20/07/2022
The Minister for Economic and Regional Development Stuart Nash has announced the launch of the Active Investor Plus Visa (AI+).
The AI+ resident visa is designed to encourage direct investment in high-growth New Zealand companies.
Active Investor Plus Visa criteria
Investment value
Direct investment is rated three times higher than indirect investment such as listed equities and philanthropy.
To meet the criteria, applicants commit to direct investments of NZD $5 million or more or NZD $15 million or more of indirect investments.
The new visa rewards those who share access to global knowledge, capital, networks and markets. It will stimulate business productivity and greater job growth than previous investor visa categories.
Timings
Applications open in September 2022.
Investments will be allowed over a three-year period and maintained up to the end of a fourth year.
The visa holder must spend a minimum of 117 days in New Zealand over the four years.
English requirement
Successful applicants will need to meet an English language requirement (International English Language Testing System level 5).
Costs
The costs for AI+ Resident visa applications made in New Zealand will be:
NZD $4,750 application fee
NZD $3,150 immigration levy
Processing
Immigration New Zealand will continue to process investor visas.
Investor 1 & 2 closure
Applications for the Investor 1 and Investor 2 Resident Visa categories will close at 11.59pm on 27 July 2022 (NZST). Those submitted before that time are not affected by the closure and will be assessed under current visa settings.
We will email those invited to apply for the Investor 2 category advising them they have until 11.59pm on 27 July 2022 (NZST) to complete their application.
As part of the Government’s Immigration Rebalance strategy, changes to New Zealand’s investor visa settings will be made to attract experienced, high-value investors bringing growth opportunities to domestic businesses.
