Rich foreigners spurn New Zealand after visa rule changes

Peter Thiel was granted citizenship in 2011 despite having spent only 12 days in the country. (Image: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg)

Bloomberg

Thu, 06 Apr 2023

By Ainsley Thomson(Bloomberg) -- The ultra-wealthy appear to be losing interest in New Zealand.A new investor visa, aimed at luring high-net-worth individuals who can pour millions of dollars into the nation’s companies, has attracted just 14 applications since it was launched about six months ago. That compares to 492 applicants to the country’s old visa program in 2021, before it tightened the rules to require bigger sums of money and ruled out investing in real estate.The changes were implemented as governments around the wo...

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