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Pathway

New Zealand Entrepreneur Resident Visa

New Zealand Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

New Zealand's Entrepreneur Resident Visa is for people who have built a profitable, compliant business in New Zealand, usually after holding an Entrepreneur Work Visa.

Type
Business residence
Business basis
Self-employment in a New Zealand business
Core requirements
Trading history, profitability, compliance, English, and admissibility
What to know
Usually follows Entrepreneur Work Visa activity
What it gives
The resident visa permits indefinite residence, work, and study.
Main limit
It is not open to a person who merely plans to establish a New Zealand business, and the closed Entrepreneur Work Visa is not available as a new first step.

Summary

The Entrepreneur Resident Visa remains available to some people who are already self-employed in a New Zealand business. It is now mainly a legacy progression route: the Entrepreneur Work Visa closed to new applications in August 2025, although eligible existing holders can seek another one.

New applicants wanting to buy and run an established business should normally examine the Business Investor Work Visa instead. A business plan or intention to start a business is not enough for Entrepreneur residence.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The applicant must normally have been self-employed in New Zealand for at least 2 years on a visa that permitted that activity. The business must match the approved business plan or otherwise satisfy the Entrepreneur Work Visa standards, be lawful, and be profitable or have a clear potential to become profitable within 12 months.

A faster application after at least 6 months of self-employment is possible only if the applicant:

The applicant must own at least 25% of the business, be actively self-employed in it, comply with employment and immigration law, pay themselves at least the full-time minimum-wage equivalent, and show that the business benefits New Zealand. They must also meet English, health, character, and fit-and-proper requirements and must not have received disqualifying welfare assistance.

Someone relying on 2 years of self-employment under another visa must show that the visa allowed self-employment and that the business met the relevant Entrepreneur Work standards.

What This Route Allows

The resident visa permits indefinite residence, work, and study. A partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger can be included if they meet the family and admissibility requirements.

An application based on only 6 months of business operation is granted with conditions requiring the investment and 3 jobs to be retained until the applicant has completed 2 years of business operation in total. The initial resident visa normally has 2 years of travel conditions; permanent residence is a later application.

What This Route Is Not

It is not open to a person who merely plans to establish a New Zealand business, and the closed Entrepreneur Work Visa is not available as a new first step. The fast route is not available after any 6 months of self-employment: it specifically requires a current Entrepreneur Work Visa, NZD 500,000 investment, and 3 qualifying jobs.

It is also not passive investment. Actual self-employment, ownership, trading performance, legal compliance, and benefit to New Zealand must be evidenced.

Next Steps

  1. Confirm the visa held throughout the self-employment period and whether it permitted that work.
  2. Decide whether the 2-year route or the restricted 6-month route is legally available.
  3. Reconcile the original business plan with actual ownership, investment, trading, staffing, and benefit to New Zealand.
  4. Gather company, tax, payroll, bank, licensing, employment, and profitability records from independent sources.
  5. Existing Entrepreneur Work Visa holders should check renewal timing; new operators should compare the Business Investor route.
  6. Prepare English, health, character, identity, and family evidence before applying.
Compare your options

Similar business pathways in other destinations.

Sources