New Zealand Investor Residence Visa

New Zealand over the years has attracted several entrepreneurs and ultra rich families through the investor residence visa stream. New Zealand attracts very wealthy billionaire americans and chinese.  New Zealand ranks high on the most desirable places to live, placing among the top 10 for democracy, lack of corruption, peace and satisfaction.

Peter Thiel, billionaire founder of Paypal, early investor in Facebook and venture capitalist, became a citizen in New Zealand. He said in 2011, “no other country that aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand”. Brexit also pushing many billionaires towards New Zealand.

New Zealand is one of the world’s most stable and well-governed nations and offers an attractive destination for investment, business and raising a family. The country is consistently ranked in the top 10 in terms of protecting investors, starting a business and for ease of doing business, great work-life balance with world-class education and healthcare systems and lowest ranked for corruption.

Qualifying investments

• Investor 2 Resident visa seekers must have NZ$ 3 million (approximately $ 2 million USD) invested in New Zealand for four years. Additional requirements such as 3 years business experience and english requirements apply
•  Investor Plus (investor 1) Resident visa requires  applicants  to invest NZ$ 10 million (US$6.8 million), not subject to language, age, or experience requirements.

Investor 2 Resident Visa

For the investor visa category, once the residence is approved, you must spend spend at least 146 days each year in New Zealand in years two, three and four of your four-year investment period or 438 days over the four year investment period. You have 1 year time to transfer the investment. Property investment accepted but it cannot be for personal use.

• Live, work and study in New Zealand.
• Include your partner, and dependent children aged 24 and under, in your visa application.
• Points-based system to assess eligibility for Investor 2 Resident Visas.
• Expression of interest is selected  apply for residence within 4 months

Application procedure

• Expression of Interest (EOI) must be sent to Immigration New Zealand outlining the applicant’s personal details, business experience and investment funds
• If the EOI is successful, the applicant and any spouse and/or dependents are invited to apply for New Zealand residence — invites are generally issued within two weeks of selection of an EOI
• Once invited to apply, the applicant will have four months to submit the application
• An approval in principle is usually given within three to six months but is reliant on the quality of information provided as well as security and health checks
• Immigration New Zealand will only approve in principle — they will not issue the visa until the funds have been transferred and invested and evidence of this is submitted to Immigration, after which the Resident Visa may then be issued within two to four weeks
• Evidence that the invested funds have been maintained will be required at the end of the second and fourth years of the applicant’s residence in New Zealand
• The main applicant needs to accumulate 146 days in each of years two, three and four of the investment term

Investor 1 Resident Visa

Hold  NZD $10 million invested in an acceptable investment in New Zealand for 3 years.

For the investor plus category, once the residence is approved, you are required to spend at least 44 days in New Zealand each year in years two and three of your three-year investment period or 88 days over the three year investment period.

• No quota limit, No expression of interest
• Live, work and study in New Zealand.
• Include your partner, and dependent children aged 24 and under, in your visa application.
• Allowed to bring your car, boat and household items to New Zealand, free of customs charges.

Application procedure

• Applicants lodge an application directly to Immigration New Zealand for the Resident Visa, without the need for an Expression of Interest (EOI)
• An approval in principle is usually given within three months depending on the quality of information provided as well as security and health checks
• Immigration New Zealand will only approve in principle and will not issue the Resident Visa until the funds have been transferred and invested, and evidence of this is submitted to Immigration, after which the Resident Visa will be issued within two to four weeks
• Successful applicants can travel in and out of New Zealand for the first two years of the investment period. The main applicant has to accumulate 44 days in New Zealand in each of years two and three of the investment period. In some cases, there can be flexibility
• If all conditions that apply to the first two years of the investment period are met, the applicant can apply for a variation of conditions to allow travel in and out of New Zealand for another two years
• If conditions at the end of the three-year investment period are met, the applicant and family members can apply for permanent residence which is a resident visa valid for life

Acceptable investments

The acceptable investments can be:

• Equity in NZ firms, public or private. An equity investment can be active or passive, and be made direct or via managed funds (only the proportion of the Fund that is invested in NZ is counted as acceptable).
• Bonds, issued by the NZ Government, NZ local authorities or approved NZ banks, finance companies or firms.
• New residential property development that is not for the investor’s personal use and designed to make a commercial return on the open market.
• Up to 15% of the investment total can be philanthropic investment.

Generally, to be considered acceptable, an investment must:

• Be capable of a commercial return under normal circumstances.
• Be invested in New Zealand in New Zealand currency.
• Have the potential to contribute to New Zealand’s economy.
• Not be for the personal use of the investor.
• Cannot be funded by loans or debts

Permanent Resident

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.

New Zealand Citizenship

You can apply for citizenship in New Zealand if you have been as a resident for 5 years.

Dual citizenship is not restricted in New Zealand.

New Zealand Passport

Ranks 8th powerful passport in the world with visa-free access to 182 world countries.