NZ Business Immigration to NZ Currently Almost Non-Existent

January 2, 2023

Queen City Law director Marcus Beveridge, who has worked with wealthy foreign investors for 30 years, said the uncertainty over investment options was frustrating and the number of inquiries had dwindled.

“There’s been a huge drop off in application numbers and interest. At the moment New Zealand is not seen as flavour of the month at all,” Beveridge said.

“Business immigration has gone from a reasonable flow to a mere trickle and the policy settings are not very attractive at the moment.”

He had three people interested in applying for residency under the new investor visa category but said the lack of certainty over investment options was off-putting.

“We’ve probably gone from one end of the spectrum to the other, a bit too far, in terms of active [investment], and without having the basics there, without having NZTE ready to actually provide the assessments … it’s a bit Mickey Mouse,” Beveridge said.

The global economy meant investors may be wary of putting money in a New Zealand start-up, he said.

“I think we’re kidding ourselves a bit in terms of New Zealand popularity and how many billionaires are willing to come to Aotearoa, and on top of all of that how many are actually willing to inject $5 million into a New Zealand company without probably being that familiar with New Zealand.”

It was good the visa was targeting active investors, he said, but believed Australia’s policy was more attractive and less risky.