New Zealand

New Zealand

Australasia

Oceania
78
Overall score
Strong overall
Language
English
Currency
NZD
Citizenship
5 years (PR-based)
Personal tax
10.5–39%
Cost of living
NZD 2,600 / mo (single)

Stunning landscapes, top-3 ease of doing business and no general capital-gains tax, with a revamped Active Investor Plus visa - though it's remote and local tech salaries trail Australia.

Pros

  • No general capital-gains tax
  • Top-ranked ease of doing business
  • Active Investor Plus visa; great lifestyle

Cons

  • Very geographically isolated
  • Lower tech salaries than Australia
  • Housing costs high

Best for

Investors & entrepreneursSkilled migrantsLifestyle-first families

Score profile

Status & mobility
Passport
94
Citizenship
74
Residence
85
Money & business
Taxes
60
Corporate tax
20
Business
60
Investment
68
Economy
76
Wealth building
64
Living, study & work
Education
89
Salary & work
73
Cost of living
37
Buying power
70
Quality of life
Safety
86
Healthcare
85
Infrastructure
82
HDI
94

Status & mobility

Passport

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any travel or visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Passport power
Excellent
94

Passport-index style mobility for the New Zealand passport. The score above is its world reach: the share of 198 destinations reachable without a prior visa.

186 / 198
Mobility
#9
Global rank
Yes
Biometric
  • Visa-free139
  • On arrival38
  • eTA9
  • Visa required12

Passport Index style mobility data (2024–2025 estimate). Placeholder figures; verify current entry rules with each destination’s authority before travelling.

Citizenship

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any citizenship decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Citizenship accessibility
Good
74
Years required5 years as a resident (with strong presence requirement)
Dual allowedtrue
LanguageEnglish (sufficient for everyday use)
ResidenceResidence-class visa held ~5 years with 240+ days/yr presence
NotesPermanent residence is reached first via skilled, work-to-residence or investor pathways.
Residence

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any residence / visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Openness to residents
Excellent
85
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines how international the population already is (migrant stock at 45%), governance quality (regulatory quality at 25%), and the curated residence-pathway signal (30%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Migrant stock28.2% of population (2024)
Regulatory quality1.84 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main pathways
Skilled Migrant (points)Active Investor PlusAccredited Employer Work VisaStudy → work
StudentStudent visa; up to 20 hrs/week (full-time in breaks).
WorkAccredited Employer Work Visa via approved employers.
Self-employedEntrepreneur Work Visa for founders; investor routes for capital.
PermanentPermanent Resident Visa after 2 years on a resident visa.

Money & business

Taxes

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Tax friendliness
Moderate
60
Personal10.5–39% progressive
Corporate28%
Capital gainsNo general CGT (some property 'bright-line' rules apply)
DividendsImputation credit system
Exit taxNone
Foreign cosCFC and FIF rules apply to foreign investments
Personal tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Personal tax
Low
29
Personal10.5–39% progressive
FreelanceSole trader simple; GST above NZD 60k
Capital gainsNo general CGT (some property 'bright-line' rules apply)
DividendsImputation credit system
Exit taxNone
Corporate tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Corporate tax
Low
20
Corporate28%
Capital gainsNo general CGT (some property 'bright-line' rules apply)
DividendsImputation credit system
Foreign cosCFC and FIF rules apply to foreign investments
Business
Business friendliness
Moderate
60
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score leans on the two things founders ask about most: the tax burden (headline corporate rate at 20%, broader tax friendliness at 15%, and freedom from exit-tax / CFC rules at 10%) plus the regulatory and bureaucratic environment (regulatory quality 15%, government effectiveness 15%), on top of the curated company-rules signal (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the values are shown below.

Regulation & bureaucracy
Regulatory quality1.84 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Government effectiveness1.85 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rules & taxes
Foreign co.Yes: foreign ownership permitted (OIO consent for some assets)
Local co.Company online in ~1 day; needs a resident director (NZ/AU)
FreelanceSole trader simple; GST above NZD 60k
Corporate tax28%
Capital gainsNo general CGT (some property 'bright-line' rules apply)
Exit taxNone
Foreign cosCFC and FIF rules apply to foreign investments
Investment

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any investment / tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Investing environment
Good
68
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score is mostly the investor-tax signal (capital-gains treatment, broker access, wealth tax, and ETF or other taxes on investment, 70%), lightly contextualised by equity-market depth (market cap / GDP at 18%) and credit depth (domestic credit to the private sector / GDP at 12%). Available indicators are reweighted.

Market cap36% of GDP (2024)
Private credit143% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capital gainsNo general CGT; FIF rules affect some foreign holdings; KiwiSaver tax-advantaged
DividendsData not available yet
ETFs & fundsData not available yet
Wealth taxNone
BrokersGood: Sharesies, Hatch, Interactive Brokers
Foreign accessData not available yet
Tax-advantagedData not available yet
Economy
Economic strength
Good
76
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines income level (GDP and GNI per capita, output per worker), growth momentum (real GDP growth), price stability (inflation) and labour utilisation (unemployment). Available indicators are reweighted; the sector split and industry profile below are descriptive, not scored.

Output & income
GDP$260.2B (2024)
GDP / person$49,205 (2024)
GNI / person$53,600 PPP (2024)
GDP growth1.3% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Stability & labour
Inflation2.9% / yr (2024)
Unemployment5.1% (2025)
Output per worker$89,600 PPP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Sector composition
Agriculture4.6% of GDP (2022)
Industry19.6% of GDP (2022)
Services67.4% of GDP (2022)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main industries
Agriculture & dairyTourismFood processingForestryTechnologyWine
Top exports
Dairy productsMeatWood & forestryWineFruit
TypeHigh-income, agri- and services-led
Key sectorsDairy & agribusiness, Tourism, Niche tech & screen production
SummaryA high-income economy built on world-leading dairy and agri-exports, tourism and a growing tech sector.
CurrencyNew Zealand dollar (commodity-linked)
Wealth building

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax / investment decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Wealth accumulation
Moderate
64
How this score is calculated

How favourable New Zealand is for building wealth: earnings and business/investment upside, tax drag, and how much a typical income keeps after living costs. Estimated from the factors below.

Salary & work
Good
76
Business
Moderate
64
Investment
Good
74
Tax friendliness
Moderate
60
Cost of living
Limited
37

Living, study & work

Education
Education score
Excellent
89
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines attainment (expected schooling at 30% and mean schooling at 25%) with participation (tertiary enrolment at 25%) and public investment (government education spending at 20%). Available indicators are reweighted; tuition and study rules remain separate profile fields below.

Attainment
Expected schooling19.3 years (2023)
Mean schooling12.9 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Participation & investment
Tertiary enrolment77% gross (2024)
Education spending5.2% of GDP (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

TuitionNZD 22,000–35,000 / yr (international)
Public uniSubsidised for domestic; international full-fee
LanguagesEnglish
Student workUp to 20 hrs/week; post-study work visa available
Salary & work
Labour-market strength
Good
73
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines output per worker (a proxy for wage potential at 40%), unemployment (35%) and labour-force participation (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the curated profile fields remain below.

Output per worker$89,600 PPP (2024)
Unemployment5.1% (2025)
Participation70.4% of 15+ (2025)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Tech salary (estimate)NZD 110,000–150,000 (senior dev)
FreelanceSolid contracting; smaller market than Australia
Job marketAuckland & Wellington tech hubs; Xero and a healthy SaaS scene.
Cost of living
Affordability
Limited
37

Our 0–100 affordability score is derived from the local consumer price level (World Bank, US = 100): the cheaper everyday prices are, the higher it scores. Lower price level means your money goes further here.

Price level91 (US = 100) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

RentNZD 1,800–2,800 (1BR Auckland)
MonthlyNZD 2,600
CitiesAuckland, Wellington, Christchurch
Buying power
Purchasing power score
Good
70
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score estimates how far money goes for the typical person here. It combines GNI per capita at PPP (30%) and actual household consumption per person at PPP (15%) with a price-advantage term from the local price level (25%) that rewards lower prices, then adjusts for income equality via the Gini index (20%), so unequal economies don't ride a high average, plus price stability via consumer inflation (10%). Available indicators are reweighted; it is a comparison, not a personal budget estimate.

GNI / person$53,600 PPP (2024)
Consumption / person$29,040 PPP (2022)
Price level91 (US = 100) (2024)
Inflation2.9% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Quality of life

Safety
Safety & stability
Excellent
86
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines personal safety (intentional homicide rate at 35%), institutional quality (rule of law at 25% and control of corruption at 20%), and political stability and absence of violence (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below. Always check current government travel and security advice before relocating.

Personal safety
Homicide rate1.5 per 100,000 (2022)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Institutions & stability
Rule of law1.67 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Control of corruption1.93 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Political stability1.15 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Healthcare
Healthcare score
Excellent
85
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines health outcomes (life expectancy at 25% and under-5 mortality at 20%) with system capacity (physicians at 20% and hospital beds at 15% per 1,000 people) and health spending per capita (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Outcomes
Life expectancy82.0 years (2024)
Under-5 mortality4.7 per 1,000 births (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capacity & resourcing
Physicians3.61 per 1,000 (2022)
Hospital beds2.51 per 1,000 (2023)
Health spending$5,576 PPP / person (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

System & costs
SystemUniversal public (Te Whatu Ora) + private
InsurancePublic for residents; private optional for speed
Avg costPrivate cover ~NZD 80–150 / mo
Infrastructure
Infrastructure score
Excellent
82
How this score is calculated

The score combines digital access, resilience and download performance (30%), electricity access and network losses (30%), and transport infrastructure covering rail, logistics and aviation (40%). Available inputs are reweighted, but a country needs both digital and transport data to receive a score.

Digital infrastructure
Internet use93.5% (2024)
Internet resilience73 / 100 (2026)
Fixed speed87 / 100 download index (2026)
Mobile speed73 / 100 download index (2026)

Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators · Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index

Utilities
Electricity access100.0% (2023)
Grid losses6.7% of output (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Transport
Transport quality3.80 / 5 (2022)
Rail density14.8 km / 1,000 km² (1998)
Air connectivity33,751 departures / million people (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

HDI
Human development score
Excellent
94
How this score is calculated

The UN Human Development Index is the geometric mean of three dimension indices (a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living), shown on a 0–100 map scale (HDI × 100). The 2023 UNDP inputs behind each dimension are listed below.

HDI0.938 (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Long & healthy life
Life expectancy82.1 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Knowledge
Expected schooling19.3 years (2023)
Mean schooling12.9 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Standard of living
GNI / person$47,260 PPP (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Resources

Official references and quick links for New Zealand. Always confirm against the primary source before acting.

Official references
Quick links

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any immigration, tax or legal decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Mock data for demonstration only. Not legal or tax advice.