Active Investor Plus Visa

As per Immigration Instructions, an Active Investor Plus Visa application will be ‘Approved in Principle’ if a business immigration specialist is satisfied that:

• The applicant and family members included in the application meet health and character requirements; and

• The applicant meets the fit and proper person requirements; and

• The applicant has nominated funds and/or assets equivalent in value to at least NZD:

  • $5 million if they are investing under the Growth Category; or

  • $10 million if they are investing under the Balanced Category; and

• The applicant has demonstrated ownership of the nominated funds and/or assets; and

• The applicant has demonstrated that the nominated funds and/or assets have been legally earned or acquired; and

• The applicant has transferred, through the banking system, the funds required to meet the minimum investment threshold for their category (NZD $5 million for the Growth Category and NZD $10 million for the Balanced Category) from the nominated funds, or funds from the sale of nominated assets, into acceptable investments.

Immigration Instructions set out various strict requirements in respect of each of the above eligibility criteria.

Funds and/or assets that are already held in New Zealand at the time the application is made may be included as nominated funds and/or assets (except where those funds and/or assets have been gifted). But they are otherwise subject to all requirements under these instructions (including ownership, legally earned or acquired, and transferred through the banking system) unless otherwise specified in Immigration Instructions.

Frequently, the most significant challenge in Active Investor Plus Visa applications is demonstrating the applicant’s funds and/or assets have been “legally earned or acquired”, and this is arguably one of the most common issues that Immigration New Zealand will raise questions or concerns about during an application’s processing. This issue is especially acute for applicants that are from countries where there is a lack of financial transparency, weak rule of law, poor recording keeping, a shadow economy (where people have accumulated wealth through semi-legal means), complex ownership structures, or different cultural norms (e.g. informal loans, undocumented property transfers, cash only deals) which can make it very difficult to prove - with documentary evidence - the ultimate source of funds and that they were legally earned or acquired. In such cases, demonstrating this requirement is met can become a highly ‘forensic’ exercise and this is where having an immigration lawyer to assist with the application can make all the difference to its success.

Following the grant of Approval in Principle, an applicant will have 6 months (with the possibility of applying to extend this to 12 months, if certain requirements are met) to provide acceptable evidence to INZ of having transferred and invested nominated funds or funds from the sale of nominated assets, into an acceptable investment for the category they are investing in, to the minimum value of the category they are investing in (i.e. NZD $5,000,000 if they are investing under the Growth Category or NZD $10,000,000 if investing under the Balanced Category.  Applicants may apply for a specific purpose work visa to travel to New Zealand to investigate investment opportunities and make direct investments in New Zealand. 

A Resident Visa will be granted to the applicant and any family members once the applicant has met the transfer requirements and made the required acceptable investment. Those Resident visas will be subject to a number of conditions (known as “section 49(1) conditions”), including:

• The applicant retains their investment in acceptable investments (Growth or Balanced, depending on which category they’ve applied under) for the required duration of 36 months under the Growth Category or 60 months under the Balanced Category;

• The applicant meets the “minimum time spent in New Zealand” requirements for the relevant category, which is 21 days over 3 years for the Growth Category and 105 days over 5 years for the Balanced Category. The Balanced Category time requirements may be reduced 14 days for each NZD $1,000,000 invested over and above the initial NZD $10 million threshold that is invested in direct investments or managed funds, to a maximum reduction of 42 days;

• The applicant meets its reporting requirements at the initial 24 months period and, subsequently, at the 36 months period for the Growth Category or 60 months period for the Balanced Category – by submitting evidence to Immigration New Zealand (within 3 months) they have retained their acceptable investments in New Zealand, and by completing an investment questionnaire form.

Failure to comply with section 49(1) conditions may result in the resident visa holder and their family becoming liable for deportation. 

The following chart provides an overview of the key requirements and process.