General program requirements

Applicants must nominally invest NZ$15 million, but some approved asset classes carry higher weightings than other

Applicants may allocate no more than 50% of their capital to publicly traded shares or philanthropic causes, while there is no limit to how much they can allocate to managed funds or direct stakes in Australian businesses.

Applicants who make NZ$5 million in direct investments, or NZ$7.5 million in managed funds, are considered to have fulfilled the NZ$15 million minimum investment requirement.

Listed equities
Maximum allocation: NZ$7.5m
Weight: $1 invested counts as $1 toward the $15m minimum.

Philanthropy
Maximum allocation: NZ$7.5m
Weight: $1 donated counts as $1 towards the $15m minimum.

Managed Funds
Maximum allocation: N/A
Weight: $1 invested counts as $2 towards the $15m minimum.

Direct Investment
Maximum allocation: N/A
Weight: $1 invested counts as $3 towards the $15m minimum.

Beyond making the requisite investments, applicants must satisfy a points-based application test, demonstrate IELTS Level 5 mastery of English, and spend 117 days in New Zealand during the course of the four-year investment period.

Program benefits

• Path to citizenship
• Permits dual/multiple citizenship;
• Safety and security;
• Enhanced education opportunities;
• Enhanced business access to large economies;
• Short processing time
• English as official language

Requirements to qualify for citizenship

The initial Active Investor Plus Visa has a validity of four years. During this period, the investor must physically spend a cumulative 117 days in the country.

Shortly prior to the expiry of this temporary residence permit, the investor can apply for permanent residency. Once granted permanent status, the investor is no longer obliged to remain for any amount of time in New Zealand.

Following five years of continuous residency in New Zealand, the applicant is eligible to apply for citizenship. To qualify for citizenship, however, stricter time constraints apply: The applicant must have spent at least 1,350 days in New Zealand over the course of the five years immediately preceding the application and must not, moreover, have been absent for more than 125 days in any given year.

Applications for this program may be directed to:

New Zealand Immigration 

Legislation upon which this program is based:

Immigration Act 2009 Part 3 Item 45

See more statistics on this program, and dozens of others, in the IMI Data Center.