On 27 January 2025, the Government announced changes to visitor visa conditions that will allow visitors to work remotely while visiting New Zealand. The change allows tourists, people visiting family, and partners and guardians on longer-term visitor visas to continue working remotely while in New Zealand without breaching visa conditions. 

These changes follow a widely covered debacle where popular YouTuber IShowSpeed (‘Speed’) found himself in the headlines with immigration authorities investigating whether he had the right to work in the country. While in New Zealand on a Visitor Visa, Speed was live streaming his activities to over 30 million subscribers. Depending on the length of the videos, Speed makes around USD 75 to USD 200 for every upload, which brings this squarely within the definition of ‘work’ in the Immigration Act 2009 (being “any activity undertaken for gain or reward”). This change allows content creators like Speed the freedom to come to New Zealand on visitor visas without making headlines as the subject of an Immigration New Zealand investigation. Beyond this, it also affects a much larger group of visitors.

With the rise of the digital world, remote and flexible working arrangements, and the impact of COVID-19, people do not holiday like they did in 2009 when the Immigration Act was put in force. Most visitors coming to New Zealand will bring their work devices and carry out work for their offshore employers. Under the old visa conditions, individuals on visitor visas were technically in breach of their visa conditions every time they took a business call or answered an email. Speed’s breach made headlines, but the old visa conditions have been being breached by visitors for many years, albeit on a less public scale. 

This change corrects visitor visa conditions which are no longer practical or realistic, and which largely have not been enforced for many years. The Government is emphasising that this change will benefit the economy and particularly the tourism industry. Immigration New Zealand is reportedly going to spend $100,000 advertising the scheme to South East Asia and North America.

It is worth noting that ‘digital nomad’ visas have been the subject of controversy overseas with an influx of high income workers increasing rents and having little interest in the culture and language of the countries they are basing themselves in. While there is a risk of New Zealand experiencing similar issues, New Zealand’s changes to visitor visa conditions provide some protection against these negative outcomes. For example, the digital nomad visa in Spain extends to 5 years with New Zealand visitor visas being for a much shorter period of time (most are limited to between 6 and 12 months). Additionally, in Spain, digital nomads benefit from reduced taxes while those in New Zealand are only exempt from tax if they do not spend more than 92 days in New Zealand in a 12-month period. The change in New Zealand in these ways not as attractive as has been seen overseas.

These changes apply to visitor visas and those who enter with an NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority). Rather than being a new form or category of visitor visa, the effect of the changes means that those holding a visitor visa (with some exceptions) can now work remotely in New Zealand without being in breach of the conditions of their visa. 

To qualify, the holder of the visitor visa must not work for a New Zealand employer, provide goods or services to people of businesses in New Zealand, or do work that requires them to be physically present at a workplace in New Zealand. 

For more information on the change, see INZ’s announcement. For more information about what does and does not qualify as remote work, see here.

This article was written with the assistance of May Hodgkinson, a Summer Clerk in the Employment team.