Hon Nicola Willis
Minister for Economic Growth
Hon Erica Stanford
Minister of Immigration

The Government is modernising visa settings to incentivise migrants to invest in New Zealand.

“Foreign investment has the potential to provide jobs for Kiwis, lift incomes by delivering new businesses and investing in existing ones. We should be rolling out the welcome mat and encouraging investor migrants to choose New Zealand as a destination for their capital,” Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says.

“Unfortunately, changes made to the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa category by the previous government had the effect of discouraging potential investors from seeking New Zealand residence. Since 2022, migrants entering New Zealand under the AIP category have invested just $70 million. By contrast, in the two years prior to COVID-19 migrants invested $2.2 billion.

“Rather than turning potential investors away, this Government is intent on welcoming people who want to contribute to New Zealand. We are already making it easier for digital nomads to work remotely while visiting here and have established Invest New Zealand to promote investment into this country,” Ms Willis says.

“Capital is highly mobile and in an increasing complex world, people are looking for a safe and stable country to do business. We are now making our investor visa simpler and more flexible to incentivise investors to choose New Zealand as a destination not just for their capital, skills and international connections, but to build a life for themselves and their family here,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says.

From 1 April the current complex weighting system for the AIP will be replaced with two simplified investment categories:

• The Growth category will focus on higher-risk investments, including direct investments in New Zealand businesses. It will require a minimum investment of $5 million for a minimum period of three years.
• The Balanced category will focus on mixed investments, with the ability to choose ones that are lower risk. There will be a minimum investment of $10 million over five years.

Other changes include expanding the scope of acceptable investments and removing potential barriers to investment, such as the English language requirement.

“Incentivising, simplifying and broadening the investment offerings will make New Zealand more attractive and accessible to more foreign high-value investors. These changes will turbocharge our economic growth, bringing brighter days ahead for all Kiwis,” Ms Stanford says.

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