Acceptable investments: Active investor plus

What an acceptable investment is for the Active Investor Plus Visa.

What makes an investment acceptable

An acceptable investment for the Active Investor Plus Visa means an investment of the funds that:

  • is not for the personal use of the applicant,
  • is invested in New Zealand in New Zealand currency, and
  • is invested in either one of more of the following
    • listed equities
    • philanthropy
    • managed funds, or
    • direct investments.

The acceptable investment is determined at the time the investment is made and must continue to meet the requirements of an acceptable investment during the 48-month investment period.

The investment value is determined at the time it has been made, inclusive of investment fees (such as management fees), brokerage fees and transaction fees charged.

The weighting system

Acceptable investments carry different weightings toward the NZD $15 million investment threshold. You can invest in a combination of these. Direct investments into a private business will receive the highest weighting (3x). This means that you could meet the required investment amount by investing NZD $5 million into direct investment.

Investment type Weighting
Listed equities
Maximum: NZD $7.5 million
X1
Each $1 invested will be accorded the value of $1
Philanthropy
Maximum: NZD $7.5 million
X1
Each $1 invested will be accorded the value of $1
Managed funds X2
Each $1 invested will be accorded the value of $2
Direct investment X3
Each $1 invested will be accorded the value of $3

More information on each investment type can be found on the New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) website.

Acceptable investments — NZTE website

Property

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.

Note that the exchange traded fund or managed fund can only hold 20% or less of their total assets in the property sector to be considered an acceptable investment.