Wealthy Californians Spend Millions on New Zealand Visas to Escape State Tax

Affluent Californians are purchasing costly “golden visas” to relocate to New Zealand as a proposed billion-dollar wealth tax looms in their home state.

California’s most affluent residents are turning to New Zealand’s “golden visa” scheme, paying a minimum of NZ$5 million for the ability to reside, work and study there, with a separate track demanding NZ$10 million in passive-asset investments. Since the rules were relaxed in April 2025, applicants from across the globe have committed roughly NZ$4.8 billion. The trend intensifies as California prepares to vote on Proposition 40, a novel one-time tax of up to 5 % on assets over $1 billion, intended to raise tens of billions for health-care, food assistance and education.

The measure has earned backing from the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the California Democratic Party and the California Labor Federation, while Governor Gavin Newsom and several billionaires such as Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Peter Thiel, Don Hankey, Travis Kalanick and Steven Spielberg have voiced strong opposition. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon sees the visa influx as a remedy for the nation’s brain drain, noting that American investors are already funding local start-ups and critical-minerals firms, with Queenstown emerging as a favored, high-price residential hub for these newcomers.