The main restrictions that apply to overseas buyers of New Zealand property stem from the Overseas Investment Act 2005. The Act regulates investments by overseas buyers of New Zealand property.
‍
An “overseas person” includes: 

a company incorporated outside of New Zealand;

a company or entity that is at least 25% owned by an overseas person; and 

a person that is not a New Zealand citizen or is not ordinarily resident in New Zealand.

Overseas buyers will usually require consent before they can buy a home that’s on residential or lifestyle zoned property, however there are a few key exceptions.

One key exception is for Australian and Singaporean buyers, who do not require consent to purchase residential or lifestyle zoned property.

Australian and Singaporean buyers will however require consent when the property being purchased is “sensitive land".

“Sensitive land” can be farm land, land adjoining marine and coastal areas, significant Māori land, property on specific islands, and includes both freehold or leasehold interests in property.

The full list of sensitivities can be found in Schedule 1 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005 and a general guide to when consent is required can be found here.

We highly recommend seeking expert legal advice before you enter into a property purchase agreement.

There are many areas where hopeful buyers get stung because they have failed to comply with OIO rules.

For example, if you sign an unconditional property purchase agreement in New Zealand without consent, you can be fined up to $300,000NZD and your purchase may also be declined.

Minor breaches may cost you the amount to remedy a breached condition or breached term of a prohibition order, while serious breaches can result in the court ordering penalties not exceeding $500,000NZD for individuals and $10,000,000NZD for companies.