New to New Zealand
Moved to New Zealand and want to stop renting? Whether you can buy depends first on your visa and how long you’ve lived here. Which lender will say yes depends on your income, deposit and credit history.
By Yatin Kainth, Financial Adviser FSP1007497. Last reviewed
Whether you can buy a home in New Zealand depends on your visa. Resident and permanent resident visa holders who have lived here for the last 12 months can buy without consent and borrow like anyone else. Newer residents can usually buy one home to live in with LINZ consent. Most work, student and visitor visa holders can’t buy, unless they buy with a citizen or resident partner.
Before you think about a lender, check the Overseas Investment Act. Since 2018 it has stopped most overseas people buying residential land. Toitū Te Whenua LINZ runs the rules, and the answer turns on two things: what visa you hold, and whether you count as “ordinarily resident”.
For buying a home, LINZ treats you as ordinarily resident if you meet all three of these:
| Your situation | Can you buy a home? |
|---|---|
| New Zealand citizen | Yes, with no restrictions, wherever you live |
| Resident or permanent resident visa, ordinarily resident | Yes, with no consent needed |
| Resident visa, not yet ordinarily resident | One home to live in, after LINZ grants consent. You then have to move in and stay in New Zealand more than 183 days each year |
| Australian or Singaporean citizen | Yes, for land classed as residential or lifestyle, even if you’re not living here yet |
| Work, student or visitor visa | Generally no. LINZ can grant a one-off exemption, but only in limited cases |
| Work visa, with a citizen or qualifying resident spouse or partner | Yes, buying together as relationship property. Only one of you has to meet the rules |
Check your own case with the LINZ homebuyer eligibility tool before you start viewing houses. Your lawyer will ask you to sign a statutory declaration about your status anyway, so it’s better to know now than in the week before settlement.
The Reserve Bank’s loan-to-value rules apply to you the same way they apply to everyone. Banks can only write a limited share of their owner-occupier lending above an 80% LVR (check the Reserve Bank’s page for the current share), so a 20% deposit is the standard. Below that the bank is using up a limited allowance, and it tends to save that for borrowers it sees as low risk.
That’s where recent arrivals often run into trouble. Lenders set their own policy for newer residents, and it varies a lot. Some will lend to a permanent resident on the same terms as a citizen. Others want a bigger deposit, a minimum time in your current job, or a longer history in New Zealand before they go above 80%. The rules can also change several times a year, which is why I check current policy before we apply instead of guessing.
The Kāinga Ora First Home Loan and First Home Partner have their own residency rules, and some people who’ve recently become residents qualify. If your deposit is small, read about low deposit home loans and the first home buyer options.
Your income. Banks prefer New Zealand income that’s paid into a New Zealand account, from a permanent job you’ve passed probation in. If you’re still on a trial period, or part of your income is paid from overseas, some lenders will discount it or leave it out. Others will count foreign income at a reduced rate after converting the currency. Self-employed income from a business you ran overseas is the hardest kind to use.
Your credit history. New Zealand credit bureaus can’t see your record from home, so a new arrival often has a thin file instead of a bad one. Lenders handle that in different ways. Some will accept a credit report from your previous country. Others look more closely at your New Zealand bank statements to see how you manage money.
Your deposit. If your deposit is coming from overseas, expect to show where it came from and how it got here. Banks have anti-money laundering obligations, and a clear paper trail speeds up approval. Gifts from family overseas are usually fine if the giver signs a gift letter and the money arrives well before settlement.
All of this feeds into the standard servicing test. Banks still assess you at a stress interest rate, and the Reserve Bank’s debt-to-income limits still apply. The Reserve Bank caps how much of a bank’s lending can go above a set multiple of borrowers’ gross income, so a high loan relative to your income can limit your options. See how much you can borrow for how the maths works.
A few small habits in your first months make your application much easier later:
More on this in how your credit score works.
Banks aren’t the only lenders. Some non-bank lenders look at shorter work histories or income that doesn’t fit a bank’s rules. Rates and fees are usually higher, so treat it as a bridge: borrow from a non-bank now, then move to a bank once you’ve built up time in your job and in the country. I’ll show you the full cost before you decide.
Usually not for a home on your own, because the Overseas Investment Act stops most work visa holders buying residential property. The main exception is buying together with a spouse or partner who is a New Zealand citizen or an ordinarily resident visa holder.
Not necessarily. Until you’re ordinarily resident you can buy one home to live in, but you need LINZ consent first. After that, you have to live in the home and spend more than 183 days a year in New Zealand.
Yes. Australian and Singaporean citizens can buy land classed as residential or lifestyle without consent. Lenders still assess your income and deposit like anyone else’s.
Some will, often at a discounted rate after converting the currency. Others only count New Zealand income. It depends on the lender, so it’s worth comparing before you apply.
Sometimes. Twenty percent is the standard for everyone. Some lenders will go lower for new residents with stable jobs, but others want more equity until you’ve been here longer.
New Zealand credit bureaus can’t see it, though some lenders will accept a report from your previous country. Your New Zealand bank statements matter a lot in the meantime.
Usually, yes. The lender will want a signed gift letter and proof of where the money came from, and it should arrive in New Zealand well before settlement.