To be eligible for residence in New Zealand under our Entrepreneur Category, you need to have successfully established, and be self-employed or working in, a business that is benefiting New Zealand.
You may have applied for, and gained, a Long-term Business Visa or Permit so you could establish the business, and now wish to apply for residence. If so, you:
- must have established, purchased, or made a substantial investment of at least 25 per cent in a business operating in New Zealand
and
- must have been self employed or, if you’re a part-owner, have worked, in that business for two years before you apply for residence as an entrepreneur
and
- or any partner or children who are with you must not have sought social welfare assistance
and
- need to show that you've met the requirements for establishing your business in New Zealand.
Where you applied for a Long Term Business Visa or Permit, we'll decline your application for residence if:
- your business is different from the one included in your Long Term Business Visa or Permit application
and
- fails to need our business plan requirements
and
- the business does not have at least the same level of investment as your original proposal
and
- you do not have previous experience in that business.
You don’t need to have a Long-term Business Permit
If you have a successfully established business that’s been operating for two years, you can apply directly for a Residence Permit under our Entrepreneur Category.
If you’re eligible…
We’ll write to you to tell you that we’ve approved in principle your application.
Before we can grant you a Residence Permit, we’ll need to see that…