Retiring in New Zealand as a French Citizen: Visa, Taxation, Healthcare and Cost of Living

A French retiree can stay under 90 days as a tourist with an NZeTA electronic authorisation, valid for two years, according to France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry). For a longer stay, Immigration New Zealand offers two visas designed for retirees: the Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa, a visitor visa of up to 2 years, and the Parent Retirement Resident Visa, a residence visa reserved for parents of a child settled in the country. The Parent Boost Visitor Visa, lasting up to 5 years, also targets parents.

A retirement plan therefore starts with the question of capital and family ties. The page on living in New Zealand presents the cities and rents, and the country guide the insurance requirements by visa.

This visa is for people aged 66 or over. They must have at least NZD 750,000 to invest for 2 years in acceptable investments in New Zealand, NZD 500,000 or more to live on, and annual income of at least NZD 60,000. The stay can last up to 2 years, at a cost from NZD 7,891, with 80% of applications decided within 4 weeks. The holder maintains acceptable travel or health insurance throughout the stay.

Investments are attested by a trusted professional, such as an accountant or a lawyer, who states the type of investment, the amount, the start date and the institutions concerned; transfers between acceptable investments are allowed. The visa does not allow you to work in New Zealand, but remote work for an employer or client based abroad remains possible, and study is limited to 3 months in any 12-month period. The spouse can be included if they meet the same conditions; dependent children cannot be added.

The Parent Retirement Resident Visa is for parents with no dependent children who have an adult child, a citizen or resident, living in New Zealand. It requires at least NZD 1 million to invest for 4 years, with no borrowing, NZD 500,000 of settlement funds accessible from New Zealand and NZD 60,000 of annual income (pensions, rents, dividends), for an application from NZD 12,850. Good health, with a chest X-ray and medical examination, and police certificates are required. Approval in principle is decided for 80% of applications within 14 months, and the investment is transferred within the following 12 months. After 4 years of maintained investment, a permanent resident visa may be granted.

The Parent Boost Visitor Visa is a multiple-entry visitor visa, sponsored by a child who is a citizen or resident, for stays of up to 5 years, with an exit from the country in the third year for a health and insurance check. It requires annual income of at least NZD 33,663.24 (NZD 51,182.56 for a couple), or NZD 170,000 of personal funds (NZD 260,000 for a couple), or a sponsor with sufficient income. It costs from NZD 3,100, with a processing time of about four months, and requires medical or travel insurance of at least NZD 250,000 a year for emergency care, among other cover.

The treaty signed in Paris on 30 November 1979, amended by the 2017 multilateral convention, allocates the right to tax. Pensions and similar remuneration paid in respect of earlier employment are taxable only in the state of residence (article 18, paragraph 1). Pensions paid under a state’s social security legislation are taxable only in that state (article 18, paragraph 2). Public pensions are taxable only in the paying state, unless the recipient is a resident and national of the other state (article 19). France eliminates double taxation by exempting income taxable in New Zealand (article 23).

The IRD confirms that French social security pensions are excluded from New Zealand tax, and that most periodic pensions from foreign schemes are, by contrast, taxed in full in New Zealand after reading the applicable treaty. A French basic pension paid to a New Zealand resident therefore remains taxable in France: the French administration applies to non-residents withholding tax on pensions, after a 10% allowance, at 0% up to €17,122, 12% up to €49,667 and 20% above, for 2025 income (impots.gouv.fr). A new New Zealand tax resident who has not been one for 10 years also benefits, for 4 years, from an exemption on most foreign investment income; earnings from work do not benefit (IRD). The exact classification of each pension, basic, supplementary or public, should be checked with both administrations; see also the guide to drawing your pension abroad.

A temporary visa holder (Temporary Retirement Visitor Visa, Parent Boost) pays for their own care: Health New Zealand opens publicly funded care to citizens, holders of a residence visa and work visas of 2 years or more, and strongly recommends travel insurance covering health for everyone else. ACC funds accidental injuries to anyone present, visitors included; illness and repatriation are a matter for insurance. No social security agreement links France and New Zealand (CLEISS, the French centre for international social security liaison).

The CFE offers RetraitExpat Santé, which covers care abroad for a retiree of the French basic scheme with no activity, provided they have contributed at least 15 years, New Zealand not being on the list of countries exempted from this condition (see RetraitExpat). It ranks New Zealand in zone 5, with 19% of the actual cost reimbursed for hospital stays and no direct payment for hospital care: a top-up contract or first-euro insurance usefully complements this base. See retirement insurance abroad, the guide to a retiree’s health insurance and the page on healthcare reimbursement.

NZ Superannuation is open from age 65 to citizens, permanent residents and holders of a residence-class visa who normally live in the country. It requires a number of years of residence since age 20 that rises with the date of birth: 10 years for people born up to 30 June 1959, 15 years for those born between 1 July 1967 and 30 June 1969, 20 years from 1 July 1977, always including at least 5 years since age 50 (Work and Income). The years do not need to be consecutive.

Years spent in a country linked to New Zealand by a social security agreement may count: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Malta, the Netherlands, South Korea and the United Kingdom. France is not on this list: for a French retiree who settles at 66, years lived in France are therefore excluded from the calculation, and access to NZ Superannuation first requires building up the required length of residence in the country, with a residence-class visa. Until then, retirement income rests on the French pension. Work and Income specifies that a person who can claim a foreign pension must apply for it, which may change NZ Superannuation. See also quarters worked abroad.

Stats NZ measures inflation specific to each type of household: over the 12 months to June 2026, it reaches 4.5% for retiree households (superannuitants), against 3.2% for the average household and 4.1% for the overall price index. The CPI shows a 12.0% rise in electricity and 8.8% in local authority rates, two items that weigh on a budget with no employment income.

On housing, the median rent on new tenancies is NZD 590 a week for the country as a whole in July 2026, with a quarter of tenancies below NZD 485 and a quarter above NZD 700. It reaches NZD 640 in Auckland, NZD 550 in Christchurch or Nelson and NZD 520 in Dunedin (Tenancy Services). The annual income of NZD 60,000 required by the retirement visas must therefore cover housing, energy, local rates and healthcare.