Common topic
2025 changes to the Active Investor Plus Visa and statistics post-change
Published
16 December 2025
In April 2025, changes were made to the Active Investor Plus Visa. This page outlines what changed and how those changes have affected the number of applications and investments since then.
Last update: 24 July 2026
The Active Investor Plus Visa category is intended to attract investors who take an active role in helping companies access global knowledge networks, capital, and markets. The visa is designed to generate higher business productivity and job growth.
Between September 2022 and 31 March 2025, under the previous visa settings Immigration New Zealand (INZ) have received 115 applications for 362 applicants. An application may have multiple applicants including partners and dependent children.
Of the 115 applications received, 46 applications had been approved for a resident visa, 13 were withdrawn by the applicant and 33 were granted approval in principle.
New visa settings launched 1 April 2025
On 1 April 2025, changes were made to simplify the investment process, including the introduction of 2 investment categories.
Changes to the Active Investor Plus Visa included the introduction of 2 investment categories:
- Growth category: focuses on higher-risk investments, including managed funds and direct investments in New Zealand businesses. It requires a minimum investment of NZD $5 million for a minimum period of 3 years.
- Balanced category: focuses on mixed investments, with the ability to choose ones that are lower risk. There is a minimum investment of NZD $10 million over 5 years.
Other changes included:
- reducing the minimum investment amount from NZD $15 million (or weighted equivalent) to NZD $5 million for Growth and NZD $10 million for Balanced category investors
- broadening the scope of acceptable investments to include bond and property-type investments for Balanced category investors
- removing the English language requirement, and
- fewer immigration requirements, for migrants who choose more active investments, such as reducing the time required to be spent in New Zealand.
Read more information on the changes, and what options are available for current Active Investor Plus Visa applicants.
Investor category update provides attractive investment options
Applications under the Investor 1 and Investor 2 visas are no longer accepted. All applications currently in progress with INZ will continue to be processed.
Processing times
Once investment documentation has been provided to us, the average time to approve an application under the new settings is 36 working days.
Some applications may take longer to decide if we need further information from the applicant. Applicants who want to travel to New Zealand before their resident visa is approved may be able to apply for an NZeTA if they are from a visa waiver country, or a Specific Purpose Work Visa, if they are not from a visa waiver country.
Statistics on investments made in New Zealand
Investments made in New Zealand
Since changes were made to the Active Investor Plus Visa in April 2025, NZD $4.845 billion have been added to the investment pipeline or committed to investment in New Zealand.
| Investment status | Growth | Balanced | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment pipeline (in progress and approved in principle applications) | NZD $1.82 billion (71.9%) | NZD $590 million (28.1%) | NZD $2.41 billion |
| Capital committed (approved applications and funding transferred to New Zealand) | NZD $1.65 billion (70.4%) | NZD $650 million (29.6%) | NZD $2.3 billion |
Capital committed by investment type
Managed funds have been the most popular investment type for committed funds under the growth category, and bonds have been the most popular investment type for committed funds under the balanced category.
| Investment category | Investment type | Capital committed | Percentage share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth |
Managed funds, comprising of the following types: | NZD $725.4 million | 49% |
|
NZD $515.7 million | 34.8% | |
|
NZD $96.1 million | 6.5% | |
|
NZD $60.3 million | 4.1% | |
|
NZD $30 million | 2% | |
|
NZD $20.3 million | 1.4% | |
|
NZD $3 million | <1% | |
| Direct investments | NZD $20.4 million | 1.4% | |
| Discretionary investment management services (DIMS) | NZD $246.5 million | 16.6% | |
| Total Growth | NZD $982.3 million | 66.7% | |
| Balanced | Bonds | NZD $398.5 million | 26.9% |
| Listed equities | NZD $66.2 million | 4.5% | |
| Property development | NZD $22 million | 1.5% | |
| Managed funds | NZD $5.8 million | <1% | |
| Total Balanced | NZD $492.5 million | 33.3% | |
| All | Total | NZD $1.48 billion | 100% |
Applications received and approved
Since changes were made to the Active Investor Plus Visa in April 2025, we have received 837 applications and approved 395 applications.
| Application status | Growth | Balanced | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| In progress | 117 | 22 | 139 |
| Approved in principle | 248 | 37 | 285 |
| Approved | 330 | 65 | 395 |
| Withdrawn/declined | 15 | 3 | 18 |
| Total applications | 710 (83.3%) | 127 (16.7%) | 837 |
Applications by nationality
Since changes were made to the Active Investor Plus Visa in April 2025, we have received applications from the following nationalities.
| Nationality | Applications received | Number of people |
|---|---|---|
| United States of America | 277 | 838 |
| China | 156 | 503 |
| Hong Kong | 110 | 360 |
| Germany | 56 | 217 |
| Taiwan | 45 | 145 |
| Singapore | 31 | 109 |
| Vietnam | 23 | 97 |
| Great Britain | 21 | 69 |
| South Korea | 20 | 65 |
| Japan | 17 | 57 |
| Switzerland | 15 | 44 |
| Canada | 7 | 25 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 20 |
| France | 4 | 8 |
| Russia | 4 | 16 |
| Hungary | 3 | 6 |
| India | 3 | 9 |
| Austria | 3 | 14 |
| Belgium | 2 | 7 |
| Cyprus | 2 | 7 |
| Finland | 2 | 6 |
| Indonesia | 2 | 6 |
| Ireland | 2 | 5 |
| Israel | 2 | 10 |
| Malta | 2 | 6 |
| South Africa | 2 | 6 |
| Cambodia | 2 | 9 |
| Czech Republic | 1 | 7 |
| Denmark | 1 | 3 |
| Grenada | 1 | 3 |
| Kiribati | 1 | 7 |
| Luxembourg | 1 | 2 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 2 |
| Mongolia | 1 | 5 |
| Myanmar | 1 | 4 |
| Philippines | 1 | 3 |
| Poland | 1 | 4 |
| Romania | 1 | 4 |
| Spain | 1 | 6 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 1 | 6 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 |
| Tonga | 1 | 4 |
| Turkey | 1 | 4 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 2 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 837 | 2,732 |