Working from a lakeside cabin in New Zealand while keeping your overseas job became legal — and remarkably easy — on 27 January 2025, when New Zealand began allowing remote work for foreign employers on an ordinary visitor visa or NZeTA.
The key points
- Who qualifies: employees of overseas companies, and freelancers whose clients are outside New Zealand
- How long: up to 90 days as a visitor (stays can extend up to nine months in some cases)
- No income threshold: there is no separate digital-nomad salary threshold, but you must still meet visitor funding and other conditions
- Cost: an NZeTA costs NZ$17 in the app or NZ$23 online, plus the usual NZ$100 visitor levy — NZ$117 or NZ$123 in total. Check current fees with Immigration NZ
- The red lines: you cannot work for a New Zealand employer or supply goods and services to people or businesses in NZ
What about tax?
The crucial fine print: New Zealand tax treatment depends on your employment arrangement, days in the country and any applicable tax treaty. The IRD 92-day exemption has several conditions for non-resident employees working for a non-resident employer; foreign taxation alone is not enough. A tax treaty may allow an exemption for up to 183 days in some cases, subject to that treaty's rules. Freelancers and anyone planning a longer stay should check their own position with IRD or a qualified adviser.
Nomad route vs working holiday
The working holiday visa (ages 18–30, NZ$770) lets you work for NZ employers but has an age cap. The nomad route has no age limit and almost no paperwork — ideal for test-driving life in New Zealand while keeping your income offshore, and a popular "trial migration" path for anyone past working-holiday age.
New Zealand did not create a separate digital nomad visa. It changed the remote-work conditions for eligible visitors.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand, "Working remotely from New Zealand"; IRD tax guidance (as of August 2026)