Investor 2 Resident Visa

This visa allowed business people with at least NZD $3 million in funds or assets to submit an expression of interest and then apply for residence. It closed to new applicants on 28 July 2022.

Length of stay

Indefinitely

Age range
Up to

65

Cost
From
NZD $8590
Processing time
Every
2 weeks
With this visa you can
  • Live, work and study in New Zealand.
  • Include your partner, and dependent children aged 24 and under, in your visa application.
Things to note
  • We use a points-based system to assess eligibility for Investor 2 Resident Visas.
  • If your expression of interest is selected and we invite you to apply for residence, you'll have 4 months to send us your application.
CLOSED

This visa is now closed to new applications.

What you need to apply

Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.

View All Evidence

Acceptable photos

Note

If you do not have access to your passport or certificate of identity, provide your original birth certificate or certified copy.

Tips

Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

You must also provide your Kartu Keluarga.

If you are not a French national, you must provide a copy of your carte d’assuré.

You must also provide a copy of your livret de famille.

If your birth certificate isn’t available, we’ll accept your School Leaving Certificate or Class 10th or 12th Certificate.

If you cannot provide a copy of your birth certificate, we can accept your identity card as proof of your identity, as long as you did not provide your birth certificate because of the cost or how long it would take to get.

You don’t need to provide proof of your identity until you’re invited to apply for residence.

Please also provide your household registration transcript.

You must have a chest x-ray and a medical examination as proof of your good health.

Getting an x-ray or medical examination

Tips

You don’t need to have an x-ray or medical examination until you’re invited to apply for residence.

If you, or anyone else included in your application, are aged 17 or older you must provide a police certificate from:

  • all the countries you are a citizen of, and
  • any other country you have stayed in for 12 months or more over the last 10 years, even if it was not all in the same stay.

How to get a police certificate

Good character for residence visas

Tips

Police certificates must be less than 6 months old at the time you apply.

You don’t need to provide any Police Certificates until you’re invited to apply for residence.

If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must provide an English translation.

This includes police certificates that record no convictions.

You must confirm in the application form that you meet fit and proper person requirements.

To be a fit and proper person, all businesses you have influence over must have complied with all immigration, employment and taxation laws. You must also:

  • have never been investigated by the Serious Fraud Office or the New Zealand police for any offence resulting from business dealings
  • have no convictions for an offence involving dishonesty
  • have never been involved in business fraud or financial impropriety.
Tips

We’ll contact you if you need to provide further information.

If you are invited to apply for residence, you must qualify for a minimum of 1 point for English language ability.

Check your points for Invester 2 Resident Visa

If you claim 10 points for your English language ability instead of an English test result, you can provide evidence you have an English-speaking background or are a competent user of English for other reasons.

English-speaking background

Tips

English language test results must be no more than 2 years old.

If your application is approved and you were awarded 1 point for English language, you must complete 20 hours of English tuition at a New Zealand registered school or tertiary education provider.

You must provide evidence:

  • of your relationship with your partner and dependent children, like a marriage certificate and birth certificates
  • that your partner and dependent children meet the identity, character, health and English language requirements for this visa.

Partnership
Dependent children

Tips

You don’t need to provide any evidence until you’re invited to apply for residence.

If your partner or dependent children have, or applied for, a New Zealand temporary entry visa based on their relationship with you, you must include them in your residence application.

If you’re invited to apply for residence, your partner and any dependent children 16 or over included in your invitation must meet a minimum standard of English. Evidence can include proof they:

English-speaking background

Tips

English language test results must be no more than 2 years old.

If your partner and dependent children 16 or older do not speak English, you can purchase English language lessons for them to meet this requirement. You will have to pay us for English language classes before we can grant you a visa.

Learning English in New Zealand after you come to New Zealand

We check your identity documents — for example, your passport — to confirm your age.

Tips

You don’t need to provide any evidence until you’re invited to apply for residence.

To show us you have recognised business experience, you must provide evidence to show us the roles and responsibilities you have. This can include original or certified copies of:

  • certificates of business incorporation
  • financial accounts for the business
  • tax returns and tax records for the business
  • shareholder certificates or other proof that you own the business
  • job descriptions
  • performance reviews
  • personal tax returns
  • letters of appointment
  • certificates of service
  • strategic planning documents
  • references from your employer – these should be on company letterhead and include your occupation, dates of employment and employer’s contact details

If you worked less than 30 hours a week, we’ll also need a schedule of your weekly working hours.

Tips

Your business experience must be in a business that has at least five full-time employees or annual revenue of NZ $1 million.

You don’t need to provide any evidence until you’re invited to apply for residence.

You must transfer your investment funds to New Zealand.

You must transfer your investment funds directly from your bank account to New Zealand through the banking system.

If we approve your application in principle, you’ll have 12 months from that date to transfer and invest your funds.
 
Transferring investment funds

Tips

You can apply for a temporary visa to come to New Zealand and investigate investment opportunities.

Specific Purpose Work Visa

Applicants must ensure their funds meet currency exchange and transfer requirements in place in China.

The following organisations have previously demonstrated they have acceptable QDII products:

  • Bank of China
  • China Construction Bank
  • ICBC
  • Guosen Securities Company Ltd

We may give you a further 6 months to transfer and invest your funds.

You’ll need to contact us before the transfer period expires and show you have made reasonable steps to transfer and invest.

You must nominate the type, location and value of the funds and/or assets you intend to invest in your expression of interest.

If you’re invited to apply for residence, you must provide evidence you own the funds you nominate, which may include:

  • bank statements
  • title deeds
  • property valuations
  • share certificates
  • business ownership documents
  • asset valuations.

The value you can claim for your nominated funds depends if they are owned by you, or jointly by you and another person.

If you own an investment jointly with:

  • your partner or dependent children, you can claim the full value of the investment as long as they are included in your application
  • someone who isn’t your partner or dependent child, you can only claim the part of the investment that you own.

Partnership

Tips

The funds and/or assets you nominate for your investment can’t be borrowed, or have a loan or bond against them.

The funds you nominate for your investment must be in addition to the funds you’re required to have to settle in New Zealand

You’ll need to explain how you earned your funds when you submit your expression of interest.

If you’re invited to apply for residence, you’ll need to provide evidence to support your explanation, which may include:

  • tax returns or certificates
  • pay slips
  • business financial statements
  • business shareholdings
  • dividends
  • receipts for property sales
  • bank certificates
  • share trading profits
  • evidence of gifted money
  • probate and other evidence of inherited money.
Tips

It’s OK if your investment includes funds that were gifted to you, as long as the gift was unconditional and lawful, and the funds were originally earned or acquired lawfully.

You must provide documents from a trusted professional like a chartered accountant or solicitor that confirm:

  • your full name
  • the amount invested in NZD
  • the date you started your investment
  • the investment type
  • the names of any organisations you invested in
  • the number of shares or bonds you bought in any organisations.

Acceptable investments: investor visas

Managing your acceptable investments

Tips

If you already have funds invested in an acceptable investment in New Zealand, we can start your investment period from the time we approve your residence application in principle.

Once your funds are invested in New Zealand, it’s OK to transfer funds between acceptable investments.

Your nominated investment funds are those funds for which you were awarded points in your invitation to apply.

Process and costs

The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

Stage 1

1
You send us your Expression of Interest

Complete an ‘Expression of Interest (EOI)’ form and send it to us together with your application fee.

You don’t have to send us any supporting documents with your EOI.

When we receive your EOI, we allocate points for your age, business experience, English-speaking ability, and investment funds.

Summary of Investor 2 Category Points

Investor (Investor 2 Category) - Expression of Interest (INZ 1165) PDF 515KB
 Investor (Investor 2 Category) Guide (INZ 1164) PDF 301KB
Immigration costs
NZD $ 690

Application cost –

Timeframes - EOI selection
Every 2 weeks

We select EOIs from the pool every 2 weeks.

2
We invite you to apply for residence

If you are awarded enough points for your EOI, we may invite you to apply for residence. If this happens, you will have 4 months to send us your application and supporting documents.

You will also need to pay an application fee and immigration levy.

If your application is successful, we approve it in principle.

Stage 2

1
You transfer your funds to New Zealand and make your investment

If we approve your application in principle, you will have 12 months to transfer your funds to New Zealand and invest in an acceptable investment.

You must show that your funds or assets came from the source you named in your application.

You may wish to come to New Zealand to check out investment opportunities before you transfer your funds. You will need to apply for a work visa or visitor visa to do this.

Acceptable Investments

Transferring Investment Funds

Immigration costs
NZD $ 7,900

Application cost – This is the charge for Immigration New Zealand to process your application. We do not refund application costs if we decline your application. A non-refundable immigration levy is charged and is included in the cost.

2
We grant your residence visa

After we grant your visa, we check in with you to make sure you are meeting the conditions of your visa like keeping your funds invested and spending time in New Zealand.

If you have met all the conditions at the end of your four-year investment, you may be eligible for a permanent resident visa.

Timeframes - Processing
Data not available

Due to this visa being closed we are no longer providing processing timeframes.

How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Stage

1

Expression of Interest

Payment methods

By Post

Credit Card
You can pay with Visa or MasterCard. We take payment when we receive your application. You must have enough funds available on the day we receive your application or it may be returned to you.

Postal address

Business Migration
Immigration New Zealand
P O Box 50728
Porirua 5240
New Zealand

Hours

Phone enquiries
Monday to Friday
06:00 to 22:00

Closed Saturday and Sunday

Telephone

+649-914-4100

0508-558-855 (NZ callers only)

Stage

2

Application

Payment methods

By Post

Credit Card
You can pay with Visa or MasterCard. We take payment when we receive your application. You must have enough funds available on the day we receive your application or it may be returned to you.

Debit Card
You can pay by debit card. We take payment when we receive your application. You must have enough funds available on the day we receive your application or it may be returned to you.

Postal address

Immigration New Zealand
PO Box 76895
Manukau City
Auckland 2241
New Zealand

Courier address

Immigration NZ
DX Box: EP71514
20 Fairfax Avenue
Penrose
Auckland 1061
New Zealand

Conditions

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.

Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing a New Zealand traveller declaration (NZTD).

New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.

Arriving in New Zealand

Notes

You can be refused entry permission if:

  • you do not meet our character requirements
  • your circumstances have changed since you were issued a visa
  • you refuse to let us to take your photo, or provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if we ask you for them.

Invest in New Zealand

You must keep your nominated funds invested in an acceptable investment in New Zealand for 4 years.

Notes

We ask for evidence you have kept your funds invested at the end of the second and fourth years you are in New Zealand.

You will have 3 months to provide the evidence.

It is OK to transfer funds between acceptable investments.

If you already have funds in an acceptable investment in New Zealand when you apply for residence, we can start your investment period from the time we approve your application in principle.

Acceptable investments: investor visas

Managing your acceptable investments

Spend time in New Zealand

You must spend 146 days per year in New Zealand, or 438 days at any time over the four year investment period if you have invested a minimum of NZ$750,000 in growth investments.

Notes

We’ll ask for evidence that you’ve met this condition towards the end of the second and fourth years you’re in New Zealand.

You’ll have 3 months to provide the evidence.

Learn English

If your IELTS certificate shows an overall band score of 3 when you apply for residence, you must complete 20 hours English language tuition at a New Zealand-registered school or tertiary education provider within the 4-year investment period.

Notes

If this applies to you, we’ll ask for evidence you completed the English language tuition within 3 months of the end of your 4-year investment period.

Contact details

You must let us know if your address or other contact details change during the 4-year investment period.

Notes

We’ll need to keep in touch with you to check you’re meeting the conditions of your visa.

If we’re unable to confirm that you’re meeting the conditions, you may not be able to stay in New Zealand.

Work

You can work in any occupation for any employer in New Zealand.

Study

You can study in New Zealand.

Travel

You can travel in and out of New Zealand for the first 2 years of your investment period.

If you meet all of the conditions that apply to the first 2 years of your investment period, you can apply for a variation of conditions to allow you to travel in and out of New Zealand for another 2 years.

Notes

If you’re not meeting the conditions of your visa, you may have to leave New Zealand.

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.

If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.

Transferring my visa to a new passport

Notes

To transfer your visa, you must:

  • send us your old and new passports
  • complete an ‘Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa’
  • pay a transfer fee.

Application for transfer or confirmation of a visa

Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa (INZ 1023) PDF 375KB

Fees, decision times and where to apply