New Zealand
Active Investor Plus Visa
Minimum investment
NZD 5,000,000
Processing time
average 36 working days to approve an application once investment documentation is provided, under the settings effective since April 2025
Physical presence
minimum days in New Zealand vary by category and were reduced under the 2025 changes for migrants choosing more active investment types; exact day counts depend on the specific investment category and structure chosen
- Investment route
- •Growth category: minimum NZD 5,000,000 in higher-risk acceptable investments (managed funds, direct investments in New Zealand businesses), held at least 3 years
- •Balanced category: minimum NZD 10,000,000 in mixed, generally lower-risk investments (bonds, listed equities, property development, managed funds), held at least 5 years
- Investment breakdown
- •settings simplified from 1 April 2025, replacing a single NZD 15,000,000 (or weighted equivalent) threshold with these 2 categories
- •applications under the prior Investor 1 and Investor 2 visas are no longer accepted
- •English language requirement was removed for this visa
- •most Growth-category capital has gone into managed funds (private credit, venture capital, private equity), while most Balanced-category capital has gone into bonds
- Additional fees
- visa application fees and approved financial adviser costs apply in addition to the qualifying investment
- Eligibility
- •Proven business or investment experience
- •Verifiable source of funds
- •English language ability (or a fee to waive the requirement for dependants)
- Due diligence
- •standard due diligence plus verification of investment fund source and ownership
- •health and character requirements apply to the principal applicant and all included family members
- Family inclusion
- spouse and dependent children
- Path to citizenship
- leads to permanent residence at the end of the qualifying investment period, with citizenship available afterward through New Zealand's standard residence-based naturalization route
- Renewal
- •leads to a resident visa
- •the investment must be maintained for the category's full holding period (3 years Growth, 5 years Balanced) before permanent residence conditions are fully met
- Dual citizenship
- Fully permitted — New Zealand allows dual and multiple citizenship
- Key benefits
- •Relaunched in 2025 with lower thresholds and shorter minimum-stay requirements than the prior program
- •Strong rule of law, low corruption, and high quality of life
- Taxation
- •worldwide income taxed if tax-resident in New Zealand
- •New Zealand does not levy a general capital gains tax on most personal investments
Application process
- 1.submit an Expression of Interest
- 2.obtain approval in principle
- 3.make the qualifying investment within 12 months
- 4.visa granted
- 5.meet minimum stay requirement over the investment period