New Zealand Entrepreneur and Investor Visas

To qualify for the Active Investor Plus visa, you must have a minimum of NZD $15 million or the weighted equivalent to invest in New Zealand. You must prove that this sum of money has been earned legally before you transfer them. You have to invest your funds in acceptable investments in New Zealand for at least four years.

The New Zealand Entrepreneur Visa is a type of visa that allows experienced businesspeople and entrepreneurs to establish or purchase a business in New Zealand. Once you prove that you have NZD $100,000 to invest, a business plan, and 120 points on the points scale, you are granted an Entrepreneur visa to start up your business in New Zealand for 12 months.

Then, you can apply for the Entrepreneur Resident visa to stay in New Zealand permanently.

To qualify for an Entrepreneur Resident visa, you must meet the following requirements:

• Have a current Entrepreneur Work Visa.
• Have set up or purchased a minimum of 25% of the shareholding in a New Zealand business and have been running that business for at least six months.
• Have realized the benefits outlined in your business plan.
• Your business must be boosting New Zealand’s economy.
• Have invested at least as much capital as outlined in your business plan.
• Your business must comply with New Zealand employment and immigration law.
• Must not have received any welfare benefits or assistance.

If you have been accepted into the Edmund Hillary Fellowship as an entrepreneur or investor, you have the opportunity to apply for a Global Impact Work visa in New Zealand. This visa allows you to live, work, and study in New Zealand for a period of 36 months. To qualify for permanent residency through the Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa, you must remain in the Edmund Hillary Fellowship for a minimum of 30 months. It is essential to maintain the support of the fellowship throughout this period to be eligible for residence.

• Evidence of your investment funds. As evidence you have funds, you can provide:
  • bank statements
  • property valuations
  • asset valuations
  • share certificates
  • business ownership documents
  • title deeds
• Evidence you earned your investment funds legally. You must provide the following evidence:
  • 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
• Evidence of acceptable investments. You must submit documents that consist of the following information:
  • Documentary evidence of the investment.
  • A letter from a solicitor, chartered accountant, or investment broker confirming the invested funds.
  • A letter of confirmation from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise if the investment is a direct investment.\

You must prepare the following documents to apply for an Entrepreneur Work visa:

• Evidence you meet the minimum capital investment of NZ $100,000. Evidence you own the money and/or assets to invest may include:
  • bank statements
  • business ownership documents
  • title deeds
  • property valuations
  • asset valuations
  • share certificates
• Request of a waiver. You must request a waiver if you want Immigration New Zealand to consider an investment of less than NZ $100,000.
• A detailed business plan. The business plan must not be older than three months when you apply. If you want to make any changes to your business plan, you must submit a request for New Zealand’s approval.
• New Zealand for occupational registration. You must submit a certified copy of your New Zealand occupational registration.
• Evidence you started your business. As proof you have invested your capital, you can provide:
  • Bank statement
  • Overseas transactions
  • Any document proving it was transferred through the bank system to New Zealand
• Declare you’ll take part in an evaluation of the Entrepreneur Work Visa Category. You must sign a declaration in the Entrepreneur Work Visa Application. You must agree that you will keep Immigration New Zealand informed about any possible changes to your contact details for a period of five years following their approval of your application.

• A current Entrepreneur Work Visa. You must have a current Entrepreneur Work visa if you have been self-employed for less than two years.
• Evidence you have set up or bought 25% of the shareholding in a New Zealand business and have been running that business for a minimum of six months.
• Evidence your business has reached the goals of your business plan.
• Evidence your business is profitable.
• Evidence your business is boosting New Zealand’s economy.You must submit proof that your business is contributing to the economy of New Zealand in one of the ways listed below:
  • Introducing new services or products
  • Enhancing current services or products
  • Introducing new technology, technical, or management skills
  • Enhancing current technology, technical, or management skills
  • Making new export markets
  • Expanding existing export markets
  • Creating a minimum of one full-time job for a New Zealander (or a minimum of three full-time jobs if you’ve been in business for less than two years)
  • Offering new skills, networks, management capability and/or capital that increase an existing business’ financial performance
• Evidence you have invested as much capital as outlined in your business plan. If you have been operating your business for less than two years, your investment must be a minimum of $500,000.
• Evidence your business complies with New Zealand employment and immigration law. You must provide evidence that your business:
  • offers a safe workplace
  • hires only people that are eligible to work in New Zealand
  • meets holiday and other leave requirements
  • pays workers no less than the minimum wage or other contracted industry-standard
• Evidence you have not received any welfare benefits or assistance.

• Evidence of Global Impact Work visa. You must have had a Global Impact Work visa for a minimum of 30 months to be eligible for residence. Immigration New Zealand will check your records to confirm you have had a Global Impact Work visa
• Edmund Hillary Fellowship support. You must prove you are still a participant in the Edmund Hillary Fellowship and that they support your Global Impact Permanent Residence visa application.

1. • For an Active Investor Plus visa, you must complete the Active Investor Plus Visa Application online. You must log in or create a RealMe account.
   • For an Entrepreneur Resident Visa, you must download the application from. You must complete the application in English by using capital letters. Before you attach the two photos of your head and shoulders to the form, you must write your name on the back of them.
   • To apply for an Entrepreneur Work visa, you must complete the Entrepreneur Work Visa Application. You must complete the form with capital letters and by providing information in English. You need to create a RealMe account to be able to start your online application.
   • For a  Global Impact Visa you must complete the Global Impact Permanent Residence Application Form to apply for this visa. You must provide the required information in all the sections by using capital letters.

The documents must be PDF files that don’t exceed 10 MB. Upload the photo as a JPG or JPEG file that meets all the photo requirements.

You must pay the application fee during the online application. You need to provide your bank details to complete the payment. If your application gets rejected, Immigration New Zealand won’t refund the application cost.

When you complete the application, you must submit it. You will get an email when your application is processed. If your application is successful, Immigration New Zealand will approve it in principle.

If you are applying for an Active Investor Plus visa and your application gets approved in principle, you have six months to make an initial investment and invest the rest of your funds into any acceptable investments or holding investments. You must prove that your investment funds came from the source you specified in your application.

If your application is approved in principle, you have six months to transfer your funds to New Zealand and invest them. You can transfer your funds through:

• A third party -– a solicitor acting on your behalf, a pension scheme, or an investment portfolio in your name
• The banking system from your bank account

The funds you transfer and invest in New Zealand must be:

• the funds you specified in your visa application
• funds you acquired from selling the assets specified in your application

Acceptable investments for the Active Investor Plus Visa are investments of the following:

• Funds that are not for your personal use
• Funds invested in New Zealand for personal use
• Funds invested in one or more of the following:
• Listed equities,
• Philanthropy,
• Managed funds, or
• Direct investments