Updates Investor Visas  Acceptable investments must Investments must be in bonds, equities, property or other investments.

Updates

 The new Active Investor Plus visa category replaces two existing categories which have been running for more than 12 years, and which facilitated passive investments. In summary:

  • The new Active Investor Plus visa category replaces the existing Investor 1 and Investor 2 visa categories. Applications under the Investor 1 and Investor 2 visas will no longer be accepted after 27 July 2022. 

  • Eligibility criteria includes a minimum $5 million investment if it is a direct investment. English language requirement of an IELTS score of at least 5.0. Allowing investor to invest over a three-year period. It will also allow investors to maintain their investments up to the end of a fourth year. Investor migrants will need to spend at least 117 days in New Zealand over the four-year investment period.

    Acceptable investment classes
    Acceptable investments carry different weightings towards the NZ$15m investment threshold (and an investor may invest across a combination of these):

    • Direct investments into private businesses will receive the highest weighting (3x), e.g. an investor could meet the required investment amount by investing NZ$5m into direct investments.

    • Investments into private equity or venture capital funds will also be upweighted (2x), e.g. an investor could meet the required investment amount by investing NZ$7.5m into private funds.

    • Investments into listed equities and philanthropy will receive no additional weighting (and each are capped at 50% of the NZ$15m investment requirement), e.g. an investor could meet the required investment amount by putting NZ$7.5m into listed equities and NZ$7.5m into eligible philanthropic causes.

Investor Visas 

This visa allowed business people with at least NZD $3 million in funds or assets to submit an expression of interest and then apply for residence

Acceptable investments must

  • be able to make a commercial return

  • be invested in New Zealand

  • be invested in New Zealand dollars

  • be invested in legal enterprises or managed funds

  • have the potential to contribute to New Zealand's economy

  • not be for your personal use, for example, your home, boat or car.

Investments must be in bonds, equities, property or other investments.

- Bonds can be:

  • issued by the New Zealand Government or local authorities

  • issued by New Zealand firms traded on the New Zealand Debt Securities Market (NZDX)

  • issued by New Zealand firms with at least a BBB- or equivalent rating from an internationally recognised credit rating agency, for example, Standard and Poor's

  • issued by New Zealand registered banks

  • in finance companies.

- Equity can be:

  • in New Zealand firms — these can be public or private

  • in New Zealand registered banks

  • eligible New Zealand venture capital funds

  • eligible New Zealand private equity funds.

- Property can be:

  • residential property development

  • commercial property.

- Other investments can be:

  • philanthropic investment

  • angel funds or networks’ investments.