Business Investor Visa
Buy a business, run it, then apply for residence.
The business investor pathway is for people who want to invest in an existing New Zealand business and actually run it. It comes in two stages: a Business Investor Work Visa of up to four years, then a Business Investor Resident Visa once you have operated the business for long enough.
How long is “long enough” depends on how much you put in. NZD $1 million gets you to residence after three years. NZD $2 million gets you there after twelve months.
This is the hands-on route. If you want to place capital rather than operate a business, the Active Investor Plus visa is the other way in, and it asks for very different things.
The two routes
A million over three years, or two million over one.
Standard pathway
NZD $1 million or more invested in an existing New Zealand business. You can apply for the Business Investor Resident Visa after three years of running it.
Fast-track pathway
NZD $2 million or more. The residence application opens after twelve months.
What the investment cannot include
The value of the business property does not count toward the total. Some sectors are excluded outright — gambling, tobacco, fast food and franchises among them.
What is asked of you
This visa has opinions about who you are.
Active Investor Plus asks for money and almost nothing else. This one asks for a good deal more, and several of the requirements rule people out before the money is ever discussed.
- Age: 55 or younger at the time you apply. There is no equivalent limit on Active Investor Plus.
- Business experience: evidence of at least three years of acceptable business experience.
- English: IELTS 5.0 or equivalent.
- Settlement funds: at least NZD $500,000 in reserve, on top of the investment, to support you and your family while you establish the business.
- Presence: at least 184 days a year in New Zealand, counted from the first day you run the business. This is a residency requirement in all but name.
- Jobs: maintain five full-time equivalent jobs, and create at least one new full-time equivalent job for a New Zealand citizen or resident.
- Standards: comply with immigration, employment and business obligations throughout — and be able to show you have.
Against the alternative · October 2026
Business Investor or Active Investor Plus.
| Business Investor | Active Investor Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it suits | Hands-on owners who will run the business they buy | Investors placing capital to grow New Zealand businesses |
| Investment | NZD $1m into an existing business (3-year route), or $2m (12-month route) | NZD $5m under Growth, or $10m under Balanced |
| Job creation | Maintain 5 full-time jobs, create at least 1 new one for a New Zealander | No requirement |
| Time in New Zealand | 184 days a year, from the first day of running the business | 21 days over 3 years (Growth), or 105 days over 5 years (Balanced) |
| Age limit | 55 or younger when you apply | None |
| Business experience | At least 3 years | None required |
| English | IELTS 5.0 or equivalent | None required |
| Settlement funds | NZD $500,000 in reserve | None required |
| What you are granted | A work visa of up to 4 years, then residence | A resident visa from the outset |
| Application fee | NZD $12,380, then $14,890 for the resident visa | NZD $27,470 |
Figures as at October 2026. Immigration instructions and fees change; we confirm what applies before you file.
Stage two
What residence asks you to prove.
The Business Investor Resident Visa is not granted for having held the work visa. It is granted for what you did with it, and every element has to be evidenced at the end.
- That you actively operated the business — not held it at arm’s length through a manager.
- That the jobs were there throughout: five full-time equivalents maintained, and at least one new one created for a New Zealand citizen or resident.
- That you were here: 184 days a year, every year, from the first day you ran the business.
- That you kept to the conditions of the work visa, and to your employment and financial obligations.
Which is why the record-keeping matters from day one rather than from the month you apply. We set out what will have to be proved at the end, at the beginning.
The usual sticking point
Proving where the money came from.
Across every investor category, the hardest requirement to satisfy is the same one: showing that the funds and assets you are nominating were lawfully earned or acquired.
It is a documentary exercise
Not a declaration. Financial statements, tax returns, bank records, ownership documents, valuations and sale records, traced back far enough to show the origin of the money rather than its most recent resting place.
Some histories are harder to evidence than others
Informal lending, undocumented property transfers, cash dealing, complex ownership structures, or records from a jurisdiction that simply does not keep them. None of these means the money was not lawfully earned. All of them make it harder to prove, and the burden sits with you.
This is where applications are queried
It is the most common subject of questions from Immigration New Zealand during processing, and the most common reason an otherwise strong application slows to a halt. It is worth building properly at the outset.
How we can help
We can assist with the following.
- Whether you qualify at all: age, business experience, English and settlement funds, checked before you go looking at businesses.
- Which route: whether the $1 million three-year path or the $2 million twelve-month path is the better use of your capital and your time.
- The business itself: whether it is an acceptable investment, whether the sector is excluded, and how the purchase price divides between the business and its property.
- Source of funds: building the evidence trail and finding the gaps early.
- The purchase: acting on the acquisition alongside the visa, so the deal and the application are not working against each other.
- Employment obligations: the job numbers you have to maintain and create, and the records that will prove them.
- Family: including a partner and dependent children.
- Stage two: the residence application, and the evidence it will ask for.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Can I start a new business instead of buying one?
This pathway is built around investing in an existing New Zealand business and running it. If your plan is to start something from nothing, tell us early — it changes which route we should be looking at.
Does the property the business occupies count toward my investment?
No. The value of the business property is excluded from the investment total, which catches people out when a large part of the purchase price is the building.
It is worth knowing before you negotiate, because how a deal is structured can decide whether you clear the threshold.
Are any businesses off the table?
Yes. Some sectors and activities are excluded, including gambling, tobacco, fast food and franchises. Check before you commit to a purchase rather than after.
How much time do I have to spend in New Zealand?
At least 184 days a year, counted from the first day you run the business. That is more than half the year, every year.
It is the requirement that most often decides whether this visa suits someone, because it is a commitment to live here rather than to visit.
What are the job requirements?
You must maintain five full-time equivalent jobs and create at least one new full-time equivalent job for a New Zealand citizen or resident. Both have to be sustained, and both have to be evidenced when you apply for residence.
Is there an age limit?
Yes — you must be 55 or younger when you apply. If you are over that, Active Investor Plus has no age limit, though it asks for considerably more capital.
Do I need English?
IELTS 5.0 or equivalent. Active Investor Plus has no English requirement at all, which is one of the real differences between the two.
How much money do I need beyond the investment?
At least NZD $500,000 in reserve funds, to support you and your family while the business is being established. That sits on top of the $1 million or $2 million going into the business.
Can my family come with me?
Yes. Your partner and dependent children can be included in the application.
How is this different from Active Investor Plus?
Active Investor Plus is capital. This is work. Active Investor Plus asks for $5 million or $10 million and almost nothing else — no age limit, no English, no business experience, no job creation, and as little as 21 days in the country over three years.
This one asks for less money and a great deal more of you.
Next step
Find out if it fits, before you commit capital.
If the category does not fit, we will tell you.
Request a consultation