By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-27 06:36:18 | Updated at 2025-01-28 02:06:20
19 hours ago
New Zealand has relaxed its visa rules to allow holidaymakers to work remotely while visiting the country, to boost its tourism sector and economy, it said on Monday.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said in a statement that the visitor visa would change from Monday to allow people to work while travelling in the country.
“This is a brand-new market of tourist New Zealand can tap into. We want people to see our country as the ideal place to visit and work while they do it,” she said.
Stanford added in a press conference following the announcement that she was unsure how many people would take up the opportunity, but said digital nomad visas had been “extraordinarily popular” overseas and that New Zealand was targeting people who would like the opportunity to work and travel.
“I expect in their time here that they will spend longer than they normally would, they will spend more because they’re here for longer, and the thing that we’re really hoping, is that they fall in love with the place,” she said.
New Zealand’s economy sank into a technical recession in the third quarter of 2024 and the government is looking for ways to boost growth. The tourism sector has not fully bounced back from the closure of borders during the Covid-19 pandemic, with international visitors at around 86 per cent of 2019 levels.
