BD2.5 Nominated business requirements

1. The business nominated by the principal applicant to purchase must:
   1. have a credible purchase price of at least NZ$1 million dollars excluding real estate (see BD9.55) and exclusive of goods and services tax (GST) that would result in no less than 25% ownership of the business by the applicant; and
   2. employ at least five people in full time equivalent positions (see BD9.35), excluding any owners of the business; and
   3. be currently operating in New Zealand (see BD9.45); and
   4. have operated in New Zealand for at least five years immediately prior to the visa application being made; and
   5. be for a lawful business enterprise (see BD9.30); and
   6. comply with specific immigration, employment and business standards (see BD9.10); and
   7. not be an excluded business as set out in BD9.15; and
   8. not be owned by the applicant or by a family member of any applicant included in the application (see BD9.20); and
   9. not have been used in support of an approved Business Investor work or resident visa approved (see BD and BI) or for an approved Entrepreneur Category work or resident visa application, in the 10 years immediately prior to the current Business Investor work visa application being made.
2. The principal applicant must provide:
   1. a completed Business Proposal form made available on the Immigration New Zealand website for this purpose, demonstrating that the nominated business meets the requirements in (a) above; and
   2. a valuation of the nominated business prepared or relied on by a New Zealand qualified statutory accountant; and
   3. supporting documentation (including the documentation required by the Business Proposal form made available on the Immigration New Zealand website for this purpose) that demonstrates the nominated business meets the requirements in (a) above.
3. Additional supporting documentation can include, but is not limited to:
   1. a conditional sale and purchase agreement
   2. an organisational chart of the nominated business
   3. anonymised employment agreements and job descriptions for employees of the nominated business
   4. anonymised employee pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax payment records
   5. assessments prepared by a qualified statutory accountant.

Note: An immigration officer assesses the nominated business for the purpose of meeting the objectives of the Business Investor Work Visa instructions. This does not constitute an endorsement of the business by the New Zealand Government.

Effective 24/11/2025