How to Acquire New Zealand Investor Visa
When looking for countries in the world where you can invest, New Zealand is one of the top names that comes up. This is because New Zealand is politically stable, making it an ideal place to conduct business and raise a family. Investors are always looking for countries where they can do business for an unforeseeable future without threats caused by poor governance.
For a number of years now, New Zealand has been consistently ranked among the top ten leading countries for doing business and protecting investors. Additionally, in 2018, New Zealand was ranked second worldwide by the Transparency International as one of the top countries with low corruption levels. Both of these factors offer a conducive environment for conducting business with ease.
Additionally, New Zealand boasts of quality education and healthcare systems, which are some of the major factors that investors consider before moving to a country. Foreigners can apply for a New Zealand investor visa before they are allowed to live and work in New Zealand.
In this post, we look at the procedure you can follow to acquire a New Zealand investor visa.
New Zealand investor visa requirements
There are two New Zealand investor visa options available to apply for. They include the investor 1 and investor 2 resident visas. Both of these visa programs enable you to invest, live, and even study in New Zealand. You are awarded investor 1 by investing NZD 10 million and NZD 3 million for investor 2 visas.
On top of that, the investments must have been labeled acceptable and you must hold such investments for a period no less than 3 years for investor 1 and 4 years for investor 2 programs. You are allowed to include your spouse and children aged 24 years or below in the visa application. You can navigate to this website to learn how you can apply for the New Zealand investor visa.
Investor 1 resident visa
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Invest NZD 10 million or more in acceptable investments for a period of no less than 3 years. Acceptable investments for this option include: treasury bonds issued by the New Zealand government, firms listed in the New Zealand security exchange market, registered banks, and financial institutions.
- To have resided in New Zealand for at least 44 days in each of the previous 2 years of the 3 year investment period. This requirement applies if the applicant has invested at least NZD 2.5 million in growth investments.
Investor 2 resident visa
To qualify for this program, the following requirements must be met:
- Invest a minimum of NZD$3 million in acceptable investments for a period of at least 4 years. Acceptable investments for this case include equity in New Zealand firms be it private and public, government bonds, residential and commercial properties.
- Applicant should be 65 years or below
- Applicants must demonstrate at least 3 years of business experience. You may be required to attach supporting documents.
The application process
Applicants are required to fill in the application forms and submit them together with the application fees. For the investor 2 program, you might be required to write an expression of interest letter. All supporting documents should be submitted together with your application. Once the New Zealand investor visa is approved, you will be required to transfer funds in any of the acceptable investments you have selected within 12 months. There is an option for an additional six month extension.
