Residency routes, healthcare and pension tax · NZD
Income required: NZ$60,000/year
Requires NZD 1 million to invest for 4 years plus NZD 500,000 in additional maintenance funds, on top of the NZD 60,000 annual income requirement; applicant must be the parent of an adult NZ resident/citizen sponsor.
Sources: Points-Based and Family Immigration: New Zealand
Checked Oct 2026
Income required: not published
No income requirement; requires a minimum investment of NZD 5 million held for 3 years in acceptable direct investments and/or managed funds (Growth Category). A Balanced Category requires NZD 10 million for 5 years with broader investment options.
Sources: About Active Investor Plus · New Zealand active investor plus visa
Checked Oct 2026
Foreign residents are not automatically covered. Access to NZ's publicly funded health system is based on immigration/residency status: New Zealand citizens and residence class (including permanent resident) visa holders are eligible, as are holders of a work visa valid for 2+ years. Visitors and short-term/visitor visa holders are treated as private-pay patients, per Health New Zealand's eligibility direction.
Eligibility is based on visa category rather than a fixed waiting period once the qualifying visa is granted; however, sources note enrolment/registration with a GP and processing can take roughly a few months after residency/qualifying visa is obtained.
Private health insurance is not a general legal requirement for most visa categories (though it is required for some student and working-holiday visas). About a third of New Zealanders hold private cover mainly to avoid public-system wait times; policies typically supplement GP, specialist, and elective-surgery access rather than replace ACC accident cover, which applies to all residents and visitors regardless of visa type.
US Medicare: US Medicare does not cover care received in New Zealand; Medicare benefits are generally limited to the United States and its territories, with only very narrow exceptions (e.g., certain cross-border emergency situations near the US-Canada/Mexico border), none of which apply to New Zealand.
New Zealand taxes foreign pension income of its residents.
New Zealand tax residents are generally taxed on worldwide income, including overseas social security/pension payments, per Inland Revenue (IRD) guide IR258. New migrants and returning New Zealanders may qualify for a temporary (up to 4-year) tax exemption on most overseas income, including overseas pensions, if they meet residency-start-date and prior non-residence conditions.
There is a US income tax treaty with New Zealand.
A US-New Zealand income tax treaty is in force; such treaties generally allocate taxing rights over private pensions to the country of residence, while government/social security pensions may be taxed differently. Specific treatment of a given pension depends on the treaty text and IRS guidance; the IRS maintains treaty tables summarizing these provisions.
Sources: Eligibility for publicly funded health and disability services · New Zealand - Health Insurance - Expat Focus · New Zealand - Health Service - Expat Focus · IR258 December 2023 Overseas social security pensions (Inland Revenue) · IRS United States Income Tax Treaties - A to Z
Checked Oct 2026
Christian 37.3% · Hindu 2.7% · Maori 1.3% · Muslim · Buddhist 1.1% · other religion 1.6%
Australia · Cambodia · Indonesia · Japan · Malaysia · Philippines · Singapore · South Korea · Thailand · Vietnam
Reference information compiled from the sources cited above and reviewed by hand. Immigration, healthcare and tax rules change and are applied at the authorities' discretion — confirm with the consulate, an immigration adviser or a tax adviser before making plans. Nothing here is tax or immigration advice.