Business Investor Resident Visa

A Business Investor Resident Visa lets you stay in New Zealand indefinitely.

To apply for this visa, you must:

• have a current Business Investor Work Visa
• have been in running your business for at least 3 years, if you invested at least NZD $1 million
• have been actively involved in running your business for at least 12 months, if you invested at least NZD $2 million
• employ at least 5 equivalent staff
• have created, and maintained for at least 12 months, at least 1 new full-time job for a New Zealand citizen or resident
• have been self-employed for this time in the same business you purchased during the Establishment stage of your Business Investor Work Visa
• have kept ownership of at least the same proportion of your business that was originally approved
• have professional or occupational registration in New Zealand if required for running your business
• have kept your business compliant with immigration, employment and business standards
• have kept your business solvent and compliant with all financial, tax and legal obligations
• have spent at least 184 days a year in New Zealand while holding a Business Investor Work Visa
• be a fit and proper person
• meet the other requirements of this visa.

Business Investor Work Visa

You must have a current Business Investor Work Visa when you apply. You must have actively run your business for at least 3 years or 12 months, depending on how much you invested.

3-year standard pathway to residence

If you invested at least NZD $1 million in an existing business (not including property value or goods and services tax (GST)), you may be eligible for a Business Investor Resident Visa after 3 years.

You must have been self-employed and actively involved in running that business for the 3 years before you apply. The business you have been running must be the same one that was approved during the Establishment stage of your work visa (or through a variation of conditions application).

12-month fast-track pathway to residence

If you invested at least NZD $2 million in an existing business (not including property value or goods and services tax (GST)), you may be eligible for a Business Investor Resident Visa after 12 months.

You must have been self-employed and actively involved in running that business for the 12 months before you apply. The business you have been running must be the same one that was approved during the Establishment stage of your work visa (or through a variation of conditions application).

Involvement in your business

You must prove you have been in the running of your business.

Evidence must be from a reliable independent agency and can include:

• audited accounts
• bank statements showing regular revenue and expenses
• anonymised employee records
• financial statements
• GST records
• invoices for business equipment and supplies
• other tax records
• property lease documents relating to the business' site
• employment agreements
• utility company invoices
• sales agreements
• product or service contracts.

Solvent and compliant business

You must send us:

• an assessment prepared by a qualified statutory accountant confirming your business is and complies with all financial and tax obligations, and
• a letter from a lawyer confirming they are satisfied your business complies with all legal obligations.

Your business must also have stayed compliant with specific immigration, employment and business standards — these are the same requirements your business had to meet when you applied for your Business Investor Work Visa.

Acceptable investments for a Business Investor Work Visa

Employment requirements

You must provide evidence that your business:

• employs at least 5 people in full-time equivalent positions, and
• has created, and maintained for at least 12 months, ongoing employment for 1 additional, full-time equivalent New Zealand citizen or resident (in addition to the 5 full-time positions).

Evidence of these requirements can include:

• employment records
• PAYE records
• evidence of immigration status
• assessments prepared by a qualified statutory accountant.

Health

You must be in good health.

You must provide a chest X-ray and a medical examination as proof of your good health.

How to get an X-ray or medical examination

Character

You must be of good character.

If you, or anyone else included in your application, are aged 17 or older you must provide a police certificate from:

• all the countries you are a citizen of, and
• any other country you have stayed in for 12 months or more over the last 10 years, even if it was not all in the same stay.

How to get a police certificate

Character requirements for New Zealand visas

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
• no convictions for an offence involving dishonesty
• never been involved in business fraud or financial impropriety.

Partner and dependent children

If you include your partner and children in your application, you must have a genuine relationship with them.

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 identity, character, health and English language requirements for this visa.

Partnership and how to prove it

Bringing children

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.

English language requirement for family

Your partner and dependent children aged 16 or older must speak English or pay for classes to learn English in New Zealand.

There are 3 ways your partner and dependent children aged 16 or older can show us they speak Englis, through:

• their citizenship, where they studied and the qualifications they gained
• English language tests
• paying for English language lessons.

The results of their English language test must:

• meet the minimum score we require
• be no more than 2 years old when you apply.

Learning English for families of resident visa applicants

English language test results for business people and employees relocating to New Zealand

If you meet the requirements of the Business Investor Resident Visa, your application may be . You will then have 6 months to provide evidence that any partner or dependent children aged 16 or older included in your application meet the English language requirements.

When you apply, you need to provide:

• your passport or certificate of identity — you can provide the original or a certified copy
• 2 acceptable photos
• your original or a certified copy of your full birth certificate
• evidence you have been actively involved in running your business
• an assessment from a qualified statutory accountant confirming your business is solvent and complies with all financial and tax obligations
• a letter from a lawyer confirming they are satisfied your business complies with all legal obligations
• evidence your business employs at least 5 people in full-time equivalent positions
• evidence your business has created, and maintained for at least 12 months, ongoing employment for 1 additional, full-time equivalent New Zealand citizen or resident
• police certificates if required
• evidence of a chest X-ray if required
• evidence of a medical examination if required
• certified English translations of your police certificates or medical certificates that are not in English.

Acceptable photos for a visa or NZeTA

Police certificates

You must come to New Zealand within 12 months of the date your visa is issued, if you applied for your visa outside of New Zealand.

Entry permission

You must apply for permission to enter New Zealand. You do this by completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) form.

You can start your digital declaration any time, but the earliest you can submit it is 24 hours before starting your travel to New Zealand.

A paper declaration form is available for travellers who cannot complete it online.

New Zealand Traveller Declaration

New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.

Arriving in New Zealand

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

Work

You can continue to run your business and work in New Zealand.

If you applied under the fast-track pathway

You must be actively involved in running the same business that was approved during the Establishment stage of your work visa (or through a variation of conditions application) for at least 3 years.

This includes the time you spent running the business while holding a Business Investor Work Visa.

For example, you invested NZD $2 million in an existing business and applied for a Business Investor Resident Visa after 1 year. You must continue to actively run the same business for a further 2 years after applying, to meet the 3-year minimum requirement.

While you are still meeting the 3-year requirement on your Business Investor Resident Visa, you must:

• keep ownership of at least the same proportion of your business that was originally approved
• spend at least 184 days in each 12-month period in New Zealand
• maintain employment of 5 full-time equivalent staff
• keep your business compliant with immigration, employment and business standards
• keep your business solvent and compliant with all financial, tax and legal obligations.

You must provide evidence to show you have met these conditions within 3 months after you have been running your business for 3 years.

Travel

You can travel in and out of New Zealand as many times as you like for 2 years.

To travel after that, you must apply for a variation of conditions or a Permanent Resident Visa if you are eligible.

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 your visa to a new passport

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

Fees, decision times and where to apply

Getting a Permanent Resident Visa

After you have had a Business Investor Resident Visa for at least 2 years and met all the conditions, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.

With a Permanent Resident Visa, you can travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.

Becoming a permanent resident of New Zealand

Permanent Resident Visa

Removing section 49 conditions

If you have section 49 conditions and want to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa, you must:

• meet your section 49 conditions, then
• apply to have them removed.

Request to remove section 49 conditions

To remove section 49 conditions, you — the main applicant or 'principal applicant' — must provide the following:

• a cover letter asking Immigration New Zealand to remove your section 49 conditions which includes all your current contact details
• copies of valid passports for you and everyone included on your Business Investor Resident Visa application
• evidence of meeting section 49 conditions for example, a letter from an independent accountant or solicitor
• proof of residential address during the 3 years.

There is no cost for removing section 49 conditions. If we need more information, we will contact you.

You can post your request or send it by courier.

Postal address:

Immigration New Zealand
PO Box 76895
Manukau City
Auckland 2241
New Zealand

Courier address:

Immigration New Zealand
DX Box: EP71514
20 Fairfax Avenue
Penrose
Auckland 1061
New Zealand

Getting citizenship

After 5 years of living in New Zealand as a resident, you can usually apply for New Zealand citizenship. You do not need a Permanent Resident Visa first.

Requirements for NZ citizenship — New Zealand Government