The Government of New Zealand has made important changes to the golden investor program. A new visa Active “Investor Plus visa” has been created to attract skilled and experienced high-value investors to New Zealand to encourage economic growth.
The Active Investor Plus Visa is now open for applications. The new visa allows to invest over a three-year period and maintain their investments up to the end of a fourth year. Investors will need to spend at least 117 days, or around a month a year, in New Zealand over the four-year investment period. After the application has been approved in principle, you can apply for a work visa to come to New Zealand and arrange the transfer and investment of your funds within six months time frame
This new visa replaces the previous Investor 1 and Investor 2 visa categories, which closed to new applications on 27 July 2022. The new Active Investor Plus visa replaces the previous investor visa categories, which often resulted in investment into passive asset classes such as bonds rather than investment directly into New Zealand companies to encourage investment that delivers real benefits to our economy.
Benefits
- Live, work and study in New Zealand.
- Include partner, and dependent children aged 24 and under, in your visa application
- Apply for permanent residence after 4 years of keeping your funds in New Zealand.
Eligible Investments
- NZD $5 million (direct investment)
- NZD $15 million (indirect investment)
Note: Property is not an acceptable investment, however as part of your listed equity investments, you can invest in exchange traded funds or managed funds that own companies engaged in the acquisition, development, ownership, leasing, management, and operation of property assets.
Applicants must also demonstrate proficiency in the English language by obtaining an IELTS score of at least 5, pass health and background checks.
