New Zealand Opens Door to Business Investment: Understanding the New Business Investor Visa Pathway
Effective 24 November 2025, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is rolling out major changes to its business immigration categories, introducing the comprehensive Business Investor (BIV) work and resident visa pathway.
This new instruction replaces previous categories and is designed with clear objectives: to contribute to economic growth by lifting the amount of foreign capital invested in New Zealand and to better enable the buying and selling of New Zealand businesses to ensure employment continuity and growth.
Here is an essential guide to the key elements of this exciting new visa pathway.
1. The Business Investor Work Visa – The Initial Four-Year Gateway
The BIV pathway begins with a temporary entry class visa granted for up to four years, structured in two phases: the ‘Establishment’ stage (the first 12 months) and the ‘Operating’ stage (the remaining period).
Key Requirements for the Work Visa Application:
The Business: The business you nominate must be an existing, currently operating lawful business enterprise in New Zealand. Crucially, it must meet several minimum thresholds:
Purchase Price: A credible purchase price of at least NZ$1 million (excluding real estate and GST).
Operating History: Must have operated in New Zealand for at least five years immediately prior to the visa application.
Staffing: Must employ at least five full time equivalent (FTE) staff (excluding owners).
The Investment and Funds: Applicants must nominate sufficient capital investment funds to purchase the business. These funds must be legally earned or acquired, and generally unencumbered.
Reserve Funds: In addition to the investment capital, the principal applicant must demonstrate ownership of reserve funds of a minimum of NZ$500,000 in either funds or assets.
Transfer: The investment capital must be lawfully transferred to New Zealand through the banking system within the first nine months of the Establishment stage.
The Applicant:
Age Limit: The principal applicant must be aged 55 or younger when the application is made.
Business Experience: A minimum of three years of acceptable business experience is required. This experience can be gained through paid self-employment in a substantial business or paid senior management experience in an entity with an annual turnover of at least NZ$5 million. Experience is assessed on a full-time basis (at least 30 hours per week).
English Language: The principal applicant must meet the minimum standard of English, typically demonstrated by an IELTS overall score of 5.0 or more (General or Academic Module) or equivalent tests.
Mandatory Due Diligence and Commitment:
Before approval, you must undertake financial and legal due diligence on the nominated business. This process must be confirmed by correspondence from a New Zealand qualified statutory accountant regarding financial due diligence and a New Zealand lawyer regarding legal due diligence.
You must also intend to create ongoing, full time equivalent employment for one additional New Zealand citizen or resident in the nominated business.
Navigating the Establishment Stage
The Establishment stage lasts for the first 12 months. If the visa holder fails to provide satisfactory evidence of purchasing and commencing operation of the nominated business within the first nine months of this stage, the work visa will expire.
2. The Business Investor Resident Visa – Achieving Permanent Status
The work visa provides a clear pathway to residence after successfully operating the business.
Two Pathways Based on Investment Level:
The time required operating the business before applying for residence depends on the capital invested:
NZ$1 million to less than NZ$2 million: The principal applicant must have actively operated the business for three years.
NZ$2 million or more: The principal applicant may be eligible for residence after actively operating the business for only 12 months.
Note for Accelerated Applicants (12 Months): If you qualify under the $2 million threshold after 12 months, your resident visa will be granted subject to conditions imposed under section 49(1) of the Immigration Act 2009. These conditions require you to continue to operate the business, maintain ownership, and adhere to residence and employment requirements (including maintaining 5 FTEs) for a full three years (inclusive of the first 12 months).
Ongoing Residence Requirements:
To obtain the resident visa, the principal applicant must demonstrate continuous compliance since starting operation, including:
Physical Presence: Spending at least 184 days in New Zealand for each 12-month period since commencing operation.
Employment Creation: The business must have maintained the five FTE employees and created the required ongoing, full time equivalent employment for one additional New Zealand citizen or resident for at least 12 months.
Compliance: The business must have remained solvent and adhered to all tax, financial, immigration, and employment law obligations. Evidence of solvency and financial compliance must be supported by an assessment prepared by a qualified statutory accountant.
3. Critical Compliance Issues and Excluded Businesses
Applicants must be aware that the BIV instructions explicitly define certain criteria that can lead to refusal.
Excluded Businesses
The nominated business must not be an excluded business. The list of excluded businesses is extensive and includes, but is not limited to:
Commercial sexual services
Gambling
Labour hire.
Manufacturing tobacco or other nicotine-based products (including vaping).
Businesses that provide immigration advice.
Dropshipping.
Franchised businesses.
Specific retail operations such as convenience stores, discount/value stores, and fast food outlets.
Businesses operating from a residential address.
Unacceptable Risk
Applications will be declined if the grant of the visa would create an unacceptable risk to the integrity of New Zealand’s immigration or employment laws or policies. This includes applications based on business opportunities offered by persons whose main business is the facilitation of entry to New Zealand of non-citizens/residents.
Your Next Step
The Business Investor pathway offers a direct route to New Zealand residency through strategic business acquisition. However, the complexity of meeting the investment, employment, and compliance standards—especially the mandatory due diligence and exclusion criteria—makes professional advice invaluable.
Our role as licensed immigration advisers is to ensure your proposed investment meets all immigration requirements, that your due diligence process is comprehensive and compliant, and that you navigate the transfer of capital and the crucial Establishment phase successfully to secure your path to residence.