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NZ Golden Visa Helps Wealthy Americans Escape Trump’s USA

Affluent Americans are at the forefront of capitalizing on New Zealand’s newly introduced ‘golden visa’ program, amid a significant exodus from the United States following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Applications for New Zealand’s updated ‘Active Investor Plus Visa’ – often referred to as a ‘golden visa’ – have surged since the program was modified in April. The government has received 189 applications in just over two months, surpassing the total number of applications (116) submitted in the preceding two and a half years.

New Zealand’s ‘golden visa’ rush is predominantly driven by wealthy Americans, who represent 45% of the applicants (85 applications), followed by Chinese nationals (14%) and residents of Hong Kong (13%).

Affluent Americans are at the forefront of capitalizing on New Zealand’s newly introduced ‘golden visa’ program, amid a significant exodus from the United States following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Increasing global uncertainty, the decline of democratic principles under Trump administration, and concerns regarding the future of the rule of law in the United States are motivating rich Americans to pursue stable, liberal democracies characterized by robust legal and financial frameworks. And New Zealand ticks every box.

This is not the first instance of Americans considering New Zealand as a refuge. Following Trump’s election in 2016, there was a 2,500% increase in visits to the country’s immigration website. A comparable surge occurred after the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Now, in 2025, New Zealand is once again emerging as a sanctuary for the wealthy Americans escaping Trump’s chaos.

Earlier this year, the government of New Zealand significantly modified the golden visa program, with the objective of revitalizing foreign investment in a stagnant economy.

Prospective applicants are now required to invest only NZ$5 million (about US$3.7 million), which is one-third of the previous investment threshold. Furthermore, the English language proficiency requirements have been eliminated, and the compulsory residency duration has been slashed from three years to a mere three weeks.

According to NZ Immigration Minister, the new policy could attract NZ$845 million (approximately US$508 million) in new capital to the Pacific nation.

And while wealthy Americans are leaving their country, former President Trump is promoting his own interpretation of an investor visa, substituting the EB-5 visa with a “gold card” that offers US residency in return for a $5 million investment.

All these recent events developments demonstrate that borders are evolving into economic instruments, and for the affluent, citizenship is progressively becoming a strategic decision rather than a matter of place of birth.



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