you to retire to New Zealand?

Identifying the right visa policy is not as straightforward as you might expect.

There are a number of visa pathways that might work for you, depending on your personal plans and circumstances:  

  • whether you intend to come to New Zealand temporarily or permanently,
  • whether you have children who are already living here,
  • the level of funds you have available to live on or invest.

The only two visa categories formally dedicated to retirement in New Zealand are

  1. The Parent Retirement Category - not available to you if you do not happen to have a child living in New Zealand-, and
  2. the Temporary Retirement Category - a visa that will allow you to live here for a limited time only, and will therefore not give you the peace of mind knowing that you will be able to remain in New Zealand for as long as you wish.

The Parent Retirement Resident Visa

If you have a child who is a New Zealand citizen or resident living in New Zealand, and is willing to support your visa application, you might be able to obtain a resident visa under the Parent Retirement Policy.

The Parent Retirement Resident Category is a genuine residence policy. This visa will allow you to stay indefinitely.

The minimum requirements of the Retirement Resident Visa Policy:

  1. You have an adult child who is a New Zealand citizen or resident living in New Zealand
  2. An investment of NZ$1,000,000 for 4 years,
  3. An additional amount of NZ$500,000 in so-called Settlement Funds
  4. An annual income of at least NZD $60,000
  5. Comprehensive health or travel insurance.

The Retirement Resident Visa allows parents to:

  • live, work and study in New Zealand
  • include their partner in their application
  • travel in and out of New Zealand for the first 2 years of your 4-year investment period
  • apply for permanent residence after 4 years of keeping your funds invested in New Zealand.

Please note that there are further visa policies that are tailored to parents of New Zealand residents or citizens:

  • The Parent Resident Visa
  • The Parent Boost Visitor Visa - a new long-term visitor visa, allowing parents to spend more time with their families in New Zealand. The purpose of this visa is to help unite families and enhance New Zealand’s appeal to highly skilled migrants. This is a temporary visa.
  • The Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa

The Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa

If you do not have a child living in New Zealand, the Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa might be an option for you.

To be eligible for a Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa, you must

  • be aged 66 or older
  • have at least NZD $750,000 to invest in New Zealand
  • have at least NZD $500,000 for your stay
  • have an annual income of at least NZD $60,000
  • have comprehensive health or travel insurance.

The Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa allows you to:

  • stay in New Zealand for 2 years
  • study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period
  • include your partner in your application
  • travel in and out of New Zealand.

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. The visa policy, your health or financial situation might change over the years, and you might then no longer be eligible for a visa.

Our Senior Licensed Immigration Adviser Dr. Carsten Hallwass points out:

"There is no guarantee that you will be able to remain in New Zealand indefinitely on a Temporary Retirement Visa.
An extended visitor visa under the Temporary Retirement Category can theoretically roll over in perpetuity: two years after two years after two years, but it is not future-proof.
On a positive note: These settlement funds can remain where they are. They don’t have to be moved to New Zealand. For example: A house in your home country can be nominated as settlement funds, but does not have to be sold for this purpose."

Are there any other visa policies that will allow you to retire to New Zealand?

Are you seeking the unique lifestyle New Zealand has to offer, but do not qualify for one of the two above dedicated Retirement Categories, because you do not have a child living in New Zealand, and a temporary visitor visa does not give you the desired peace of mind that you can stay in New Zealand for your retirement years?

The Active Investor Plus Visa

The Active Investor Plus Visa, also known as "The Golden Visa", offers two pathways to New Zealand, depending on the level of investment.

Growth category investors will have to invest a minimum amount of NZD $5 million over a 3-year investment term.

A minimum investment amount of NZD $10 million will be required for Balanced category investors over a 5-year investment term.

Carsten says:

"The Active Investor Plus Category (AIPC) is a genuine investor category. It can be used as retirement vehicle,  if you have funds between NZ$ 5 and 15 million available.

Read more about the Active Investor Plus Visa

The Business Investor Visa

The Business Investor Work Visa offers 2 options for investors. The required investement levels are considerably lower and both options lead to residence in New Zealand.

A 3-year work-to-residence pathway. This pathway requires a NZD $1 million investment in an existing business.

A 12-month fast-track to residence pathway. This pathway requires an investment of NZD $2 million in an existing business.

The Business Investor Visa might be an option for you if you can see yourself being involved in a business before you eventually retire fully.

Read more about the Business Investor Visa

Our Senior Licensed Immigration Adviser Dr. Carsten Hallwass says:

"We have been working with our clients on their retirement migration scenarios ever since New Zealand introduced its first retirement programs.
Whether you want to retire to New Zealand to make the most of your retirement years, or join your family, New Zealand Immigration Concepts can help you to apply for the right visa.
When working with us on realising your retirement plans, you can expect genuine up-front expert advice."
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The great work done before has surely helped to achieve this quick positive result. NZIC are really professional and know what to do when to do it and how to do it. That is so convenient and efficient! I’m still working with them for the next steps and would like to thank them again for their help and support.  Thank you.  Kind Regards.

FB
France
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Anna was worth her weight in gold---she was fantastic at helping me format my CV and search for jobs that suited my skill set.  In the end, I got a great job in a great city.  Carsten and his team were very thorough and helpful when it came time to apply for and get our visas. They are now helping us with our resident visas, and I'm certain that the process will be the same. I'd recommend them highly.

KJ
USA
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NZIC guided me all the way through getting my first work visa to permanent residency. Their job seeking support was key when I first arrived in NZ, communication was always easy and clear. I'm very thankful for their help and definitely recommend their services.

DO
Brazil
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Dear Jannie, just want to drop a note to thank for your everything. Your help is much appreciated! You are a wonderful and professional job search coach! I am so lucky to have you supporting me!

MK
Hong Kong

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