POSTERN

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.

1

Does it fit your family?

One question, from the program’s own rules.

Savings you could move or invest?

Not legal advice.

2

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.

3

Citizens by 2033.

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

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    3 years, not renewable.

  2. 2032
    Apply for citizenship

    With a language test.

  3. 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
4

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.

5

Start today.

  1. Review Active Investor Plus with Immigration New Zealand.Open immigration.govt.nz ↗
  2. 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
6

Postern can’t run this for you yet.

The official application forms, submission and recovery specification are not complete. Postern cannot run this application yet.

Options open to you today →
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ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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