NEW ZEALAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Briar Shaw, Julia MacGibbon, Kate Hatwell, Tina Liu, Jessica Phillips and Natalie Foster, Tompkins Wake
April 2025, New Zealand launched changes to the Active Investor Plus Visa, including the introduction of two investment categories. This is intended to attract investors who take an active role in helping compa - nies access global knowledge networks, capital and markets, and is designed to generate higher business productivity and job growth. The two categories offer genuine flexibility: • the Growth Category focuses on higher-risk invest - ments, including managed funds and direct invest - ments in New Zealand businesses, and requires a minimum investment of NZD5 million for a mini - mum period of three years; and • the Balanced Category focuses on mixed invest - ments, with the ability to choose lower-risk options, and requires a minimum investment of NZD10 mil - lion over five years. Other changes include reducing the minimum invest - ment amount from NZD15 million (or weighted equiv - alent) to NZD5 million for Growth and NZD10 mil - lion for Balanced Category investors. The scope of acceptable investments has also been broadened to include bond and property-type investments for Bal - anced Category investors, removing the English lan - guage requirement, and imposing fewer immigration requirements for migrants who choose more active investments. For the Growth Category, investors must spend at least 21 days in New Zealand over the three-year investment period. For the Balanced Category, inves - tors must spend 105 days in New Zealand over five years, with that requirement reducing for larger invest - ments: 91 days for NZD11 million, 77 days for NZD12 million, and 63 days for NZD13 million. The results since launch have been striking. As of 11 June 2026, Immigration New Zealand had received 734 applications under the new settings, amounting to a potential total minimum investment of NZD4.29 bil - lion. Of those, 294 applications have been approved, with the total committed investment from these appli - cations amounting to NZD1.72 billion. The average time for an application to be approved in principle under the new settings is 36 working days, which is
a significant improvement on the delays that charac - terised the previous instructions. The Business Investor Work Visa: a pathway for hands-on operators New Zealand has also introduced a route for expe - rienced business operators. The Business Investor Work Visa (BIV) opens a fresh pathway to residence for experienced business professionals, with applications opening on 24 November 2025. The visa is designed to attract investors to established businesses across the country. The BIV offers two investment tiers: • a NZD1 million investment, which provides a three- year work-to-residence pathway; and • a NZD2 million investment, which enables a fast- tracked residence pathway after just 12 months. Both options require investment into a New Zealand business that has been operating for at least five years, and the visa is valid for up to four years, with provisions for the applicant’s partner and dependent children. The eligibility criteria are meaningfully substantive. Applicants must: • invest in a qualifying New Zealand business with a five-year-plus operating history and meet minimum investment thresholds of NZD1 million or NZD$2 million; • hold at least NZD500,000 in reserve funds for per - sonal and family support; • demonstrate credible business experience, such as ownership of a business with at least five full-time employees or annual business turnover of NZD1 million or more; and • be aged 55 or younger, and satisfy English lan - guage, health and character requirements. The path to residence is earned, not automatic. Those who meet the initial criteria and successfully manage their investment may become eligible for residence under the Business Investor Resident Visa, provid - ed they remain actively involved in managing their business, retain their ownership stake, demonstrate
777 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook