The Golden Visa New Zealand. All you Need to Know About the Active Investor Visa

Ever wondered what it takes to secure a Golden Visa New Zealand? It’s not for everyone, thtat’s for sure. It requires significant wealth.

But for high-net-worth (also known as wealthy) individuals looking for a plan B in a safe, stable country, the Active Investor Visa (also known as the Golden Visa) offers a direct pathway to residency.

In this episode of the NZ Ahead podcast, Liz sits down with Frederick Penaredonda from NZ Shores, and they dive deep into the Active Investor Visa categories, the investment amounts, the surprisingly low time commitments, and why this visa is suddenly attracting global attention.

If you’ve ever wondered whether this pathway could be for you, this conversation is essential listening.

What Is the Active Investor Visa (Golden Visa)?

Liz: Fred, welcome to the NZ Ahead podcast. I am thrilled to have you for the first time.

You’re our guest from New Zealand Shores Immigration Advisors. Welcome.

Frederick: Thank you so much for having me. It’s honestly a privilege and a pleasure.

Liz: We’re going to be talking today about the Active Investor Visa.

The one way you need to stack some serious money to come into New Zealand to be eligible for.

It’s also known as the Golden Visa. Let’s jump straight in, Fred. What is the Active Investor Visa?

Frederick: Large amounts of cash are required. It is considered a premium residency-by-investment pathway into New Zealand.

It’s designed to attract higher net worth individuals who want to take an active role in the economy.

They invest into New Zealand businesses or managed funds.

It’s designed to generate high business productivity and job growth within the country.

For investors themselves, this visa category is a direct route to residency.

It allows individuals and their immediate family members to live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely.

It has a pathway to permanent residency and eventually New Zealand citizenship.

For anyone considering this pathway, our guide on how-to-relocate-to-new-zealand covers the broader picture, but this visa is a very specific niche.

How Much Money Do You Need?

Liz: I’ve got to ask the big major number one question. How much do you need?

Frederick: There are basically two investment categories.

One is called the Growth category and one is called the Balance category.

Under the Growth category, you’d need a minimum of at least $5 million New Zealand dollars.

Under the Balance category, it’s $10 million New Zealand dollars.

Significant amounts we’re talking. It’s not for every man out there.

This is the heart of the Golden Visa New Zealand—a premium pathway for significant investors.

Liz: What sort of job do you do that you can lay your hands on 10 million dollars?

Frederick: In terms of the people I’ve encountered, I’ve worked with investment advisors who handle large transactions for their clients.

I’ve come across individuals who have done very well investing in cryptocurrency.

It’s a wide range. I’ve also encountered high net worth banking and investment fund managers.

It really can come in all shapes and forms.

As far as the visa category is concerned, we would need to provide evidence of source of funds.

It would need to be genuinely earned and traceable for Immigration NZ to review.

Liz: My son ages ago said you should get into crypto. I’m like, no, don’t want to be dealing with silly money.

Frederick: There’s those online content saying, what was I doing when I was five?

I should have been investing in property and buying crypto. I have missed that boat too.

Liz: Anyway, we didn’t, and we’re very happy, aren’t we Fred?

Frederick: Definitely, that’s right. We’re in New Zealand and we’re happy.

Why Is It Called the New Zealand Golden Visa?

Liz: Why is it called the Golden Visa?

Frederick: It offers that opportunity for investors and their families to be able to permanently reside in New Zealand.

It’s often called golden because there’s lower entry requirements now.

It’s quite accessible to people—certainly for higher net worth individuals.

It offers that sort of long-term security for people as a plan B.

We know the world is crazy out there at the moment.

There’s obviously the war in the Middle East, the Ukraine war is still ongoing.

There’s geopolitical and political turmoil happening across the world.

New Zealand offers a safe haven.

Being able to apply under this pathway with simpler requirements and have the right to live and reside in New Zealand is why it’s often called a golden visa pathway.

This is a key consideration when thinking about why-move-to-new-zealand—safety and stability are major draws.

Can My Family Be Included in This Visa?

Liz: So can all my family be included? Say I’ve got four kids and I’ve got $5 million.

Can I bring them all over under my $5 million?

Frederick: You can include your immediate family members.

That’s including partners or spouse and dependent children up to the age of 24 and under.

The dependent children need to be single, have no children of their own, and be financially dependent on the principal applicant.

So it’s quite a generous visa category.

A lot of people ask, can I bring my parents? Unfortunately not under that visa category.

But eventually once you obtain residency, other options are unlocked to bring in parents and things like that.

For those wishing to bring parents, our parent-visa-new-zealand guide covers other pathways.

Can You Pool Money Together?

Liz: Here I am with my family of four. We’ve all sold our houses.

We’re all doing really well for ourselves. We’ve got like a million each from our house.

Can we pull that money together and say, okay, we’ve got the five million between us?

Frederick: Typically we need to show proof of ownership for the principal applicant.

If the pool of money is owned by the principal applicant and the secondary applicant by way of spouse, then yes.

It is possible, as long as we can include documents tracing ownership.

Again, going back to the source of funds being legally obtained.

How Many People Are Applying?

Liz: Do you get many of these visas in New Zealand?

Frederick: Admittedly for us, it’s certainly a burgeoning visa category.

There’s been a lot of interest since the settings were tweaked from April last year.

Since April last year, there’s about 538 applications that have already been approved in principle.

The Growth category has certainly been more attractive to investors.

450 versus 86 in the Balance category. Huge numbers.

As of earlier last month, 247 applications have been approved in principle.

197 in Growth and 50 in the Balance category.

Immigration NZ releases stats around applications they receive.

The total committed investments roughly amount to 1.48 billion New Zealand dollars into the economy.

It’s very much a win-win situation for New Zealand.

And obviously for those families looking for that sort of plan B option.

Where Are the Applicants Coming From?

Frederick: I can give you an idea of where those applications are coming from. Top six.

Number one, the United States of America.

To some people that is quite surprising, but to the people we’re working with, not necessarily.

There’s a lot of political turmoil happening in the United States at the moment.

Widening gaps between even households in terms of their political affinity.

For those specifically moving-from-united-states-to-new-zealand, this visa offers a compelling option.

Rounding out the top three would be China and Hong Kong.

Those countries have always typically garnered a lot of investor interest into New Zealand.

What’s really changed for them is there’s no longer English language requirements.

Before, you needed to prove your English language ability.

But those settings being tweaked, they’ve removed the English language requirements.

That has really opened up an opportunity for a lot of people.

Rounding out top six is Germany, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Plenty of Asian countries in there. And obviously with the situation in the United States.

Germany is up there, I suppose being close proximity to the Ukraine war.

A lot of people are looking at options elsewhere.

For Americans specifically, our americans-living-in-new-zealand guide offers more insights.

Why Is China So Interested in New Zealand?

Liz: Why is there such an interest from China to invest in New Zealand?

Frederick: From what I’ve heard from the people I’ve been working with, it’s that ability to have a plan B option.

If things don’t quite materialize in terms of security in China.

Obviously there’s always a perpetual political situation in China.

And all of the geopolitics happening around that region of the world.

Just having that additional ability to be able to permanently reside elsewhere, just in case.

Long-term thinking for children is often what we see for Chinese-based clients or even in Asia.

Just for their children to have an opportunity to reside in an English-speaking country.

That is quite modern with good education systems and the ability to live freely.

And be able to express themselves is what attracts a lot of applications from China.

For those considering education pathways, our best-time-to-go-in-new-zealand guide might be helpful.

How Long Do You Need to Stay in New Zealand?

Liz: Say I’ve got my five million and I’m going to come over.

How long do I have to stay in New Zealand? How long will it take me to get residency?

Frederick: Under the Growth category, it’s a very generous 21 days only over a three-year period.

You can literally have a holiday for one week every year for three years.

Then meet the requirements.

That’s one of the really main points that attracts people under the Growth category.

Just the minimum amount of time you need to reside in New Zealand.

For the Balance category, it is a little bit longer.

It’s 105 days over a five-year period.

Under the Balance category, if you invest a little bit more, you can shorten the time you need to stay.

That’s an option available for people.

Going back to the investment periods, for the Growth category, the funds need to be invested for at least three years.

Under the Balance category, it needs to be invested for at least five years.

Liz: So just to be clear, I bring my money over, it’s got to stay in New Zealand for three years.

I can have a week’s holiday every year. And then after three years, am I given residency?

Frederick: Technically speaking, once you’ve been approved in principle and you’ve made the investments.

You’ve transferred the funds into New Zealand and made those investments.

And provide proof through Immigration New Zealand.

You’re actually going to be granted resident visas already.

You can technically live and reside in New Zealand permanently if you wish during that three-year investment period.

But I know a lot of people would like the flexibility.

I’ve got things to maintain in my home country. I’ve got businesses to maintain.

So what they actually do is just send their family over to come and live in New Zealand.

And they’re already going to hold residence status.

Resident Visa vs Permanent Resident Visa

Frederick: Once you’ve been approved under this category, you’ll hold the resident visa.

That will in itself allow you to live and reside and work permanently in New Zealand if you wish.

After that three-year investment period, you have the ability to convert your resident visa.

You convert it to what’s called a permanent resident visa.

A resident visa has conditions attached to it that you would need to meet.

For example, in the case of the Active Investor, you need to hold the investments for that three-year period in the Growth category.

Then you can have those conditions removed and apply for a permanent resident visa.

The difference is that the permanent resident visa is indefinite and cannot expire.

A resident visa has what they call travel conditions.

You can travel in and out of New Zealand for a certain period.

But if you leave the country after you pass that travel period date, then that visa itself can expire.

That’s why most people will then transition into a permanent resident visa.

If they decide to reside in the United States for the next 15 years and then want to come back to New Zealand anytime.

If they hold a permanent resident visa, they are going to be able to do so.

It’s an indefinite visa allowing them to travel in and out of New Zealand.

It will never expire. There’s no more presence commitments or investment commitments once they hold that residency status.

Liz: Sounds great, doesn’t it? You’re selling it to me!

Frederick: It does. It all sounds lovely.

Can You Get New Zealand Citizenship With This Visa?

Liz: Can they go for citizenship once you get permanent residency?

Frederick: New Zealand citizenship is possible.

However, it does require even longer and more presence commitments in New Zealand.

To apply for New Zealand citizenship, you need to hold either a resident visa or permanent resident visa for a duration of five years in total.

You need to have stayed in the country for a much longer period.

Not just 21 days or 105 days over five years, but actually I think 80% of your time in New Zealand in a one-year period over the next five years.

For some people, that is the goal because the New Zealand passport is one of the most powerful passports in the world.

That opens up a lot of things for a lot of people. Just being able to travel in and out of countries without needing to apply for visas.

That is the goal for some people, but for some people, merely a permanent resident visa is enough.

They can retain their home country citizenship and their passports.

And have the permanent resident visa attached to their passports.

That’s as good as holding New Zealand citizenship as well.

You have the same rights as a New Zealand citizen while on a permanent resident visa.

You can buy a house, can access education, healthcare, you can vote.

For more on buying property, our buy-a-house-in-new-zealand guide is essential reading.

What Can You Invest In?

Frederick: I just want to give a little bit more information about what those investments could be.

Under the Growth category, there’s two investment types.

One is called direct investment and the other is approved managed funds.

Direct investment is basically into a privately held business in New Zealand.

It requires approval from Invest New Zealand.

A lot of people under the Growth category opt for the approved managed funds instead.

They don’t have to necessarily do all of that homework to make those investments.

The reason being is the approved managed funds are pre-approved by Invest New Zealand.

Last time I looked, there’s about 65 currently listed on the Invest NZ website.

That, from my experience, has been far more accessible to investors than doing their own research.

Now, Growth investments are typically considered as higher risk.

Under the investments for the Balance category, there’s a little bit more options.

Direct investments and approved managed funds are also available under the Balance category.

But you also have access to bonds, listed equities, philanthropy, and property development.

Bonds are New Zealand government bonds by a local authority or New Zealand registered banks.

Listed equities are the ones listed on a public stock exchange like the New Zealand Stock Exchange.

Philanthropy is donations to New Zealand registered charities.

Property development could be residential, commercial, or industrial property in New Zealand.

They must be new or existing, but with a purpose to improve and cannot be used for personal use.

For example, you can’t be investing in property that you intend to live in.

Does This Make New Zealand a Better Country?

Liz: Do you think it makes New Zealand a better country having all this money put into it?

Frederick: It’s intended to generate business productivity and job growth.

The more money invested, the intention is there’ll be more jobs that follow.

In my opinion, I believe so. Having all of this cash pumped into the economy is a good thing.

Investors come to New Zealand and if they decide to live with their families, they buy property.

They use goods and services in New Zealand.

More often than not, the people that come to New Zealand have a lot of expertise also to bring into the community.

Yes, in my opinion, it is of great benefit to New Zealand.

The individuals I’ve been working with, I believe, would be long-term assets in New Zealand.

For those considering the downside-of-moving-to-new-zealand, it’s worth weighing the pros and cons carefully.

Has Australia Closed Its Golden Visa?

Liz: Is it true that Australia have closed their Golden Visa down?

Frederick: They have. I believe they closed that sometime either last year or two years ago.

It’s actually funneling a lot of interest into New Zealand instead.

That’s obviously great for New Zealand.

I think that’s quite possibly why New Zealand has relaxed those rules.

To take advantage of the interest.

Australia is closed at the moment. I think they are looking to reopen it.

But there’s nothing available at this point in time.

In Canada as well, I think they have quite restrictive investor opportunities.

People need to know how to speak French in some areas.

That in itself is a barrier for a lot of people.

New Zealand’s quite neutral in terms of political stance.

And always so far on this side of the world. That’s always a plus for people.

How Much Does the Application Cost?

Frederick: You might be wondering, how much does it cost the investor beyond the investments?

The application fee for this is quite high in terms of other visa categories.

But relatively accessible, I’d like to think, if somebody’s got 5 million or 10 million to invest.

It’s $27,470 NZD for the Immigration NZ application fee.

Liz: That’s a drop in the ocean to them, isn’t it, Fred?

Frederick: I believe so. It hasn’t seemed to be an issue so far.

Liz: Round it up to 30 and keep the change, why don’t you?

It’s been so interesting to talk about this.

Why wouldn’t you want to come to New Zealand? It’s paradise.

Frederick: I agree. I think we’re both migrants who live in this country.

I often feel that people who are already living here sort of take it for granted.

We need a slap in the face and reality that we’re living in paradise.

Comparative to the rest of the world. We should thank our lucky stars.

How to Contact NZ Shores

Liz: If someone wants to reach out, if they’re sitting here watching this and thinking, yes, that’s me.

What’s the best way to contact you?

Frederick: There’s a multitude of ways to reach out to us.

If you wish to contact us by phone, it’s +64 9 929 2280.

Via email, it’s in**@**************es.com.

Those would be the main methods of reaching out to us.

Thank you, Liz, for putting up that information on your page as well.

Liz: Don’t forget, New Zealand Shores is part of our private NZ Ahead Slack community.

They’ve got their own immigration channel over there.

Charlotte and Fabian are over there.

And I’m going to drag Fred over there now because he’s got to be my friend on Slack.

If you want to find out more about that Slack community, you can take the free 5-day video guide.

I will put the link in the description below.

Fred, it’s been lovely to meet you.

Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast.

I’ll speak to you again soon.

Frederick: Likewise. Thank you for your time, Liz. Appreciate it.

Ready to Explore the Golden Visa New Zealand?

If you have the means, the Active Investor Visa offers one of the most flexible residency pathways in the world.

With minimal time commitments and a direct route to permanent residency, it’s no wonder applications are surging.

Your next steps:

1. Head over to nzahead.com/free for our free 5-day video guide on life in New Zealand.

2. Contact Frederick at NZ Shores for a confidential discussion about your eligibility.

3. Join our private NZ Ahead community on Slack for support from people on the same journey.

Your new life in New Zealand could be closer than you think—even if you’re only visiting for 21 days a year.