The Active Investor Plus Visa (AI+) is a new resident visa for investors who want to make a direct investment in high-growth New Zealand companies.
To be eligible for the AI+, applicants must commit to making a direct investment of NZD $5 million or more, or an indirect investment of NZD $15 million or more.
The AI+ visa is part of the government's wider effort to attract investment and create jobs in New Zealand. Minister for Economic and Regional Development Stuart Nash says that the AI+ will "send a strong signal to global investors that New Zealand is open for business."
If you are interested in applying for the Active Investor Plus Visa, contact us today to find out more. Our team of experienced immigration advisers can help you with the application process and ensure that you meet all the requirements.
The current policies for investors have been a blessing to New Zealand, attracting significant amounts of capital and skilled workers to the country over the last decade. As the competition for money from abroad grows, the government must adopt the policy to ensure we can attract more highly skilled and experienced high-value international investors and encourage direct investment to support the development of internationally successful Kiwi companies.
The main obstacle to direct investing under current rules is the requirement that investments be completed before granting a residence visa and then held for the 3-year investment period. This encouraged initial investments to become safe, low-risk investments which take less time to conduct due diligence than bonds and shares but provided little benefit for New Zealand.
Eliminating the visa categories and establishing the brand new Active Investor Plus visa category will help encourage more active and productive investing. Furthermore, NZTE becomes the key government representative for investors who require assistance, which will lead to an effective match of potential investors from abroad with investment opportunities that are active with investment opportunities in New Zealand.
The key changes are:
A direct investment is when an applicant invests money into a specific New Zealand company or companies. An indirect investment is when an applicant invests money into a managed fund or venture capital fund that in turn invests in New Zealand companies.
New Active Investor Plus Visa will offer four classes of investment that are eligible and employ a weighting method to determine the quantum of dollars to be put into. More details will be announced before the visa launch at the end of September 2022.
The following investment assets will qualify subject to the approval of immigration instructions/acceptable lists:
The Active Investor Plus Visa offers a number of benefits, including:
To be eligible for the Active Investor Plus Visa, applicants must meet the following criteria:
As per the official information, the following facts should be known to those interested in applying for this visa.
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.
Successful applicants will need to meet an English language requirement (International English Language Testing System level 5).
The costs for AI+ Resident visa applications made in New Zealand will be:
Immigration New Zealand will continue to process investor visas.
If you are interested in applying for the Active Investor Plus Visa, Book a consultation with our experts to find out more. Our team of experienced immigration advisers at Provisas can help you with the application process and ensure that you meet all the requirements.
