New Zealand Business Investor Work Visa Now Open: Residency Pathway from NZ$1 Million
November 27, 2025 · Business Investor Visa · 11-minute read
On November 24, 2025, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) began accepting applications for the Business Investor Visa, officially the Business Investor Work Visa. This new business investor residence pathway fully replaces the Entrepreneur Work Visa, which closed in August 2025.
The Business Investor Visa is aimed at investors with the financial capacity and hands-on business experience to run an established New Zealand business themselves.
Latest update: the Business Investor Work Visa is now open for applications
Since November 24, 2025, the Business Investor Visa has been open to applicants worldwide. Investors can now apply if they commit to, and can demonstrate, an investment plan that meets these requirements: acquiring a business with at least 5 years of operating history in New Zealand, taking a direct role in running it, and creating and maintaining jobs for New Zealand citizens or residents. There are 2 investment pathways:
- Standard pathway – minimum investment of NZ$1 million (approximately US$560,000). Investors become eligible to apply for residence after 3 years of directly running the business.
- Fast-track pathway – minimum investment of NZ$2 million. The qualifying period before you can apply for residence is shortened to 12 months.
Both pathways require investors to take a direct role in running a New Zealand business that has been operating for at least 5 years, and to create and maintain jobs for New Zealand citizens or residents.
This marks a major policy shift: the focus moves away from simply “investing for a visa” toward investing in a real, operating business with long-term responsibilities.
Business Investor Visa at a glance: benefits and requirements
Key benefits
- Your whole family may live, study, and work in New Zealand;
- Access to publicly funded healthcare;
- Free schooling at state primary and secondary schools for your children;
- Eligibility to apply for a Resident Visa after 12 months of running a qualifying business (on the fast-track pathway);
- A potential pathway to New Zealand citizenship once you meet the residence requirements and maintain your investment commitment. A New Zealand passport gives investors and their families visa-free or eVisa access to 187 destinations worldwide, including the United States, Australia, Canada, and Europe.
Key advantages of the program
- A Resident Visa, which gives you indefinite residency in New Zealand, in as little as 12 months on the fast-track pathway.
- A more accessible investment threshold than the Active Investor Plus Visa, starting from NZ$1 million.
- Full, hands-on control over your investment
Requirements
Requirement
Details
Investment
Invest in a business that has been operating for at least 5 years, either by acquiring it outright or by holding at least 25% of the shares, with 2 options:
- Standard pathway: minimum investment of NZ$1 million; run the business for 3 years to qualify for residence.
- Fast-track pathway: minimum investment of NZ$2 million; run the business for 12 months to qualify for residence.
Business experience
Demonstrated experience in managing and running a business
Age
Under 55 years of age
English proficiency
Minimum IELTS 5.0 or equivalent
Funds to support yourself and your family
At least NZ$500,000
Minimum stay requirement
At least 184 days per year
Health and character (police clearance certificates)
All family members included in the application must fully meet the statutory health and character requirements
| See full details of the Business Investor Visa
Requirements for the Business Investor Resident Visa
Once the business has been run successfully in New Zealand for the required period (12 months on the fast-track pathway or 3 years on the standard pathway), investors may apply for the Business Investor Resident Visa, the step from a work visa to residence.
To qualify for this transition, however, investors must meet all of the following criteria:
- Be directly involved in running the business in New Zealand;
- Retain at least the same minimum ownership share as at the outset;
- Maintain at least 5 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees;
- Create and maintain at least 1 new full-time job for a New Zealand citizen or resident, lasting at least 12 months;
- Show that the business is operating steadily and remains solvent;
- Meet the minimum stay requirement: at least 184 days in each of the 3 most recent consecutive years;
- Meet health and character requirements, including police clearance certificates.
This is the stage at which the New Zealand government assesses whether the business is sustainable and whether the investor is genuinely committed to it.
IMM Group: why choose a proven advisory firm?
The global investment migration landscape is constantly shifting and increasingly complex. Investors need an advisory partner who not only helps them build a strong application but also gives them confidence in their family’s future. That is why, for the Business Investor Visa and all of our global investment migration solutions, IMM Group stands apart as a strategic advisory partner, supporting you with experience and integrity.
As a pioneering, long-established firm with more than 21 years of hands-on experience in Vietnam, IMM Group is not a sales agent, and we do more than advise: we design global investment migration solutions built on:
- Rigorous due diligence and risk management: Our experience successfully handling hundreds of cases, including complex ones, enables us to conduct multi-layered project due diligence and protect investors’ interests rigorously, even during market crises.
- In-depth professional consulting and full transparency: Every IMM Group advisor and case manager is certified in investment migration advisory by the Investment Migration Council (IMC). Our team analyzes benefits and risks in full, so you can make decisions based on complete and accurate information. We put our clients’ long-term interests first.
- Integrity and commitment every step of the way: Guided by our philosophy, “Serving with Authentic Values,” IMM Group stays with you from the first step until you have settled in your new country. Integrity is our foundation, reflected in our readiness to stand up for clients’ interests and to proactively refund service fees when risks beyond the client’s control arise, as set out in the contract.
- Receiving and giving back: Since 2025, IMM Group has officially become a nonprofit enterprise, committing at least 50% of its annual profits to the Be Better Fund. By choosing IMM Group, you also help hundreds of students facing exceptional hardship gain a chance to change their lives.
If you are interested in New Zealand investment migration programs, contact IMM Group or leave your details below. Our experienced advisors will provide detailed guidance and help assess the prospects of your case. We will keep your personal data confidential and use the information you provide only to advise on your family’s case.
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