New Zealand has eased its visa rules to attract so -called “digital nomads” to promote tourism and economy.
Visa visas will now allow people to work for foreign employers from a distance when they are visiting New Zealand for 90 days. The visa can be extended for nine months, but visitors may need to pay tax during this time.
Economic growth minister Nicola Willis said that making it easy for digital nomads – people who work from far away – to work in New Zealand, will promote the country’s appeal as a destination. As long as they are being paid by a foreign company, the visa will spread to those affected.
He told a media conference, “We will not easily sell ourselves. Highly skilled IT workers from the United States and East Asia will be targeted in a promotional campaign.
“We want more wealth and highly talented people who are coming to the door of arrival,” said Willis.
Digital nomads work for overseas companies, so they will not compete with New Zealand for local jobs, Willis said.
“We are not knowing how many email they are sending and how many days they are working. We just want them to be here and spend their hard earned money.
New Zealand’s economy was tolerated in the context of 19 pandemic diseases. Last week, HSBC told Local media Due to high interest and unemployment, in 2024, the country became the largest contraction in the GDP of any developed country in the world.
Tourism also hit a hit. Prior to the pandemic disease, the sector was New Zealand’s largest export industry and provided $ 40.9 billion to the country. Recent statistics show that the number is decreasing with tourism in 2023, in which tourism has brought.737.7bn.
More than 50 countries offer digital nomads visas, but their presence is not always welcomed. Locals living in Spain, Portugal and South Africa have criticized the arrival of tourists and digital nomads for crowded and pressing in housing markets.
In response to the announcement, opposition finance spokesman Barbara Edmunds criticized the lack of information about how much it would increase the economy, adding that Willis’ policy was a dual standard.
Last year, the government had warned public service employees that there was no entrance to far away. It also reduced the savings of the money to about 10,000 jobs from public service.
“On the one hand, she is urging foreigners to come home from home, while implementing rigorous policies … stop government employees from doing so,” Edmunds said. “We need a real long -term solution for economic growth … not short -term sugar hit.”
