New Zealand to relax requirements for residency by investment

In July 2022, the New Zealand Government announced plans to reform New Zealand's immigration by investment settings, introducing the Active Investor Plus residency programme (AIP Programme). The AIP Programme was officially launched in September 2022.

The previous Investor 1 and Investor 2 residence visa categories had been criticised for allowing investors to invest in passive, low-risk investments (such as equities and bonds), which were seen to deliver limited benefits to the New Zealand business ecosystem. The AIP Programme was designed to incentivise investments in more active, riskier investments.

Under the AIP Programme, applicants can obtain New Zealand residency by investing NZD 15m or weighted equivalent in approved direct investments, managed funds, listed equity, and philanthropy, with riskier, more active investments given higher weighting. Applicants must meet other requirements, including spending 117 days in New Zealand across the four-year investment period.

The AIP Programme has had limited applicants, we believe due to its high investment thresholds and the investment risk that applicants must take, particularly for direct investments (requiring an investment of NZD 5m).

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has just acknowledged this and confirmed that the Government plans to reform the AIP Programme. The Government will release details of the changes "in the coming weeks."

However, given that Minister Willis has acknowledged that the 2022 changes led to a significant decrease in applicants, we expect the Government to reduce the amount that applicants must invest and possibly relax other requirements. We will provide an update when the Government confirms details of the changes.

This alert was written by Daniel McLaughlin, Special Counsel, and Sarah Wells, Senior Associate, in our Private Wealth team.