Active Investor Plus Visa

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Active Investor Plus Visa
Purpose	Live, work and invest
Stay	Indefinitely
Cost	From NZD $27,470
Processing	80% approval in principle: 3 months
Applications	Open
Minimum investment	Growth $5m; Balanced $10m
Investment period	Growth 36 months; Balanced 60 months
Work rights	Work in New Zealand
Study	Study in New Zealand
Medicare	Not stated in the source
Travel facility	Growth 4 years; Balanced 6 years
Permanent residence	After meeting investment conditions
Citizenship	Not stated in the source
Family inclusion	Partner and dependent children under 25
Family sponsorship	Additional dependent children may qualify
Visa record	Conditions recorded in eVisa
Fund-transfer deadline	Six months after approval in principle

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Purpose

This resident visa allows you to live, work, study and invest in New Zealand indefinitely.

You must invest in an approved New Zealand investment category:

• Growth category: at least NZD $5 million.
• Balanced category: at least NZD $10 million.

Eligibility

You must:

• Be a fit and proper person.
• Be in good health.
• Be of good character.
• Have lawfully earned or acquired your investment funds.
• Transfer nominated investment funds to New Zealand.
• Invest in acceptable New Zealand investments.
• Meet family relationship requirements for included family members.

Health and character

Provide:

• Two acceptable head-and-shoulders photographs.
• A medical examination and chest X-ray.
• Police certificates for applicants aged 17 or older.

Police certificates are required from:

• Countries where you are a citizen; and
• Countries where you spent 12 months or more in the past 10 years.

Certificates must be less than 6 months old when applying. Non-English certificates require an English translation.

Fit and proper person requirement

You must confirm you meet this requirement in the application. Businesses you influence must comply with immigration, employment and taxation laws.

You must not have:

• Been investigated for business-related offending by the Serious Fraud Office or New Zealand Police.
• A dishonesty conviction.
• Been involved in business fraud or financial impropriety.

Investment Requirements

Growth category

Invest at least NZD $5 million in acceptable investments for at least 36 months.

Acceptable investments can include:

• Direct investments.
• Managed funds.
• Philanthropy, up to 20% of total investment.

Direct investments and managed funds must be considered acceptable by Invest New Zealand.

Balanced category

Invest at least NZD $10 million in acceptable investments for at least 60 months.

Acceptable investments can include:

• Direct investments.
• Managed funds.
• Listed equities.
• Philanthropy.
• Bonds.
• Eligible property developments.

Investment fund transfer

After approval in principle, you have 6 months to transfer and invest nominated funds.

Funds must be transferred:

• Directly from your bank account through the banking system;
• From a joint account with included family members; or
• Through a solicitor, pension scheme, or investment portfolio account in your name.

Transferred funds must be the nominated funds, or proceeds from nominated assets.

In some cases, Immigration New Zealand may grant a further 6 months if you request it before the deadline and show reasonable transfer and investment steps.

You may apply for a Specific Purpose Work Visa to enter New Zealand and arrange the transfer and investment.

Lawful source of funds

Evidence may include:

• Tax returns or certificates.
• Payslips.
• Business financial statements.
• Shareholding or dividend records.
• Property-sale receipts.
• Bank certificates.
• Share-trading profit evidence.
• Gift documentation.
• Probate or inheritance evidence.

Gifted funds may be included only if the gift was unconditional and lawful, and the original funds were lawfully acquired. Gifted funds cannot have been in New Zealand as nominated investment funds.

Family Provisions

You may include:

• Your partner.
• Dependent children aged 24 or younger.

Your partner must be in a genuine and stable relationship with you and you must have lived together for at least 12 months.

For children, provide relevant evidence such as:

• Birth certificates.
• Custody documents, if applicable.
• Financial dependency evidence for children aged 21 to 24.

Included partners and children must complete Resident Visa Declaration Form (INZ 1242).

If family members have, or applied for, a New Zealand temporary visa based on their relationship with you, they must be included in your residence application.

After approval in principle, you may support residence for additional dependent children, such as newborn children.

Included family members must arrive in New Zealand within 12 months of visa grant. Otherwise, they must reapply for residence.

Conditions and Obligations

Keep funds invested

Growth category:

• Keep at least NZD $5 million invested for 36 months.
• Submit investment evidence at 24 and 36 months.

Balanced category:

• Keep at least NZD $10 million invested for 60 months.
• Submit investment evidence at 24 and 60 months.

Submit required evidence within 3 months of each relevant date.

Time in New Zealand

Growth category: spend at least 21 days in New Zealand during the 36-month investment period.

Balanced category: spend at least 105 days in New Zealand during the 60-month investment period.

For the Balanced category, each additional NZD $1 million invested in acceptable Growth category investments can reduce the requirement by 14 days, up to 42 days.

Additional nominated funds	Required New Zealand time
NZD $10 million	105 days
NZD $11 million	91 days
NZD $12 million	77 days
NZD $13 million	63 days

Additional funds must be nominated before approval in principle and remain invested throughout the 60-month period.

Contact details

You must provide Immigration New Zealand with your address and contact details, and notify it of changes.

If Immigration New Zealand cannot confirm you meet visa conditions, you may be unable to remain in New Zealand.

Post-investment questionnaire

Complete a questionnaire:

• At 24 months; and
• At the end of the investment period.

The final questionnaire is due at 36 months for Growth or 60 months for Balanced. You have 3 months to complete each questionnaire.

Travel

You may travel in and out of New Zealand as a resident:

• For 4 years from your first New Zealand arrival under Growth.
• For 6 years from your first New Zealand arrival under Balanced.

Your visa must be in a valid passport when travelling. If your passport expires, apply to transfer the visa to your new passport before travel.

Permanent Residence

After meeting all investment conditions and removing section 49 conditions, you may apply for a Permanent Resident Visa:

• After 36 months under Growth; or
• After 60 months under Balanced.

There is no cost to request removal of section 49 conditions.

The principal applicant must provide:

• A cover letter requesting removal.
• Current contact details.
• Valid passport copies for all included applicants.
• Evidence of meeting section 49 conditions.
• Proof of residence address during the required period.

If granted a Permanent Resident Visa, you may travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, provided the visa remains in a valid passport.

If you do not meet all visa conditions at the end of the investment period, you may have to leave New Zealand.

Documents

Include a cover letter summarising how evidence meets every visa requirement. It should include:

• A table showing investment fund or asset sources.
• An index linking documents to requirements.
• A summary of how funds and assets were accumulated.
• An explanation of transfers where funds are already in New Zealand.

Where documents are translated, use similar file names for original and translated files.

Application Steps

1. Confirm you meet health, character, investment and family requirements.
2. Gather identity, medical, police, financial and relationship evidence.
3. Prepare the required cover letter.
4. Apply online through the Active Investor Plus Visa application form.
5. If approved in principle, transfer and invest funds within 6 months.
6. Meet investment, residence-day, evidence and questionnaire conditions.

Important Warnings

• Invest New Zealand does not endorse or guarantee investment success.
• Growth investments may be higher risk, illiquid and long term.
• Obtain professional advice about investment and tax consequences.
• You may be refused entry if character requirements are not met, circumstances have changed, or you refuse biometric collection.
• All travellers must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration before arrival.