The government is overhauling its so called 'golden visa' scheme to lure wealthy investors to New Zealand.
The Active Investor Plus visa gives wealthy foreigners residency if they directly invest in local companies, rather than in shares or bonds.
It's had relatively little uptake since it was overhauled by the former Labour government in July 2022.
This afternoon, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced his government was making changes to modernise the visa settings and attract foreign investment.
From 1 April, the Active Investor Plus visa will be replaced with two, simplified investment categories.
The first, 'The Growth' category, will focus on higher-risk investments, including direct investments in New Zealand businesses.
It will require a minimum investment of $5 million for a minimum period of three years.
The second, 'The Balanced' category, will focus on mixed investments, with the ability to choose ones that are lower risk.
There will be a minimum investment of $10 million over five years.
Other changes include expanding the scope of acceptable investments and removing potential barriers to investment, like the English language requirement.
"For way too long New Zealand has put up the shutters on investment. We've been reluctant to recognise the benefits for Kiwis from attracting overseas investment to this country and there is billions of dollars, billions of dollars in capital out there that investors are looking to find a home for," Luxon said.
Immigration lawyer Nick Mason has previously criticised the current iteration of the investor scheme, saying New Zealand was missing out on investment.
Luxon announced the new changes in Auckland this afternoon, alongside his Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis.
Willis welcomed the changes, saying there was a massive amount of capital, hundreds of millions if not billions, not coming into New Zealand.
"Unfortunately, changes made to the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa category by the previous government had the effect of discouraging potential investors from seeking New Zealand residence. Since 2022, migrants entering New Zealand under the AIP category have invested just $70 million. By contrast, in the two years prior to Covid-19 migrants invested $2.2 billion.
"Rather than turning potential investors away, this Government is intent on welcoming people who want to contribute to New Zealand. We are already making it easier for digital nomads to work remotely while visiting here and have established Invest New Zealand to promote investment into this country," Willis said.
Stanford said capital was highly mobile and in an increasingly complex world, people were looking for a safe and stable country to do business.
"We are now making our investor visa simpler and more flexible to incentivise investors to choose New Zealand as a destination not just for their capital, skills and international connections, but to build a life for themselves and their family here."
