The New Zealand Active Investor Plus visa is now available for investors to apply for residency in New Zealand (requires minimum investment of NZD 5 million). The main feature of the program is the ability to combine several types of investment opportunities at once. In this way, the applicant can reduce its investment risks. It is noteworthy that the New Zealand program has evolved over the course of its work. Local legislators took into account all previous experience working with investors to make their proposal more competitive in the investment residency market.
Moreover The New Zealand Active Investor Plus visa program includes an in-principle approval process that evaluates an applicant’s eligibility before soliciting investment. Investors are then given an initial six-month window to begin their investment, which can be made gradually over the first three years and must be fully maintained in the fourth year.
The New Zealand Active Investor Plus visa requires investment between NZD 5 million and NZD 15 million over the course of four years.
New Zealand Active Investor Plus visa VS US EB-5
These guidelines above are an advantage over the US EB-5 visa, where investments must be made before submitting the application for consideration. And also, in comparison to the Australian visa program, which usually requires an investment of only 70 days. But we must note that minimum investment for New Zealand Active Investor Plus is about $3,051,250 USD while for US EB-5 visa $800,000 USD.
The Active Investor Plus visa gives holders access to residency benefits, including subsidies for education and healthcare. Processing time takes 8-9 months.
Unique combined investment
As mentioned above the New Zealand Active Investor Plus visa has a special weighting system when it comes to the choosing investment options. Basically, program requires an investment based on NZD 15 million. However, the actual amount depends on the type of investment based on a weighting system which may reduce the actual investment amount to NZ$5 million. Funds can also be invested gradually over three years, with the full investment retained for a further fourth year. The New Zealand residence requirement is a minimum of 117 days and is required over the four-year investment period.
Direct investments have weighting of 3x. An NZD 5 million investment in this category would meet the NZD 15 million requirement.
Managed funds (private equity or venture capital funds) have weighting of 2x.
Listed equities or Philanthropy. These options come without any additional weighting. Each category is capped at 50% of the NZD 15 million investment requirement.
Other requirements
In addition to the investment requirements, the main applicant must demonstrate English language proficiency to receive The New Zealand Active Investor Plus. The minimum IELTS test score is 5.0 and the TOEFL iBT test score is 35. Or education using English as the language of instruction.
