If you meet the requirements and are ready to apply for residence under the Professional Investor category, you will need to complete and submit an Application for Residence – Professional and Global Investor Categories (INZ 1150) PDF. Refer to the Professional and Global Investor Categories Guide (INZ 1151) PDF to help you fill in the application form.
A personal manager is available to provide information and contacts in the areas of immigration, settlement and investment. You can contact your personal manager at investors@dol.govt.nz.
You must provide evidence with your application – there is evidence that you must provide for everyone included in the application, and evidence that only the principal applicant needs to provide.
Evidence everyone must provide
For every person included in the application you must provide:
- two passport-size photographs
- photocopies of the identity pages of their passport
- a full birth certificate.
Health
You must show that everyone included in the application meets our health requirements by submitting a completed medical and chest x-ray certificate.
Character
You must show that everyone included in the application who is aged 17 or more meets our character requirements by providing police certificates from their country(ies) of citizenship, and all countries they have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years. This includes countries where the stay has been broken by short departures. See our pages on how to get a police certificate.
Evidence that everyone meets English language requirements
You must show that everyone included in the application meets English language requirements. There are different requirements for the principal applicant, and for his/her partner and dependent children.
Principal applicant's English language
You must provide either:
- evidence you have an English speaking background OR
- an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) certificate (no more than 2 years old at the time you lodge your application for residence), which shows you gained at least two band scores of 4 or more in the IELTS General or Academic Module OR
- other evidence that you are a competent user of English, such as
- your current country of residence
- countries you may have lived in before
- how long you were in each country
- whether you speak any languages other than English
- your family’s ability to speak English
- whether your family members speak any languages other than English
- your previous or current work and the level of English language skills required
- your qualifications and the level of English language skills they required.
We may still require you to provide an IELTS certificate to confirm that you meet our English language requirements.
Partner/dependent children's English language
To meet our English language requirements partners and dependent children aged 16 or more included in your application who already meet our minimum level of English language must provide the evidence listed above.
However, if your partner and/or dependent children do not yet meet the minimum standard of English, they can pre-purchase ESOL tuition in New Zealand. You purchase this tuition from us, on behalf of New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Commission. Payment of this tuition charge is not due until application is approved.
Evidence of your partnership
If your partner is applying on your application form too, you need to show that you have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months.
Evidence you live together might include original or certified copies of documents showing shared accommodation (such as joint ownership of residential property, joint tenancy agreement, or correspondence (including postmarked envelopes) addressed to both you and your partner at the same address). See more on evidence of a genuine and stable relationship.
Evidence of your business experience
Acceptable evidence of your business experience can include (but is not limited to) original or certified copies of enough of these documents to clearly demonstrate your business experience:
- business registration
- company financial statements
- company tax returns and tax records
- shareholder certificates or proof of ownership of business
- pay slips
- job specifications
- job assessments
- personal tax returns
- letters of appointment
- certificates of service
- strategic planning documents
- references from employers on company letterhead, stating your position(s) and dates of employment, and giving the contact phone number and address of the employer.
You may be able to provide other types of evidence appropriate to your circumstances. If you worked part time, you must show the actual weekly hours worked.
If you are claiming business experience in more than one business you need to provide appropriate evidence for each of those businesses.
We may also ask you to produce other information to help us determine your application.
Evidence of your funds and/or assets
You need to provide evidence to show that you meet the requirements for both your ownership of the funds and/or assets that you are claiming, and to show that you have been capable of having earned or acquired your funds and/or assets legally. Acceptable evidence of the value and ownership of funds and/or assets may include (but is not limited to) original or certified copies of the documents shown below.
Cash
Property
- title deeds, and
- a recent valuation report for your property from an independent registered adviser, and
- mortgage documents or statements showing any liability incurred on the property.
Shares/bonds
- share certificates
- share printout reports
- share trading cards (if applicable)
- a recent statement by a registered share broker or chartered accountant that certifies the current market value of your shares and bonds.
Business
- documents of ownership, or financial interest in, the company/business, and
- an independent valuation by a chartered accountant (or appropriate person), including details of any mortgages, loans, or other financial obligations.
Other assets eg gold bullion
- evidence of ownership, and
- a recent independent market valuation.
All documents provided as valuations of assets must be no more than three months old when you make your residence application and must be produced by a reliable, independent agency.
Evidence of earning or acquiring funds and/or assets
Acceptable evidence to show that you earned or acquired your funds and/or assets legally may include (but is not limited to) original or certified copies of the documents below.
Salaries and bonuses
- personal tax returns or tax certificates
- pay slips
- letters of appointment
- employer certificates
- bank statements showing receipt of earnings.
Business profits and dividends
- business financial statements
- evidence of ownership or shareholding in the business
- bank statements showing receipt of dividends.
Property
- evidence of capital appreciation of property, measured as the current value (or sale price if property has been sold) less purchase price, eg solicitor's settlement documents, bank statements showing your receipt of sale proceeds, valuation report for property currently owned.
Investments
- bank certificates
- evidence of share trading profits.
Inheritance
- probate and evidence of inheritance from your solicitor.
Gifts
- evidence of gifting, and evidence to show that your donor earned or acquired those funds and/or assets legally.
You need to give us a summary of the evidence that you are providing, showing how this demonstrates your capability to have earned or acquired your funds and/or assets legally.
You may be able to provide other types of evidence appropriate to your circumstances. We may also ask you to produce other information to help us determine your application.
Application fee
You can find the fee for an application for residence on our , or New Zealand Immigration's Guide to Fees (INZ 1028) PDF.
After you have submitted your application
If we are satisfied that your application meets the requirements for residence we will approve your application in principle. Find out what you will need to do next.