Immigrate to New Zealand from Singapore

The procedure to immigrate to New Zealand from Singapore is simpler for those who arrive here for short-term stays (maximum 90 days), as they are entitled to apply for the New Zealand electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA). This is possible as Singapore is included in the visa waiver system and for nationals of countries that are not included in this list, standard visa procedures must be conducted.

The NZeTA serves the purpose of being an immigration document, without actually being a visa that is obtained through lengthy embassy procedures. Our immigration lawyer in New Zealand can help you understand the formalities applicable in this case.

How can Singaporeans apply for the NZeTA?

The legislation on immigration in New Zealand introduced the NZeTA system in 2019 as a simplified border control security measure applicable to certain countries. It is not a visa, but rather a travel document that must be obtained by those who want to migrate to New Zealand and who are part of the visa-waiver system.

Persons who want to immigrate to New Zealand from Singapore have to comply with certain requirements, one of which is to be a Singaporean national who has a valid passport. Other requirements are:

• the passport of the applicant must be 3 months valid past the departure date from New Zealand;
• it is necessary to be at least 18 years old in order to apply (for minors, the application is done with the supervision of a parent/guardian);
• the document grants the right to stay here for 90 days at a time (or 180 days in a 12 months period) and it also offers the right to multiple entries during this period;
• the NZeTA can be used for 3 main purposes – tourism, transit or business and for other short-term stays purposes, it is necessary to apply for other visas;
• the process to apply for the NZeTA takes around 5 minutes but it is recommended to apply for it with several days before the arrival in New Zealand, as the approval can take up to 72 hours.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs &Trade, applicants are also required to pay a small processing fee (NZD$17 or NZD$23, plus the NZD$100 tourism levy, depending on the means of application – mobile app or INZ website). We invite you to address our team when you will relocate to New Zealand from Singapore for information on other types of fees involved in the process.

NZ Work Holiday visa for Singaporeans

There is also the possibility to immigrate to New Zealand from Singapore under a work holiday visa. Singapore is one of the countries with which New Zealand has established a mutual program in this sense (there are, in total, 45 countries).

The program is known as Singapore Work Exchange Program visa and it is addressed to young Singaporean passport holders who have an age of 18 to 30 years old. Those who qualify can obtain residency in New Zealand for a period of 12 months.

There is a quota, of only 300 visas per year, and those who have already participated in the program can’t apply once more (however, they can apply for the program if they have been the beneficiaries of other work holiday programs developed by other countries).

Immigrate to New Zealand for investments

Singaporeans can also move to New Zealand from Singapore for the purpose of investments. One of the most important visas in this sense is the Active Investor Plus visa, through which investors have to invest at least NZD$5 million (Growth category, over 3 years) or NZD$10 million (Balanced category, over 5 years), depending on the preferred types of investments.

The visa program is not capped at a number of visas per year and it is open to any foreign national. Therefore those who immigrate from USA to New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East and other Asian countries can participate in this visa program.

Some of the reasons to immigrate to New Zealand for investments are: the country ranked 1st out of 141 economies on macroeconomic stability in the WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2019 (the last edition), it is the 3rd country on tax competitiveness matters, and 9 out of 10 migrants feel welcomed in New Zealand. If you want to find out other advantages of relocating here, you can always rely on our immigration lawyer in New Zealand.