Investor 1 Resident Visa
This visa allowed people with NZD $10 million to invest in New Zealand to apply for residence. It closed to new applicants on 28 July 2022.
To apply you must:
- be a fit and proper person
- have NZD $10 million to invest in New Zealand for a minimum of 3 years
- transfer your investment funds to New Zealand
- have earned or acquired your investment funds lawfully
- meet the other requirements of this visa.
This visa lets you:
- live, work and study in New Zealand
- include your partner and dependent children, aged 24 and younger, in your application
- travel in and out of New Zealand until your travel conditions expire — normally 2 years from the date you first arrive in New Zealand as a resident.
This visa is closed to new applications. It was replaced by the Active Investor Plus Visa on 19 September 2022.
This visa is closed to new applicants
Who can apply
Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.
Identity
You must provide proof of your identity:
- 2 acceptable photos of your head and shoulders
- your original or a
of your passport or - your original or a certified copy of your
.
Note
You can provide either your original passport or a certified copy when you submit your application. If you provide a certified copy, we may request your original passport to complete your application.
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, 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
Note
Police certificates must be less than 6 months old at the time you apply.
If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must provide an
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 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.
Note
We will contact you if you need to provide further information.
Relationship with family
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 health, character and identity requirements for this visa, if necessary.
Note
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 NZD $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 is not 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.
Note
The funds and/or assets you nominate for your investment cannot 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 directly from your bank account to New Zealand through the banking system.
If we approve your application in principle, you will have 12 months from that date to transfer and invest your funds.
Note
You can apply for a temporary visa to come to New Zealand and investigate investment opportunities.
We may give you a further 12 months to transfer and invest your funds.
You will need to contact us before the transfer period expires and show you have made reasonable steps to transfer and invest.
Citizens of China
If you are a citizen of China, you must make sure your funds meet currency exchange and transfer requirements in place in China.
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.
Note
It is 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 NZD $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.
Note
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 is OK to transfer funds between acceptable investments.
How to pay and submit
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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 a New Zealand traveller declaration (NZTD).
New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.
Note
You can be refused entry permission if:
-
- you do not meet our character requirements
- your circumstances have changed since you were issued 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.
Note
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 2 years of your 3-year investment period in New Zealand, or, 88 days at any time over the 3-year investment period if you have invested a minimum of NZD $2.5 million in growth investments.
Note
We will ask for evidence that you have met this condition at the end of the second and third years you are in New Zealand.
You will have 3 months to provide the evidence.
Bring your family to New Zealand
If your family are included in your resident visa, they will need to come to New Zealand within 12 months of their visa being granted.
Note
If your family are unable to come to New Zealand within 12 months, they will 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 are in New Zealand.
Note
We will need to keep in touch with you to check you are meeting the conditions of your visa.
If we are unable to confirm that you are 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 your visa to a new passport
Note
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
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.
Note
If at the end of 2 years, you have not met all of the conditions that apply, you may have to leave New Zealand.
Your travel conditions will expire after 2 years if you have not applied for a variation of conditions.
If you are outside of New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your visa will expire as well.
Travel as a permanent resident
If you have 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 will be able to travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.
Note
If you have not met all of the conditions of your visa at the end of the 3-year investment period, you may have to leave New Zealand.