Identity
You must provide proof of your identity
- 2 acceptable photos of your head and shoulders
- your original or a certified copy of your passport or certificate of identity
- your original or a certified copy of your full birth certificate.
Investor 1 Resident Visa
Visa details
This visa was allowed people with NZD $10 million to invest in New Zealand to apply for residence. It closed to new applicants on 28 July 2022.
Length of stay
Indefinitely
Cost
From
NZD $7900
Processing time
90% within
55 months
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.
Things to note
- You may be able to bring your car, boat and household items to New Zealand, free of customs charges.
Provide your country to make the experience more relevant to you.
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
Health
You must be in good health
You must have a chest x-ray and a medical examination as proof of your good health.
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.
Tips
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Police Certificates must be less than 6 months old when you apply.
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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
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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.
Tips
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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.
Investment funds
You must have NZ $10 million to invest in New Zealand for 3 years
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.
Evidence of your funds may include:
- bank statements
- title deeds
- property valuations
- share certificates
- business ownership documents
- asset valuations.
Tips
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The funds and/or assets you nominate for your investment can’t be borrowed, or have a loan or bond against them.
Transfer investment funds
You must transfer your investment funds to New Zealand
You must transfer your investment funds to New Zealand.
You must transfer your investment funds directly from your bank account to New Zealand through the banking system.
If we approve your application in principle, you’ll have 12 months from that date to transfer and invest your funds.
Transferring investment funds
Tips
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You can apply for a temporary visa to come to New Zealand and investigate investment opportunities.
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We may give you a further 12 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.
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Applicants must ensure their funds meet currency exchange and transfer requirements in place in China.
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The following organisations have previously demonstrated they have acceptable QDII products:
- Bank of China
- China Construction Bank
- ICBC
- Guosen Securities Company Ltd
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
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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 NZ $10 million in acceptable investments in New Zealand for a minimum of 3 years
You must provide documents from a trusted professional like a chartered accountant or solicitor that confirm:
- your full name
- the amount invested in NZD
- the date you started your investment
- the investment type
- the names of any organisations you invested in
- the number of shares or bonds you bought in any organisations.
Tips
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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.
Once your funds are invested in New Zealand, it’s OK to transfer funds between acceptable 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.
1
You apply for residence
Fill in your application form and send it to us with your supporting evidence, application fee, and immigration levy.
If you’d like some help with your application, you can email one of our dedicated Client Managers or get some immigration advice.
Immigration costs
NZD $
7,900
Application cost – This is the charge for Immigration New Zealand to process your application. We do not refund application costs if we decline your application. A non-refundable immigration levy is charged and is included in the cost.
2
We approve your application in principle
If there is anything else you need to do, we will be in touch.
Timeframes - Processing
90% within 55 months
90% of applications are currently completed within this time. This includes a 12 month investment period for you to complete your investment in New Zealand.
Timeframes - Average processing
Time is 22 months
Timeframes are in weekdays. We use the median value to find the average.
3
You transfer your funds to New Zealand and make your investment
Unless we grant you an extension, you will have 12 months to transfer your funds to New Zealand and invest in an acceptable investment.
You must show that your funds or assets came from the source you named in your application.
You may wish to come to New Zealand to check out investment opportunities before you transfer your funds. You will need to apply for a work or visitor visa to do this.
4
We grant your residence visa
After we grant your visa, we check in with you to make sure you are meeting the conditions of your visa like keeping your funds invested and spending time in New Zealand.
If you have met all the conditions at the end of your three-year investment, you can apply for a permanent resident visa.
How to submit
Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.
Application
Payment methods
By Post
Credit Card
You can pay with Visa or MasterCard. We take payment when we receive your application. You must have enough funds available on the day we receive your application or it may be returned to you.
Debit Card
You can pay by debit card. We take payment when we receive your application. You must have enough funds available on the day we receive your application or it may be returned to you.
Postal address
Immigration New Zealand
PO Box 76895
Manukau City
Auckland 2241
New Zealand
Courier address
Immigration NZ
DX Box: EP71514
20 Fairfax Avenue
Penrose
Auckland 1061
New Zealand
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.
Notes
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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 $10 million invested in an acceptable investment in New Zealand for 3 years.
Notes
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We ask for evidence you have kept your funds invested at the end of the second and third years you are in New Zealand.
You will have 3 months to provide the evidence.
It is OK to transfer funds between acceptable investments.
If you already have funds invested in New Zealand when you apply for residence, we can start your investment period from the time we approve your application in principle.
Spend time in New Zealand
You must spend 44 days in each of the last two years of your three-year investment period in New Zealand, or, 88 days at any time over the three year investment period if you have invested a minimum of NZ$2.5 million in growth investments.
Notes
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We’ll ask for evidence that you’ve met this condition at the end of the second and third years you’re in New Zealand.
You’ll have 3 months to provide the evidence.
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
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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
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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.
Notes
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To transfer your visa, you must:
- send us your old and new passports
- complete an ‘Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa’
- pay a transfer fee.
Application for transfer or confirmation of a visa
Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa (INZ 1023) PDF 381KB
Travel as a resident
You can travel in and out of New Zealand for the first 2 years of your investment period.
If you meet all of the conditions that apply to the first 2 years of your investment period, you can apply for a variation of conditions to allow you to travel in and out of New Zealand for another 2 years.
Notes
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If at the end of 2 years, you haven’t met all of the conditions that apply, you may have to leave New Zealand.
Your travel conditions will expire after 2 years if you haven’t applied for a variation of conditions.
If you’re outside of New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your visa will expire as well.
Travel as a permanent resident
If you’ve met all the conditions at the end of your 3 year investment period, you can apply for a permanent resident visa for you and any family included in your residence application.
If granted, you’ll be able to travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.
Notes
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If you haven’t met all of the conditions of your visa at the end of the 3 year investment period, you may have to leave New Zealand.