• Active Investor Plus Visa

New Zealand Immigration

Active Investor Plus Visa

Apply for this visa to live, work and invest in New Zealand. You must have at least NZD $5 million to apply under the Growth category or at least NZD $10 million to apply under the Balanced category.

The Active Investor Plus visa is suitable for individuals who want to live and work in New Zealand indefinitely, and who have a minimum of NZD $5,000,000 (or equivalent) of available assets to invest within six months of their arrival in the country. Individuals who were previously eligible for the now-closed Investor 1 Resident Visa or Investor 2 Resident Visa may find the Active Investor Plus Visa suitable for their needs.

After four years, holders of an Active Investor Plus Visa are able to apply for permanent residence in New Zealand, providing that the funds they have invested remain in the country.

The eligibility criteria for the Active Investor Plus Visa were updated on 1 April 2025 to make it easier for skilled and experienced investors to contribute to New Zealand’s economy. There are now two categories of investment which allow an individual to apply for this particular investment visa: the ‘Growth Category’ and the ‘Balanced Category’.

Am I eligible for a Active Investor Plus Visa?

To apply you must:

  • be a fit and proper person
  • invest at least NZD $5 million if you invest under the Growth category or at least NZD $10 million if you invest under the Balanced category in acceptable investments in New Zealand
  • transfer your investment funds to New Zealand
  • have earned or acquired your investment funds lawfully
  • meet the other requirements of this visa.

This visa lets you:

  • live, work and study in New Zealand
  • include your partner and dependent children, aged 24 and younger, in your application
  • apply for permanent residence after 3 years of keeping your funds in New Zealand if you invest under the Growth category, or after 5 years if you invest under the Balanced category

How long you can stay

An Active Investor Plus Visa lets you stay in New Zealand indefinitely.

Note

If the government approve your application in principle, you will have 6 months to transfer and invest your funds in New Zealand.

After your application has been approved in principle, you can apply for a work visa to come to New Zealand and arrange the transfer and investment of your funds. If your partner wants to come with you, they will need to apply for their own visitor visa. Your dependent children can apply for student visas.

Who can apply

Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.

As proof or your identity, you must provide: 2 acceptable photos of your head and shoulders

You must be in good health.

You must have a chest X-ray and a medical examination as proof of your good health.

You must be of good character.

If you, or anyone else included in your application, are aged 17 or older you must provide a police certificate from:

  • all the countries you are a citizen of, and
  • any other country you have stayed in for 12 months or more over the last 10 years, even if it was not all in the same stay.

Note

Police certificates must be less than 6 months old at the time you apply.

If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must also provide an English translation. This includes police certificates that record no convictions.

You must be a fit and proper person.

You must confirm in the application form that you meet fit and proper person requirements.

To be a fit and proper person, all businesses you have influnce over must have complied with all immigration, employment and taxation laws. You must also:

  • have never been investigated by the Serious Fraud Office or the New Zealand police for any offence resulting from business dealings
  • have no convictions for an offence involving dishonesty
  • have never been involved in business fraud or financial impropriety.

If you include your partner in your application you must have a genuine relationship with them, if you include your children they must meet our definition of dependent children.

Partner

You must provide evidence that shows your relationship with your partner is genuine and stable, and that you have been living together for at least 12 months.

Dependent children

You must provide evidence that shows any children you include in your application meet our definition of dependent children.

Evidence can include:

  • birth certificates
  • custody documents (if applicable), and
  • if your children are aged between 21 and 24, evidence that they are still relying on you for financial support.

Supporting visas for additional dependent children

You can also support a resident visa for any additional dependent children not included in your original application after your application is approved in principal (for example newborn children).

Note

If your partner or dependent children have, or applied for, a New Zealand temporary entry visa based on their relationship with you, you must include them in your residence application.

You must invest at least NZD $5 million for the Growth category or NZD $10 million for the Balanced category in acceptable investments in New Zealand.

You must invest your nominated investment funds in acceptable investments in New Zealand for at least 36 months for the Growth category and for at least 60 months for the Balanced category.

Growth category (at least NZD $5 million)

Acceptable investments for Growth category can include:

  • direct investments, or
  • managed funds.

Note

The Growth category includes higher-risk investments, including managed funds and direct investments in New Zealand businesses. These investments are typically illiquid (not easily converted to cash) and may require a long-term commitment, which may extend beyond the minimum investment requirements of the Active Investor Plus visa.

Any direct investments or managed fund investments (made under the Growth category) must be considered acceptable by Invest New Zealand.

While Invest New Zealand determines whether direct investments or managed funds are acceptable for this visa category, they do not endorse or guarantee the success of any investments. You should make sure that you do your due diligence on any investment opportunities you are considering before you invest.

Balanced category (at least NZD $10 million)

Acceptable investments for Balanced category can include:

  • direct investments
  • managed funds
  • listed equities
  • philanthropy
  • bonds, or
  • property developments (new residential, commercial or industrial developments or existing commercial and industrial developments).

Tip

If you already have funds invested in an acceptable investment in New Zealand, we can start your investment period from the time we approve your residence application.

You must transfer your investment funds to New Zealand.

You can transfer your funds:

  • directly from your bank account to New Zealand through the banking system
  • from a joint bank account that you share with your partner or dependent children who are included in your application, or
  • through a third party such as a solicitor acting on your behalf, a pension scheme in your name or an investment portfolio account in your name.

The funds that you transfer must be the original funds that you nominated in your application, or proceeds from the sale of assets that you nominated in your application.

If we approve your application in principle, you will have 6 months from that date to transfer your nominated funds.

Note

You can apply for a Specific Purpose Work Visa to come to New Zealand and arrange the transfer and investment of your funds.

NZ Government may give you a further 6 months to transfer and invest your funds. You will need to contact them before the transfer period expires and show you have made reasonable steps to transfer and invest.

You must have earned or acquired your investment funds lawfully.

The evidence you provide will depend on how you came by your funds. It may include:

  • tax returns or certificates
  • pay slips
  • business financial statements
  • business shareholdings
  • dividends
  • receipts for property sales
  • bank certificates
  • share trading profits
  • evidence of gifted money
  • probate and other evidence of inherited money.

Note

You may be able to include funds that were gifted to you, as long as the gift was unconditional and lawful, and the funds were originally earned or acquired lawfully. You cannot include gifted funds that are already in New Zealand, or were in New Zealand at any time as part of your nominated investment funds.

Include a cover letter with your application that summarises the evidence you have provided.

To make sure that your application is processed as quickly as possible, include a cover letter with your application. Your cover letter should summarise what evidence you have provided and how this evidence relates to each visa requirement.

Your cover letter should include:

  • a clear table showing the source of your investment funds or assets
  • an index that refers to what document will satisfy what requirement
  • a summary of how the investment funds and assets were accumulated, and
  • a clear explanation of how the funds were transferred, if your funds are already in New Zealand.

If any of your documents are translated, make sure that the translated file has a similar file name to the original version. You can also list them next to each other in your cover letter.

Book a consultation to discuss your options

When you arrive

Entry requirements

As part of New Zealand’s entry requirements, everyone must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD). This form collects information about your travel, including customs, immigration, and biosecurity details.

When you can submit your NZTD depends on how you’re travelling:

  • By air: You can submit it from 24 hours before your journey begins.
  • By sea: You can submit it from 24 hours before your ship leaves its last overseas port heading to New Zealand.

If you have an NZeTA, you can specify in your declaration that you are applying for a visa on arrival.

While you are in New Zealand

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa. Your visa conditions are recorded in your eVisa.

Invest in New Zealand

If you apply for the Growth category you must keep at least NZD $5 million in acceptable investments in New Zealand for 36 months. You must provide evidence that your nominated funds have remained invested in New Zealand at 24 months and at 36 months.

If you apply for the Balanced category you must keep at least NZD $10 million in acceptable investments in New Zealand for 60 months. You must provide evidence that your nominated funds have remained invested in New Zealand at 24 months and at 60 months.

You must provide this evidence within 3 months (from the 24, 36 or 60 month date).

For example if you make your investments in New Zealand under the Growth category on 18 March 2026, you must provide evidence that your funds have remained invested in New Zealand on 18 March 2028. You will have until 18 June 2028 at the latest to provide this evidence to us.

Spend time in New Zealand

If you apply for the Growth category you must spend at least 21 days in New Zealand as a holder of a resident visa during the 36 month investment period.

If you apply for the Balanced category you must spend at least 105 days in New Zealand as a holder of a resident visa during the 60 month investment period.

However for each additional NZD $1 million you invest in acceptable Growth category investments, you can reduce the time required in New Zealand by 14 days. You can do this up to a maximum reduction of 42 days.

Minimum nominated funds Time you must spend in New Zealand
NZD $10 million 105 days
NZD $11 million (the extra NZD $1 million must be invested in acceptable Growth category investments) 91 days
NZD $12 million (the extra NZD $2 million must be invested in acceptable Growth category investments) 77 days
NZD $13 million (the extra NZD $3 million must be invested in acceptable Growth category investments) 63 days

Bring your family to New Zealand

If your family are included in your resident visa, they will need to come to New Zealand within 12 months of their visa being granted.

Note: If your family are unable to come to New Zealand within 12 months, they will have to reapply for residence.

Staying longer

Getting a Permanent Resident Visa

After you have held a Migrant Investment or an Active Investor Plus Resident Visa for at least 24 months, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.

With a Permanent Resident Visa, you can travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.

Active Investor Plus Visa – Investment Categories

  Growth Category Balanced Category
Minimum investment amount NZD $5,000,000 NZD $10,000,000
Acceptable investment categories Managed funds

Direct investments

 Managed funds

Direct investments

Bonds

Property development

Listed equities

Philanthropy
Time to transfer and invest 6 months from Agreement in Principle 6 months from Agreement in Principle
Investment retention time 36 months 60 months
Investment retention checkpoints At 24 months and 36 months At 24 months and 60 months
Minimum time in NZ 21 days during the investment period 105 days during the investment period. Reductions apply for above-minimum direct investments and managed funds (at least an extra $1,000,000).
Book a consultation to discuss your options

How do I apply for an Active Investor Plus Visa?

Once you have gathered all your supporting information and decided whether to invest in the Growth Category or Balanced Category, you can apply for this visa online. If your application is approved in principle, you will be given six months to transfer your funds to New Zealand and make your investment.

NB: If you wish to travel to New Zealand in order to oversee or execute your investment or transfer of funds, you will need to apply for a separate visitor or work visa to do so.

How much your application will cost depends on your nationality, and whether you are applying from inside or outside New Zealand. The application fee can range from zero up to NZD $27470. For around 80% of applications, a decision on whether to grant an approval in principle is reached within 4 months.

Mohamed Anas Sirajur Raheem

Barrister and Solicitor, New Zealand
Australian Lawyer

Mohamed Anas Raheem is a New Zealander of Sri Lankan origin, born in Germany and raised in Canada during his formative years, he holds degrees in Law and Political Studies from both the University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington.
With extensive experience in New Zealand’s immigration landscape, Mohamed has served as an Immigration Officer (Visa Services) in Wellington and as a Border Officer at Auckland International Airport. His career spans several years in various government departments, where he has honed his expertise in regulatory knowledge, public policy, immigration policy and practice. Additionally, he has worked as a Licensed Immigration Adviser at a prominent New Zealand immigration firm and in a self-employed capacity, providing guidance and support to those navigating the complexities of immigration processes.
Inspired by his own migration experiences, Mohamed is passionate about helping others achieve their dreams in New Zealand. His unique background and professional journey enable him to empathize with clients, ensuring they receive the best possible advice and support.

Mohamed is a New Zealand Immigration Lawyer with VisaEnvoy and an enrolled Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. He is also admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Book with Mohamed

Marney Richardson

  • Senior Immigration Consultant
  • Registered Migration Agent No. 1576670
  • New Zealand Migration Adviser: 202505791

Marney Richardson offers friendly and trustworthy migration advice for investors, businesspeople, skilled professionals, and companies looking to establish in Australia or New Zealand.

Marney has over 10 years’ migration experience in commercial and government sectors. She was the former Manager of Migration Queensland, the Queensland government agency responsible for business and skilled visas and part of Trade and Investment Queensland. She was responsible for state nominated visa policies and creation of Queensland Government visa programs such as the 491 Small Business Owners (SBO) program, Business Innovation and Investment Program – Entrepreneur Stream and the National Innovation Visa (NIV).

Marney specialities include (but are not limited to):

Book a consultation with Marney here.

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