Business Investor Work Visa

Business Investor work visa: Buy into and actively run an established New Zealand business under the current business-investor route. Resident, then optional permanent residence: The standard business route can support residence after three years, or after 12 months on fast track with continuing business obligations. A Permanent Resident Visa then requires its own residence, commitment and condition-removal tests. New Zealand citizenship · normally 5 years: Normally hold qualifying residence rights for five years, with at least 1,350 days physically present in total and at least 240 days in each year. English, character and intention requirements also apply. A Resident Visa already allows indefinite stay while its conditions are met. A Permanent Resident Visa provides indefinite travel rights. Investor minimum-stay conditions are much lower than citizenship presence requirements. A Permanent Resident Visa is not required before applying for citizenship.

Prepare business due diligence and the acquisition proposal, apply for the work visa and complete establishment within the allowed period. Actively operate the business and document investment and employment before the resident-stage application.

Normally age 55 or younger, at least three years of relevant business experience, required English and a qualifying established business.

At least NZD 1 million for the standard route or NZD 2 million for fast track, plus NZD 500,000 reserve funds. The business must meet the employee and operating-history rules, with one additional qualifying local job created.

A work visa of up to four years. The standard route can support residence after three years, while the fast-track route permits a residence application after 12 months, with continuing business obligations.

Fast-track residence after 12 months does not remove the requirement to maintain the business undertaking for a total of three years.