Door Opens to Digital Nomads and Remote Work

Kia ora!

Here are some important updates from Immigration New Zealand

Door opens to digital nomads and remote work

Visitor visa rules are being updated to open New Zealand to ‘digital nomads’ and allow tourists to work for overseas employers while enjoying the country.

From today, new visa conditions will allow visitors to work remotely for an overseas employer or client. The change applies to applications received from today for all visitors, including tourists and people visiting family, and partners and guardians on longer-term visitor visas. Both visitor visa recipients and people who enter with an NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) will receive these conditions. These new conditions let tourists stay in touch with work back home, without breaching their visa conditions.

However, visitor visa holders must not work for a New Zealand employer, provide goods or services to people or businesses in New Zealand, or do work that requires them to be physically present at a workplace in New Zealand. People who are intending to work remotely from New Zealand for more than 92 days in a 12-month period should ensure they are aware of any tax implications.

Employers should use VisaView to check a migrant’s visa conditions and ensure they are able to legally work for them.