The New Zealand government has made public its intention to make changes to the Golden Visa Program, with the aim to attract more foreign investors. After strengthening the requirements for the Golden Visa Program in 2022, the number of applications decreased drastically. By introducing the new requirements, New Zealand expects that the number of applications will increase again.
What is the Golden Visa?
The Golden Visa is a sort of visa allowing wealthy people to buy a residence permit or citizenship in another country. In return, they need to make a financial contribution to the country, for example buying a house or making a significant investment there. The New Zealand Golden Visa is also known as the Active Investor Plus Visa. Provided they meet a series of requirements, applicants can use this visa to obtain a temporary residence permit for New Zealand. The applicant's family, including partners and children up to 24 years old, are also allowed to stay in New Zealand.
Tourists and business travellers generally do not need to apply for a New Zealand visa. They can use the NZeTA instead. The NZeTA is an electronic travel authorisation and it can be applied for by means of a digital application form. Once granted, your will receive your by email.
Requirements for the Active Investor Plus Visa
There are several ways to obtain an Active Investor Plus Visa. For instance, by making a direct investment of at least NZD 5 million in a private company. Another possible way is to make a passive investment of at least NZD 15 million in private investment funds, or in stock exchange shares or charities. It is also possible to make a combined investment (direct and indirect). A weighted average of the different investments is then calculated.
In addition to the minimum invested amount, applicants must meet some other conditions. Investors who want to qualify for the Active Investor Plus Visa need to make investments in the country for a minimum period of four years, and they must spend at least 117 days in New Zealand during this time. It is also mandatory to have a reasonable command of the English language. Applicants must take a language test to prove that their language proficiency level is sufficient.
Sharp drop in the number of applications
In 2022, the New Zealand authorities tightened the requirements to apply for the New Zealand Golden Visa. The minimum amount to make a direct investment in the country was raised from NZD 3 million to NZD 5 million. The minimum amount to make a passive investment has been NZD 15 million since 2022, whereas previously this was subject to a minimum amount of NZD 10 million.
These changes caused a sharp drop in the number of applications for the Active Investor Plus Visa. In the last two years, only 35 applications for the visa were submitted. This is a decrease of more than 80 per cent since the strenghtening of the requirements. As a result, the revenues coming from the Golden Visa were also much lower. In the past two years, this type of visa provided New Zealand with around NZD 352 million (around €190 million) annually, compared to an average of up to NZD 1 billion (around €540 million) in previous years.
Easing of the requirements
New Zealand authorities have announced their intention to modify the requirements of the Active Investor Plus Visa. One measure under consideration is the abolition of the English language test, which is currently mandatory. In addition, immigration authorities will try to start processing investor applications faster. It is still unknown whether the minimum amounts that must be invested will also change. New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis has promised to announce more information on the new plans in the coming weeks.