Citizeo
Pathway

New Zealand Active Investor Plus Visa

New Zealand Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

New Zealand's Active Investor Plus Visa is a resident visa for people who can invest at least NZD 5 million under the Growth category or NZD 10 million under the Balanced category. The applicant must prove lawful ownership and source of funds and keep the money in acceptable investments for the required period.

Type
Investment residence
Investment fit
At least NZD 5 million in Growth investments or NZD 10 million in Balanced investments
Core requirements
Lawful ownership and source of funds, acceptable investments, and fit-and-proper checks
What to know
The funds must stay invested for 3 years under Growth or 5 years under Balanced, with reporting and presence conditions
Duration
Resident visa with a 3-year Growth or 5-year Balanced investment period.
Renewal / path
Can support permanent resident status after investment and presence conditions are met.

Summary

The Active Investor Plus Visa is New Zealand's current residence-by-investment route. It has two categories:

The visa is residence from approval, but residence remains subject to investment, reporting, and physical-presence conditions. The amount of money alone is not enough: Immigration New Zealand (INZ) checks ownership and lawful source of funds, the proposed investments, and whether the applicant is a fit and proper person.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

Investment and presence

Growth investments can include qualifying direct investments, managed funds, and philanthropy (limited to 20% of the required amount). Balanced investments can also include listed equities, bonds, and qualifying property development. Personal homes and assets held mainly for the applicant's private use do not count.

The principal applicant must spend at least:

For Balanced applicants, each additional NZD 1 million placed in Growth-category investments reduces the presence requirement by 14 days, up to a 42-day reduction. The minimum is therefore 63 days if at least NZD 13 million is invested in the required mix.

Funds and personal requirements

The applicant must own the nominated funds or assets, show that they were earned or acquired lawfully, transfer them through acceptable channels, and keep the required value invested. Gifts can qualify where ownership and the donor's lawful source are documented. The principal applicant must also meet health and character requirements and the fit-and-proper-person test.

INZ may first approve the application in principle. The applicant then normally has 6 months to transfer and invest the funds; a further 6 months may be available in some circumstances. Evidence is required during and at the end of the investment period.

What This Route Allows

The resident visa allows the holder to live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely while its conditions are met. A partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger can be included if they meet the relationship, identity, health, and character rules.

Growth visas normally have travel conditions for 4 years and Balanced visas for 6 years. Once the investment period, evidence, and presence conditions are complete, the principal applicant can ask INZ to remove the investment conditions and apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. Permanent residence provides indefinite travel rights; it is not automatic merely because the original resident visa was granted.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a donation-for-passport program, a guaranteed-return investment, or a route based on buying a home. INZ does not recommend or guarantee any investment. Citizenship is a separate later process with its own residence, physical-presence, English, character, and intention requirements.

The Balanced presence rule is not always 105 days: the official reduction for extra Growth investments should be calculated before planning travel. Tax, securities, foreign-exchange, and investment advice are also separate from immigration approval.

Next Steps

  1. Compare the Growth and Balanced categories, including the permitted assets, term, presence, and reporting dates.
  2. Prepare a complete ownership and source-of-funds trail: bank and brokerage records, tax records, company accounts, sale agreements, probate or gift documents, and transfer records as relevant.
  3. Obtain regulated New Zealand investment, tax, and immigration advice before committing funds.
  4. Apply to INZ and wait for the approval-in-principle instructions before relying on a transfer deadline.
  5. Keep independent records of every transfer, acquisition, disposal, reinvestment, valuation, and day spent in New Zealand.
Compare your options

Similar investment pathways in other destinations.

Sources