Points indicator for Entrepreneur Work Visa

Check how many points you may be able to claim in your visa application. Only an immigration officer can confirm your points when they assess your application.

Starting a business: Entrepreneur Work Visa

Minimum capital investment

When you apply for your visa, we’ll ask you to provide evidence that the funds and/or assets you intend to use for your capital investment are:

  • owned by you (or you and your partner)
  • earned or acquired lawfully.

Evidence you own the funds and/or assets to invest may include:

  • bank statements
  • title deeds
  • property valuations
  • share certificates
  • business ownership documents
  • asset valuations.

Evidence you earned or acquired the funds and/or assets lawfully, may include:

  • tax returns or certificates
  • pay slips
  • business financial statements
  • business shareholdings
  • dividends
  • receipts for property sales
  • bank certificates
  • share trading profits
  • evidence of gifted money
  • probate and other evidence of inherited money.

Your funds and/or assets can’t be borrowed or have a loan or bond against them.

It’s OK if your investment includes funds that were gifted to you, as long as they were gifted unconditionally and earned or acquired lawfully.

You can’t include any of the following in your capital investment:

  • passive or speculative investments, like reserve funds or term deposits
  • items for your own use, like your car, boat or home
  • any salary or wages paid to you or your immediate family
  • residential property investments, unless they’re part of the business plan you’ll be asked to include with your visa application.

We’ll only consider waiving the minimum capital investment requirement, if both:

  • your business is in science, ICT or another high-value export sector
  • your business shows a high level of innovation or short-term growth prospects.

For us to consider your business a high-value export business, it would need to aim to:

  • create 5 or more jobs for New Zealanders
  • turnover NZ $500,000 in annual exports.

For us to consider your business has a high level of innovation, you would need to show us:

  • you’ve discovered new ways to produce more goods or services without increasing the production costs
  • your business is likely to succeed because of your new ways.

If we agree to waive the minimum capital investment, you won’t be able to claim points for it.

Business experience
Choose only one

When you apply, you must provide information about any business you may have run in the past, including:

  • the industry the business was in
  • background information about your business
  • your turnover and profitability
  • how many people you employed
  • how your business experience is relevant to the business you plan to run in New Zealand
  • how your business experience will help your New Zealand business to succeed.

You must provide evidence to support your answers, which may include:

  • business registration licences
  • financial statements, audited, if available
  • copies of tax returns
  • contact details for the business
  • organisation charts
  • employment agreements.

It’s OK to provide a report covering all these points, as long as it’s provided by an internationally-recognised accounting firm.

When you apply, we’ll ask you for information about any business you may have run in the past, including:

  • the industry the business was in
  • background information about your business
  • your turnover and profitability
  • how many people you employed.

We’ll ask you for evidence to support your answers, which may include:

  • business registration licences
  • financial statements, audited, if available
  • copies of tax returns
  • contact details for the business
  • organisation charts
  • employment agreements.

It’s OK to provide a report covering all these points, as long as it’s provided by an internationally-recognised accounting firm.

To be eligible for points for business experience as a senior manager, your experience must be:

  • with a lawful business enterprise that has at least 5 full-time employees or an annual turnover of at least NZ $1 million
  • in a role that includes planning, organisation, control, change management and direction setting
  • relevant to the business you plan to run in New Zealand.

When you apply, we’ll ask you to explain:

  • what industry you have experience as a senior manager in
  • your role and responsibilities as a senior manager
  • how many years’ experience you have
  • how many employees you managed
  • the turnover for your business
  • your executive powers
  • how your experience as a senior manager is relevant to the business you plan to run in New Zealand
  • how your experience as a senior manager will help your New Zealand business to succeed.

We’ll ask you to provide evidence to support your answers, which may include:

  • references from your employer
  • your employment agreement and job description
  • documents showing a board of directors or the shareholders conferred executive powers on you
  • annual reports for the business.
Benefit to New Zealand
Choose up to two

To be eligible for points for benefiting New Zealand, you’ll need to create either:

Your evidence should include employment agreements detailing the new position(s).

You can’t claim points for positions that are already part of an existing business, or are for contract or casual roles.

All employment agreements must comply with New Zealand employment and immigration laws.

When you apply, we’ll ask you to provide a business plan, which should include:

  • detailed projections outlining how you expect to earn the forecast turnover
  • details of any certification, registration, or distribution rights or licences you’ll need to export your goods and what you’ve done to get them
  • if you’ll be supplying domestic as well as export markets, a breakdown of how much turnover you expect from each.

When you apply, we’ll ask you to explain why your product or service is ‘unique’ or ‘new’ to New Zealand.

We’ll consider a product or service ‘unique’, if it’s:

  • the only one of its kind in New Zealand
  • not available in the New Zealand location you plan to run your business.

We’ll consider a product or service ‘new’, if it offers:

  • a significant enhancement or product line not being provided by an existing business in New Zealand or in the location you plan to run your business
  • an enhancement that would contribute to New Zealand’s economic growth over the next 3 years.
Age

When you apply for your visa, we’ll ask you to provide a passport or certificate of identity as proof of your identity, which we’ll use to confirm your age.

If you turn 60 before you apply, you won’t be able to claim points for your age.

Business location

When you apply, you’ll need to submit a business plan, which should include details of your business location.

Your Total Points (Minimum of 100):
0 points