A new visa to attract businesspeople to New Zealand is being established by the Government, as speculation heats up over a possible loosening on restrictions for foreigners being able to purchase residential property here.
The Government will today announce the Business Investor Visa (BIV), which will give foreign businesspeople investing $2 million into an existing business here a fast-track to residency in New Zealand. A $1m investment comes with a three-year work-to-residency pathway.
If the business is worth $1m or $2m, they’d have to purchase the business. If it was worth more than that, they’d have to invest at least 25% of its total value.
There is a list of different conditions associated with the visa, such as requiring applicants to meet English language, health, character and business experience tests. There are also excluded businesses, such as adult entertainment, convenience stores and fast-food outlets.
The BIV, which will be open for applications in November, comes as the Government retires the Entrepreneur category of visas. It says these had low application volumes, high decline rates and didn’t deliver strong economic impacts. Other work is under way for a visa pathway for start-up entrepreneurs.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says the BIV will bring overseas investment to New Zealand to “maintain and create jobs, grow incomes and breathe new life into existing businesses across the country”.
But it also comes ahead of an announcement – expected shortly – on adjustments to settings allowing some wealthy foreigners to purchase property in New Zealand. The current foreign buyers ban limits non-residents and non-citizens’ ability to purchase existing residential homes.
As the Herald has been reporting recently, the changes are expected to affect foreigners wishing to invest substantial sums of money in New Zealand’s economy. The exact threshold of necessary investment, however, remains unclear.
There has been some signalling it could be aligned with the Active Investor Plus Visa, which has $5m and $10m investment categories.
Simon Bridges, chief executive of the Auckland Business Chamber, told the Herald the BIV appeared to be an “excellent addition” alongside the Active Investor Plus scheme, which the Government changed earlier this year.
“Both policies will be real helpers to Auckland, where the economy is behind other parts of the country, bringing in desperately needed cash,” Bridges said.
“If Auckland were a business, it would have cashflow issues right now, so the $1 [million] and $2 million dollops of money will be really positive.”
But Bridges, a former National Party leader, said more changes are needed to “inject stimulus into Auckland”, namechecking “foreign buyer reform” and liberalisation to some tourism and international education visas.
“The rumour mill tells me such changes may well be coming. Let’s hope they are, sooner than later,” he said.
The new BIV has two potential pathways. Investing $1m in an existing business will allow recipients of the visa to gain residence after three years, while investing $2m and operating the business for three years will get recipients on a fast-track path to residency after 12 months.
The business must have been operational for five years, meet certain financial thresholds and employ at least five fulltime staff. Excluded businesses include adult entertainment, convenience stores, fast-food outlets, franchises, gambling and immigration advisory services.
Applicants must meet certain conditions, such as being 55 or younger, have sufficient business experience and have funds to support themselves and their family. There are requirements to fulfil while here, like creating a new fulltime job for a New Zealand citizen or resident.
Stanford, the Immigration Minister, said it was a “targeted pathway for experienced businesspeople with capital to invest and the hands-on experience and skills needed to run a successful business”.
“It has clearer settings that are easier for applicants to understand and for Immigration New Zealand to process, and it’s designed to deliver real economic benefits.”
Stanford is known to be supportive of allowing holders of an Active Investor Plus Visa to buy property here.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who was in Government with Labour when the foreign buyers ban was introduced, told the Herald last month that if a foreigner was coming to New Zealand “with millions of dollars to invest in this country, then yes, you could buy a house”.
He denied softening his approach to foreign buyers, stressing any changes would affect investors putting millions of dollars into the economy, but not foreigners not contributing.
“They’re investors, they’re not buyers. You’re not going to get a house key just by walking into the country in the way that other parties believed,” Peters said.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said a couple weeks ago that Cabinet would be making a decision shortly.
“Our Government, which is comprised of three parties, has been in discussion about loosening those regulations so those who get an Active Investor Visa may in future be able to purchase a property in New Zealand,” she told Bloomberg.
“Those talks have been under way and you would expect that a decision would be made by our Cabinet in the coming weeks.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon this week added an announcement on the matter would be made within weeks.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.