Buying a home in New Zealand: the foreign buyer ban, the exemptions and when Brits can buy
Australians and Singaporeans can buy a house in Auckland. Brits, on the whole, have to wait. New Zealand has banned most overseas people from buying existing homes since 2018, and a UK passport gives you no special treatment.
The short version
- New Zealand citizens can buy freely. Most others need Overseas Investment Office (OIO) consent or can't buy at all [1].
- On a work, student or visitor visa you can't buy an existing home, except in rare cases through a discretionary exemption [1].
- On a residence class visa you can buy without consent once you're ordinarily resident: you hold the visa, have lived here for the last 12 months and are tax resident [1].
- Before that, residence visa holders can apply for consent to buy one home to live in. The fee is NZ$2,040 (about £850) and you must move in and stay [1].
- Wealthy investor visa holders have a separate pathway for homes over NZ$5 million (about £2.1 million) [2].
Pound conversions in this guide use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = NZD 2.4016), rounded.
Who can buy what
Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), which runs the Overseas Investment Office, splits buyers into groups. Here's how it lands for British readers [1]:
| You are | Can you buy a home to live in? |
|---|---|
| A New Zealand citizen (including a dual UK–NZ citizen), wherever you live | Yes, no consent needed |
| A residence class visa holder who is ordinarily resident | Yes, no consent needed |
| A residence class visa holder who is not yet ordinarily resident | Only with consent, one home to live in |
| An Australian or Singaporean citizen | Yes for ordinary residential or lifestyle property |
| On a temporary visa (work, student, visitor, working holiday) | No, except a rare discretionary exemption |
| Living in the UK with no New Zealand visa | No |
Brits get no equivalent carve-out, so being British is no help here. If your partner holds an Australian passport, though, that's worth a conversation with a lawyer.
The ordinarily resident test
This is the line most Brits are waiting to cross. To be ordinarily resident for buying a home, you must meet all three of these [1]:
- Hold a residence class visa. A resident visa or permanent resident visa both count.
- Have lived in New Zealand for at least the last 12 months, counting back from the day you sign the agreement to buy.
- Be tax resident, which LINZ describes as being personally present in New Zealand for more than 183 days in those 12 months.
So the typical timeline for a Brit on the skilled route looks like this: arrive on a work visa (can't buy), get residence (can buy with consent), then a year in the country later (can buy like a local). A Skilled Migrant Category resident who lands with residence already granted can be ordinarily resident about 12 months after arriving.
Long holidays back to see family count against you only if they push you under the 183 days. A three-week Christmas trip to see the folks won't sink you. A six-month stint back in the UK caring for a parent might, so check the dates before you sign anything.
Buying before you're ordinarily resident: consent for one home
If you're a residence visa holder and can't face another year of renting, LINZ has a pathway for buying or building one home to live in [1].
- Apply for pre-approval. It lasts a year, costs no extra and LINZ recommends it. You can apply before or after you find a property.
- Don't bid at auction without it. You can't buy at auction without pre-approval [1]. Auctions are common in Auckland, so this matters.
- Make any agreement conditional on getting consent if you sign before it comes through.
- Wait. Processing takes up to 10 working days for ordinary residential land, and up to 30 for "residential and otherwise sensitive" land, for example next to a reserve or the coast [1].
The property must be classed as residential or lifestyle on the District Valuation Roll [1].
| Fee or penalty | Amount (NZD) | Roughly in pounds |
|---|---|---|
| Standard application | NZ$2,040 | £850 |
| Residential and otherwise sensitive land | NZ$16,900 | £7,040 |
| Retrospective consent penalty | NZ$5,000 or NZ$10,000 | £2,080 or £4,160 |
| False statement to LINZ | up to NZ$300,000 | up to £124,900 |
Source: LINZ, checked November 2026 [1]. The page gives the penalty in two slightly different ways, so check the current fee schedule.
The strings attached
Consent comes with conditions. Everyone named on it must [1]:
- move in and make it their main home, usually within 3 months of settlement (or of finishing the build)
- be in New Zealand for more than 183 days in each 12-month period from the date of consent
- keep their residence visa (or Australian or Singaporean status).
The conditions fall away once you become ordinarily resident or a citizen. Break them and you may have to sell and face penalties, although you can apply for a variation or a waiver, for a fee [1]. In plain English: this is a home for you to live in, not a rental investment.
The investor visa pathway for homes over NZ$5 million
A newer pathway lets holders of the Active Investor Plus visa, and the older Investor 1 and Investor 2 visas, apply to buy a home for more than NZ$5 million, or build one where land and build together cost more than that [2]. It's assessed under the national interest test. The fee is NZ$2,040 where there's an existing house and NZ$3,500 (about £1,460) otherwise. Land that's sensitive for other reasons, such as an island, a beachfront or a section next to a conservation area, is excluded [2]. Other visas don't qualify. For most of us, this is one for the Remuera daydreams.
Once you can buy: the practical bits
The buying process itself will feel familiar to anyone who's bought in England, with a few local twists:
- A lawyer or licensed conveyancer does the legal work, and should check your OIO position before you sign. LINZ itself suggests legal advice [1], and so does the FCDO [3].
- The LIM report (Land Information Memorandum) from Auckland Council tells you about consents, drainage and known hazards, including flooding. After the 2023 floods, Aucklanders read these closely. Our guide to floods, cyclones and earthquakes in Auckland explains what to look for.
- Auctions and "price by negotiation" are common. If you're buying under consent, have pre-approval in hand first.
- No stamp duty. New Zealand doesn't have a stamp duty equivalent on homes, which may come as a pleasant surprise.
- Selling quickly can be taxed. The bright-line rule taxes profits on residential property sold within a short period of buying. Your main home is generally excluded. Check the current period with Inland Revenue or your lawyer [4].
- KiwiSaver. Once you're a member and eligible, you may be able to use KiwiSaver savings towards your first home [5]. See our guide to KiwiSaver and your UK pensions.
Mortgage lenders set their own rules for new residents, often based on your visa type, deposit and job. Ask a few banks rather than relying on one.
What about your UK home?
Plenty of Brits keep the house back home and rent it out while they wait to buy here. That brings in the UK's Non-Resident Landlord Scheme (form NRL1 to get rent paid without tax taken off), UK tax on the rent, and New Zealand tax on the same rent with credit for the UK tax under the double taxation agreement. Selling later can mean UK capital gains tax for non-residents. Our guide to UK income while you live abroad covers the UK side, and a tax adviser who knows both countries can check your situation.
If you're weighing up whether to rent or buy in your first couple of years, our community group for Brits in New Zealand has plenty of people who did both.
Sources
- LINZ: Buying or building one home to live in
- LINZ: Investing in residential land over $5 million (updated 27 March 2026)
- GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in New Zealand (updated 11 December 2025)
- Inland Revenue: Buying and selling property
- Inland Revenue: KiwiSaver for individuals