New Zealand

Active Investor Plus visa. New Zealand’s 2025-revised investor residence visa, in a lower-capital Growth category and a larger Balanced category, each with a modest time-in-country requirement.

Free, with the law behind every answer

Active Investor Plus visa

A resident visa with conditions, removable after 36 months (Growth) or 60 months (Balanced) once the investment and time-in-country conditions are met, converting to unconditional permanent resident status.

Who qualifies

Growth category: invest at least NZD 5,000,000 (about $2.9 million) for 3 years in higher-risk investments such as private equity, venture capital, private credit, infrastructure, or direct investment in New Zealand businesses, and spend at least 21 days in New Zealand over the 3 years.
Active Investor Plus visa
Balanced category: invest at least NZD 10,000,000 for 5 years in a broader range of acceptable investments including bonds, listed equities, managed funds, and qualifying property developments, and spend at least 105 days in New Zealand over the 5 years; each extra NZD 1 million placed in Growth-eligible assets cuts 14 days from that requirement, to a floor of 63 days once at least NZD 3 million is in Growth-type assets and total investment reaches about NZD 13 million.
Active Investor Plus visa

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

Does it fit your family?

One question, from the program’s own rules.

Savings you could move or invest?

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Investment: About $2,900,000.
Time: About 4 months to an approval-in-principle for most applicants; investment terms then run 3 years (Growth) or 5 years (Balanced) before conditions can be removed.
Cost: Official fees start from about NZD 27,470 (application fee plus levy); all-in cost including due-diligence and investment-advisory fees often reaches NZD 38,000–55,000, on top of the investment capital itself.
The hard part: Sourcing and documenting the lawful origin of NZD 5–10 million in investable capital.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

Citizens by 2033.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
First residence permit
3 years, not renewable.
2032
Apply for citizenship
With a language test.
2033
Citizenship
The decision usually takes 4–7 months.

Language: Able to hold a basic conversation in English.
Time away: Present in New Zealand at least 1,350 days in the 5 years before applying and at least 240 days in each of those years, each day on a visa that let you stay indefinitely (a resident or permanent resident visa). You must intend to keep living there.
Two passports: Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.

A resident visa from the start, becoming a Permanent Resident Visa after 3 years (Growth) or 5 (Balanced); it asks for only 21 or 105 days in the country, but citizenship needs 1,350 days in five years, so only a family that actually moves gets there.

The law behind these dates

Living there.

Time you must spend there: 21 days over 3 years (Growth) or 105 days over 5 years, reducible with a larger investment (Balanced).
Tax: New Zealand tax residency generally follows a 183-day rule or a permanent place of abode; once resident, worldwide income is generally taxable.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Review Active Investor Plus with Immigration New Zealand.Open immigration.govt.nz ↗
Gather these documents.
- Proof of the funds to invest: about $2,900,000, and where they came from
- Request your FBI Identity History Summary
- Health cover for the move

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