The New Zealand investor visa (Active Investor Plus) visa offers a pathway to permanent residency for high-net-worth individuals willing to maintain at least NZD 5 million of investment in New Zealand over a minimum of 3 years.
Unlike complex visa categories that hinge on arcane procedural requirements, the AIP application process itself might appear relatively straightforward “on paper.”
Yet “straightforward” does not mean simple for individuals and families managing multi-jurisdiction wealth, large illiquid holdings, or complex source-of-funds histories.
The real challenge lies not in filling out forms, but in designing an investment strategy that satisfies Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ) compliance rules, aligns with your global investment portfolios, respects your intended risk profile, works to meet personal liquidity needs over your investment period, and positions you for long-term residency and eventual citizenship.
This guide walks you through every stage of the New Zealand investor visa application, from choosing between Growth and Balanced investment tracks, through source-of-wealth documentation, to post-approval portfolio execution, with a focus on strategic and financial decisions that are tailored-made for each investor to deliver a smooth, successful experience.
HLG provides comprehensive support from the very beginning and throughout every stage of the investment journey – and beyond.
Our services extend well past the immigration process. We are able to assist clients with practical needs such as opening bank accounts and securing reliable on-the-ground support. For those relocating with family, we can help with enjoying a smooth transition into life in New Zealand by addressing all aspects of settlement.
Understanding the NZ Investor Visa Framework
The New Zealand AIP visa offers two routes:
- Growth track: A minimum of NZD 5 million (about USD 3 million) invested in higher-risk, higher-engagement assets such as direct investments and managed funds. The investment must be maintained over a three-year period. With only 21 days of physical presence in New Zealand required from the main applicant across the entire investment term, it presents an appealing option to investors who prefer lower residency obligations. We are also able to work with clients looking at lower-risk options within this category, notably through the use of private credit and infrastructure investments that generate steady income.
- Balanced track: A minimum of NZD 10 million (about USD 6 million) across a broader mix of eligible assets, including bonds, listed equities, philanthropy, and property development covering new residential or new/existing commercial and industrial projects. The investment is to be maintained over five years, with a physical presence of at least 105 days (for the main applicant) over the investment period. However, residency days can be reduced to 63 days by increasing the investment amount.
All investments must be legally sourced and completed within six months of approval in principle, with a possible six-month extension.
HLG helps clients address the trade-offs between the two pathways in the context of your existing wealth structure and family objectives – and not just which box to tick on a form. We will take the time to thoroughly understand your background and objectives.
Our team will coordinate with your existing domestic or international financial advisors, as well as New Zealand-based professionals, to ensure a seamless process while keeping your investment central to your overall financial strategy.
How investors should approach the New Zealand investor visa
Step 1 – Define your New Zealand strategy before you “apply”
Before touching any paperwork or mandating local counsel, investors should lock in three strategic decisions that will drive every later step.
- Residency and family goals
- Decide who needs residency (spouse, dependent children up to 24) and what your 5–10 year plan in New Zealand actually is (education, partial relocation, optional Plan B).
- Clarify whether you are aiming only for permanent residence or ultimately for New Zealand citizenship, as this affects physical presence planning.
- Investment profile: Growth vs Balanced (Quick recap)
- Growth (Option A) targets NZD 5 million over 3 years in higher-risk, higher-engagement assets such as direct investments and managed funds.
- Balanced (Option B) targets NZD 10 million over 5 years across a more diverse portfolio of investment products, including bonds, listed equities, philanthropy, and property development covering new residential or new/existing commercial and industrial projects.
- Time and mobility constraints
- Growth requires the main applicant to spend at least 21 days in New Zealand over the 3-year investment period, while Balanced requires the main applicant to spend at least 105 days over 5 years, reducible with additional qualifying investment.
HLG’s role is to align your preferred category and investment volume with realistic travel and business commitments so the residency obligation does not become a burden.
Step 2 – Design a compliant, resilient investment structure
Counsel can lodge a technically correct application; the real differentiator is whether your portfolio remains eligible, efficient, and in line with your wealth planning under changing rules and markets.
Under the New Zealand Investor visa, investments must be made and maintained in New Zealand. Beyond fulfilling this requirement, the visa presents a valuable opportunity to diversify your portfolio across a new market and reduce the concentration risk of investing solely in one country. Many investors choose to begin with the minimum qualifying amount as a way to experience the New Zealand investment environment before committing additional capital.
- Building a qualifying AIP portfolio
- Work with HLG and its partner advisers to construct an allocation that satisfies INZ criteria (e.g. qualifying managed funds and direct) while reflecting your risk tolerance and liquidity needs.
- Risk, FX, and timing management
- Phase transfers within the 6-month post-approval window (and any potential extension) to manage foreign-exchange risk, banking clearances, and capital-controls issues in your home country.
- Integrate the New Zealand allocation into your global portfolio so AIP funds complement, rather than duplicate, your existing exposures and tax strategy.
Step 3 – Build a robust documentation and source-of-wealth story
Beyond filling-in and filing the detailed immigration paperwork, , the quality of your underlying documentation often determines whether INZ accepts your case quickly or returns with repeated questions. HLG takes a proactive approach from the start to balance the need for detailed documentation with the practicalities of your circumstances and provides a clear and coherent narrative that satisfies INZ requirements.
- Source of funds and source of wealth
- Prepare a clear narrative explaining how the investment capital was accumulated (business exits, salaries, inheritances, existing portfolios) and how it will be transferred into New Zealand investments.
- Support this narrative with tax returns, bank statements, sale contracts, corporate financials and other evidence tailored to each main source, especially where multiple countries or entities are involved.
- Cleaning up multi-jurisdiction histories
- High-net-worth clients can have gaps, name variations, or older entities that no longer exist; HLG focuses on eliminating inconsistencies before filing to reduce requests for further information.
- Where funds flow through holding structures or trusts, mapping all links in a simple, INZ-friendly format helps demonstrate transparency and lawful acquisition.
- Family, health, and character documentation
- Organise passports, civil status documents, and evidence for all dependants up to age 24 who should be included from the start.
- Plan ahead for police certificates and medical evidence required to meet health and character standards so these do not become bottlenecks late in the process.
Step 4 – File a strong AIP application
The legal filing itself is largely procedural, but good coordination and HLG’s extensive can prevent avoidable delays and misalignment.
- What a strong AIP application “looks like”
- A coherent package in which the form, investment plan, source-of-wealth narrative, and family documentation tell one clear story about who you are, how your funds were earned, and why your New Zealand investment is suitable and compliant.
- Anticipated questions are answered in the initial filing, reducing the risk of protracted information requests that tie up large capital commitments.
- Managing expectations and timelines
- Typical sequences involve an initial eligibility assessment, preparation, INZ processing to Approval in Principle, then the investment period and, later, permanent residence and potential citizenship.
- HLG emphasises realistic planning for each stage so family relocation, schooling, and business moves are timed to regulatory milestones rather than optimistic assumptions.
Step 5 – Execute the investment and maintain eligibility over time
For many investors, the real work starts after Approval in Principle, when large sums must be deployed into qualifying assets and then monitored over several years.
- Using the 6-month window wisely
- Rather than rushing to deploy the full amount immediately, investors can sequence transfers and subscriptions within the allowed window (and any potential extension) to optimize entry points, FX, and due diligence on each target investment.
- HLG works with advisers to ensure that each step in this sequencing still keeps you on track to meet INZ’s timelines and category-specific thresholds.
- Monitoring and adjusting your portfolio
- Over the 3- or 5-year investment period, assets may be sold, restructured, or re-classified; maintaining a compliant AIP portfolio could require periodic rebalancing or replacement investments.
- Meeting physical presence and residency requirements
- Plan visits and stays to satisfy the 21-day (Growth) or 105-day (Balanced, subject to reductions) physical presence obligations in a way that fits your business calendar and family life.
- As you transition toward permanent residence and potential citizenship, HLG helps reconcile New Zealand stay requirements with other countries’ tax and residence rules to avoid unwanted double ties.
Step 6 – From residency to long-term New Zealand strategy
The New Zealand Investor visa (AIP) is best seen not as a one-off transaction but as a framework for building a durable foothold in a stable, high-quality jurisdiction.
- Converting AIP into permanent residency and beyond
- Once you complete the investment period and meet your residency obligations, you may apply for permanent residence and, over time, for citizenship if you meet stay and connection requirements.
- HLG positions your file so that this transition is as smooth as possible, with documentation and travel history already curated in anticipation of future applications.
- Integrating New Zealand into your global plan
- For globally mobile families, New Zealand residency sits alongside other residencies, passports, and business interests; the objective is a coherent global structure, not a collection of disconnected permits.
- HLG’s multi-jurisdictional immigration and investment-migration practice allows you to coordinate New Zealand decisions with strategies around the world, optimising both mobility and asset protection.
HLG offers support through the entire lifecycle of your AIP visa – and beyond.
Our service is more than just preparing the application form for you. We devise a comprehensive investment-migration strategy with you, ensuring every decision from defining your strategy is aligned with your financial and lifestyle goals.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
1. Weak or fragmented source-of-funds evidence
- Submitting bank statements or tax returns without a clear narrative linking major inflows to lawful, documented events (salary, business sale, inheritance, investment gains) can cause INZ to question the origin of funds.
- Relying on “gateway documents” only (e.g., a single sale contract) without supporting financial statements, tax records, and bank trails often results in requests for information (RFIs) or, in serious cases, refusals for insufficient evidence of lawful acquisition.
2. Inconsistency in declared funds
- Declaring a certain net worth or investment plan in the initial stages of the application, while presenting materially different figures, structures, or sources at a later stage, can undermine credibility.
- Large unexplained changes – such as new capital suddenly appearing, or a shift from one investment track to the other without explanation – invite additional scrutiny and delay.
3. Underestimating multi-jurisdiction complexity
- Applicants with businesses, trusts, and accounts across several jurisdictions often overlook tax filings, corporate records, or historical share registers needed to substantiate wealth, creating gaps in the story INZ sees.
- Not coordinating with accountants and corporate counsel early can lead to inconsistencies between what is filed in different countries and what is presented to INZ, which may raise red flags.
4. Choosing an investment structure that does not fully meet AIP criteria
- Committing to assets that appear attractive but do not meet the programme’s definition of acceptable investments – for example, structures that are too passive or not sufficiently “active” in the New Zealand economy – can jeopardise the application or force a last-minute re-allocation.
- Over-concentrating in a single fund or product without considering eligibility and diversification may increase both regulatory and financial risk.
5. Missing investment or reporting timelines
- Failing to deploy the required funds into compliant investments within the specified timeframe after Approval in Principle, even if the application itself was approved, can result in visas not being issued or conditions not being met.
- Treating ongoing reporting obligations as “administrative” and missing annual updates or failing to document portfolio changes properly can create compliance issues later, particularly when applying for permanent residency.
6. Ignoring family-related details
- Forgetting that older children can “age out” or failing to document dependants’ education, financial dependence, or custody situations can lead to partial approvals or refusals for specific family members.
- Overlooking minor character issues (e.g., old convictions, visa refusals in other jurisdictions) instead of pre-emptively disclosing and contextualising them can be treated as non-disclosure rather than a manageable risk factor.
7. Treating AIP as a purely “form-filling” exercise
- Focusing on filling out application fields and uploading documents without a coherent investment-migration strategy can result in technically complete but substantively weak applications.
- Not integrating investment design, tax planning, and residency goals from the outset increases the likelihood of later regrets—such as being locked into unsuitable investments or facing unexpected tax consequences, even if the visa itself is granted.
Sample AIP application – Case study: US tech founder relocating family to New Zealand
Profile snapshot
- Principal: 49-year-old US citizen, co-founder of a SaaS company recently acquired by a listed US tech group.
- Family: Spouse and two children (15 and 11) included as dependants on the same application, currently based in California.
- Net worth: Approx. USD 18–20 million, primarily from the company sale, long-term stock compensation at prior employers, and a diversified US-based securities portfolio.
- Objective: Establish long-term residency in New Zealand as a lifestyle and education “Plan B,” while maintaining US business interests and managing cross-border tax exposure.
Strategic choices
- Track selection: HLG advised on all available investment pathways under the New Zealand Investor Visa (AIP) framework – ranging from Growth to Balanced options – assessing each in light of the client’s goals, liquidity needs, and risk tolerance. Following this review, the client selected a structure that offered a combination of capital stability, compliance clarity, and manageable execution requirements.
- Pre-application planning with HLG:
- Conducted a comprehensive wealth and compliance audit covering US brokerage accounts, SaaS exit proceeds, vested RSUs and options, and real estate holdings in California and Texas.
- Worked with a New Zealand-licensed financial adviser to outline a compliant AIP investment portfolio suited to the client’s chosen track, incorporating diversified exposure and a clear execution plan within the post-approval investment window.
- Coordinated with US and New Zealand tax advisers to model potential tax-residency scenarios, ensuring timing of the investment and relocation did not trigger unintended US federal or state-tax consequences.
Application build with HLG
Source-of-wealth documentation:
- For the SaaS exit: compiled share purchase agreements, cap table, vesting and option schedules, escrow and earn-out documentation, and verified bank records showing proceeds flow.
- For historic equity compensation: assembled option grant letters, RSU awards, brokerage statements, 1099s, W-2s, and related tax filings covering more than five years to substantiate wealth accumulation.
- For the targeted AIP investment capital: mapped the transfer of approximately NZD 10 million equivalent from US accounts, maintaining clear liquidity reserves and transparent fund segregation.
Family and background checks:
Secured FBI and state police clearances, medicals, and verified address, travel, and employment records for all family members to ensure full consistency across supporting documents.
Submission:
HLG prepared and lodged a complete AIP application, including a structured exhibit index and a legal submission integrating the client’s US-sourced wealth documentation, the selected AIP investment plan, and the family’s relocation and education objectives.
Outcome
New Zealand Investor Visa Application approved without major requests for further information (RFIs). Approval in Principle was granted within the typical processing period for AIP cases.
Execution:
Investment capital was transferred from US financial institutions to New Zealand in planned tranches to manage foreign-exchange exposure. The funds were then deployed into the approved investment portfolio within the required six-month investment window.
Ongoing management:
The family established an annual review cycle with HLG and in coordination with their New Zealand adviser and US tax professionals to confirm ongoing investment eligibility, fulfil Immigration New Zealand reporting requirements, and coordinate dual-jurisdiction tax compliance throughout the 3- or 5- year investment period..
Conclusion
With over three decades of experience advising on investment residency and citizenship programs worldwide, Harvey Law Group is well-positioned to act as your trusted guide through your New Zealand AIP visa journey. Contact us for solutions tailored to your individual investment and migration goals.
