New Zealand has been luring plenty of affluent Americans to its shores as of late, and now the nation may be peeling back its home-buying ban for foreigners.
The Land of Long White Cloud is considering relaxing some restrictions and will allow some well-to-do investors to snag property in the country, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The potential change will be discussed by New Zealand’s coalition government on Monday, at a cabinet meeting, according to people familiar with the matter, the publication said. The proposal, in an ease of constraints on the ban, would give those looking to purchase homes worth at least $3 million (NZ$5 million) the green light. It would also only apply to buyers who are a part of the country’s golden visa program, known as Active Investor Plus, which was relaunched in April in hopes of stimulating the economy. If the proposal is passed, it wouldn’t come into effect until the end of this year.
As we mentioned, New Zealand has become quite the haven for Americans looking to escape from the tumultuous political landscape happening stateside by snagging a visa to another nation. The Land of the Long White Cloud is low in population and crime, and doesn’t have any gift or estate taxes, making it a place where wealthy U.S. citizens can see themselves living with ease. As of August 8, about 267 applications for Active Investor Plus were filed, covering 862 people and resulting in a minimum investment of about $950,000,000 (NZ$1.62 billion) into the country, according to data from Immigration New Zealand, Bloomberg reported. About 40 percent of those hopefuls are from the U.S.
Other changes are afoot in New Zealand, too. The country is also planning on charging tourists to visit its popular attractions, in another bid to bolster its economic status. Those fees will cost visitors about up to $24 (NZ$40) to see famed sites such as the Milford Track, Cathedral Cove, Tongariro, and Mount Cook; foreigners visiting the foursome makes up 80 percent of visitors to those sites. Hopefully any new visitors won’t mind coughing up the extra fee.
