BH3.1 Consistency with business proposal under the Entrepreneur Work Visa Category (24/03/2014)

1. An application under the Entrepreneur Residence Visa Category will be declined if:
   1. the business on the basis of which the application is made was established while the principal applicant was the holder of a work visa granted under the Entrepreneur Work Visa or Long Term Business Visa Category; and
   2. the business is different from the business proposal (except for a business proposal subsequently modified with the consent of a business immigration specialist) in respect of which the applicant was granted a work visa.
2. Despite BH3.1(a) above, an application may be approved if:
   1. the business that has been established would have met the requirements for a business plan under the Entrepreneur Work Visa Category; and
   2. the business that has been established required the same or a greater level of capital investment than a business proposal in respect of which the applicant was granted or issued a work visa under the Entrepreneur Work Visa Category; and
   3. the applicant has relevant experience for the new business; and
   4. the business has provided a significant benefit to New Zealand equal or greater than the original business as determined by a business immigration specialist (see BH4.10).
3. For the purposes of BH3.1(b)(ii), account will only be taken of the amount of capital that has been actively invested in the business. No account will be taken of:
   1. working capital (see BB6.1.50); or
   2. passive or speculative investments, such as reserve funds or term bank deposits; or
   3. expenditure on items for the personal use of the applicant(s), such as personal residence, cars or boats.
4. Applications for an Entrepreneur Residence Visa which have not met one or any of the goals in the business plan, or realised their stated goal in one or any of the categories which were claimed in the points scale at BB3.10(d) in the original Entrepreneur Work Visa application, will be declined unless:
   1. the applicant can demonstrate that this failure was due to extraordinary circumstances outside their control; and
   2. the circumstances were not foreseeable; and
   3. the failure was not due to lack of planning or realistic goals on the part of the applicant or adviser working on their behalf.

Note: People who hold a visa under the former Long Term Business Visa Category must demonstrate they meet these requirements to be granted residence under the Entrepreneur Residence Visa Category.

Effective 24/03/2014