Active Investor Plus Visa

Visa details

Apply for this visa to live, work and invest in New Zealand. You must have at least NZD $15 million or the weighted equivalent in available assets or funds.

Length of stay

Indefinitely

Cost
From
NZD $7900
With this visa you can
  • Live, work and study in New Zealand.
  • Include your partner, and dependent children aged 24 and under, in your visa application
  • Apply for permanent residence after 4 years of keeping your funds in New Zealand.
Things to note
  • If we approve your application in principle, you will have 6 months to transfer and invest your funds in New Zealand.
  • After your application has been approved in principle, you can apply for a work visa to come to New Zealand and arrange the transfer and investment of your funds. If your partner wants to come with you, they will need to apply for their own visitor visa. Your dependent children can apply for student visas.
  • You must invest NZD $15 million or the weighted equivalent in acceptable investments in New Zealand.
    Acceptable investments: Active Investor Plus Visa

Who can apply

The criteria and evidence below will provide you with the information you need to provide to meet the requirements of this visa.

View All Evidence

Identity

You must provide proof of your identity

  • 2 acceptable photos of your head and shoulders

Acceptable photos

Character

You must be of good character

If you are 17 or over, you must provide a police certificate from:

  • your country of citizenship
  • any other country where you have spent 12 months or more over the last 10 years, even if you did not spend that 12 months all in one visit.

Good character

How to get a police certificate

Tips

  1. Police Certificates must be less than 6 months old when you apply.

  2. If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must provide an English translation.

    This includes police certificates that record no convictions.

Fit and proper person

You must be a fit and proper person

You must confirm in the application form that you meet fit and proper person requirements.

To be a fit and proper person, all businesses you have influence over must have complied with all immigration, employment and taxation laws. You must also:

  • have never been investigated by the Serious Fraud Office or the New Zealand police for any offence resulting from business dealings
  • have no convictions for an offence involving dishonesty
  • have never been involved in business fraud or financial impropriety.
Tips

  1. We’ll contact you if you need to provide further information.

Partner and dependent children

You can include your partner and any dependent children up to the age of 24 in your application

You must provide evidence:

  • of your relationship with your partner and dependent children, like a marriage certificate and birth certificates
  • that your partner and dependent children meet the health, character and identity requirements for this visa, if necessary.

Partnership
Dependent children

Tips

  1. If your partner or dependent children have, or applied for, a New Zealand temporary entry visa based on their relationship with you, you must include them in your residence application.

  2. If you include your partner and/or children in your application they must fill out a Resident Visa Declaration Form (INZ 1242).

    Resident Visa Declaration Form (INZ 1242) PDF 247KB

Investment funds

You must invest NZD $15 million or the weighted equivalent in acceptable investments in New Zealand

Acceptable investments: Active Investor Plus Visa

The value you can claim for your investment funds, depends if they are owned by you, or jointly by you and another person.

If you own an investment jointly with:

  • your dependent children, you can claim the full value of the investment
  • your partner, you can claim the full value of the investment, as long as you and your partner are in a recognised partnership
  • someone who isn’t your partner or dependent child, you can only claim for the part of the investment that you own.

Partnership

Evidence of your funds may include:

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

 

Transfer investment funds

You must transfer your investment funds to New Zealand

You can transfer your investment funds directly from your bank account to New Zealand through the banking system.

You can also transfer funds through a third party such as a solicitor acting on your behalf, a pension scheme in your name or an investment portfolio account in your name.

If we approve your application in principle, you will have 6 months from that date to transfer your funds.
 
Transferring investment funds

Tips

  1. You can apply for a temporary visa to come to New Zealand and arrange the transfer and investment of your funds.

    Specific Purpose Work Visa

  2. We may give you a further 6 months to transfer and invest your funds.

    You’ll need to contact us before the transfer period expires and show you have made reasonable steps to transfer and invest.

Source of investment funds

You must have earned or acquired your investment funds lawfully

The evidence you provide will depend on how you came by your funds. It 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.
Tips

  1. It’s OK if your investment includes funds that were gifted to you, as long as the gift was unconditional and lawful, and the funds were originally earned or acquired lawfully.

Acceptable investments

You must invest your nominated investment funds in acceptable investments in New Zealand for a minimum of 48 months

After your application is approved in principle you will have 6 months to make a minimum initial investment and invest the remainder of the funds into holding investments and/or other acceptable investments. The total value of your investments must be at least NZD $15 million or the weighted equivalent.

Investment type Minimum initial investment
Direct Investments NZD $100,000
Managed funds NZD $500,000
Listed equities/Philanthropy NZD $1 million

You must provide evidence that includes the following information:

  • The full name of the principal applicant
  • The amount invested in New Zealand dollars
  • The date the investment was made
  • The type of investment, including the name the company or bond issuer if applicable as well as the amount of shares or bonds
  • Documentary evidence of the investment
  • A letter from an external and reputable professional such as a solicitor, chartered accountant or investment broker confirming that the funds have been invested
  • A letter of confirmation from NZTE if the investment is a direct investment

Acceptable investments: Active Investor Plus Visa

Managing your acceptable investments

Tips

  1. If you already have funds invested in an acceptable investment in New Zealand, we can start your investment period from the time we approve your residence application in principle.

    You may be eligible for the Active Investor Plus Visa with only NZD $5 million if your investments are direct investments.

Process and costs

The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

Notes

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How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Notes

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Conditions

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.

Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing an arrival card, which you are given on the way to New Zealand.

Arriving in New Zealand

Notes

  • You can be refused entry permission if:

    • you don’t meet our character requirements
    • your circumstances have changed since you were granted a visa
    • you refuse to let us to take your photo, or provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if we ask you for them.

Invest in New Zealand

You must keep NZD $15 million or the weighted equivalent in acceptable investments in New Zealand for 48 months.

Notes

  • You must:

    • have NZD $7.5 million or the weighted equivalent invested within the first 18 months of the investment period
    • have a further NZD $7.5 million or the weighted equivalent invested within the first 36 months of the investment period
    • have the full NZD $15 million or weighted equivalent invested until the end of the 48-month period, and
    • retain any investments you have made throughout the 48-month investment period.

    You must provide evidence of the funds invested at the end of the first 18 months and the third and fourth years you are in New Zealand.

    You will have 3 months to provide this.

    Acceptable investments: Active Investor Plus Visa

    Managing your acceptable investments

Spend time in New Zealand

You must spend at least 117 days in New Zealand as a holder of a resident visa during the 4 year investment period.

Bring your family to New Zealand

If your family are included in your resident visa, they’ll need to come to New Zealand within 12 months of their visa being granted.

Notes

  • If your family are unable to come to New Zealand within 12 months, they’ll have to reapply for residence.

Contact details

You must provide us with your address and other contact details and let us know if these change while you’re in New Zealand.

Notes

  • We’ll need to keep in touch with you to check you’re meeting the conditions of your visa.

    If we’re unable to confirm that you’re meeting the conditions, you may not be able to stay in New Zealand.

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.

If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.

Transferring my visa to a new passport

Notes

Travel as a resident

You can travel in and out of New Zealand for 5 years from your first day in New Zealand.

Travel as a permanent resident

If you have met all the conditions at the end of your 48-month investment period, you can apply for a permanent resident visa for you and any family included in your residence application.

If granted, you will be able to travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.

Notes

  • If you haven’t met all of the conditions of your visa at the end of the 48-month investment period, you may have to leave New Zealand.