New Zealand RBI - Business Investor Visa

Advising Indian families on Asia-Pacific migration since 2009, from our Koramangala office in Bangalore.

The old weighted-investment system is gone, and so is the English-language requirement. There are now two categories:

The Growth category is the more interesting of the two for most applicants: half the capital, a shorter hold, and only three weeks in the country across the whole period.

Growth accepts direct investments, managed funds and philanthropy (philanthropy capped at 20% of the total). Balanced adds listed equities, bonds and property developments. Funds must be invested within six months of approval in principle, with a possible extension. A partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger can be included, Immigration New Zealand states no maximum age for the principal applicant, and it reports an average processing time of 36 working days once documentation is complete.

The Business Investor Work Visa opened on 24 November 2025, replacing the closed Entrepreneur Work Visa:

• NZ$1 million → a three-year work-to-residence pathway
• NZ$2 million → fast-track to residence after 12 months

It needs at least 25% ownership of an established business with a purchase price of at least NZ$1 million, and three years' business experience in self-employment or senior management. The visa runs up to four years — a 12-month establishment stage and a three-year operating stage — and both pathways lead to the Business Investor Resident Visa; on the NZ$2 million pathway the business must still be run for three years in total across both visas. The application fee is NZ$12,380. Updated on 6 July 2026 to allow franchises, purchase through a New Zealand resident entity, and gifted capital.

If NZ$5 million is out of reach, this is the route to look at. The Entrepreneur Work Visa it replaced is closed to new applications.

New Zealand does permit dual citizenship. India does not. So the constraint here is entirely on the Indian side.

New Zealand citizenship becomes possible after 1,350 days over five years, with at least 240 days in each of those years. Taking it would end your Indian citizenship automatically under Section 9(1) of the Citizenship Act 1955, regardless of New Zealand's own generosity on the point.

Residence and permanent residence carry no such consequence. Most Indian families stop at permanent residence for exactly that reason, and there is nothing wrong with doing so.

XIPHIAS Immigration has guided Indian families abroad since 2009, from our office in Koramangala, Bangalore. We were named Best Immigration Consultant by The Times of India in 2022. Our immigration consultants in Bangalore will take you through the current official requirements, costs and timeline for New Zealand.

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Verified against government sources on 30 September 2026.