NZ residency through
qualifying investments.

How the AIP visa works

The Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa is New Zealand's primary pathway for high-net-worth investors seeking residency through capital deployment. The April 2025 settings replaced the older Investor 1 / Investor 2 visa categories with a points-weighted framework that rewards investments into more “active” asset classes — direct private equity, venture capital, listed NZX equities and growth-oriented managed funds carry higher weightings than passive instruments such as bonds or term deposits.

Two categories operate in parallel. The Growth category requires a minimum NZ$5 million invested in eligible “higher-risk” assets (direct equities, NZTE-approved managed funds with a high active-investment weighting, philanthropic giving) over a three-year hold. The Balanced category requires NZ$10 million invested across a wider, more diversified pool of eligible investments — including listed equities, bonds and infrastructure — also held for at least three years. Both categories require investors to live in New Zealand for at least 117 days during the three-year hold; Growth applicants typically face a lighter active-management bar than the previous Investor 1 ($10M, 44 days) regime.

What counts as an acceptable investment

Immigration NZ relies on NZTE's approved managed-funds list as the primary source of pre-vetted vehicles. Funds appear on the list when their underlying portfolio meets thresholds for direct, productive NZ investment — typically venture capital, growth equity, infrastructure or scale-up managers. Direct investments outside the list are also permitted but require independent evidence of active management, NZ-based productive deployment and arm's-length terms. Bonds, term deposits and residential property held for personal use do not count toward the threshold; commercial property and development funds may qualify under the Balanced category subject to weighting.

Most applicants combine an NZTE-approved fund commitment with a tranche of direct investment or angel co-investment to hit the qualifying weighting. Wholesale Investor NZ's AIP-eligible funds directory shows which managers carry NZTE approval, the minimum investment per fund, the typical hold period and the asset-class profile — the four datapoints that drive most AIP application decisions.

Important caveats

Visa rules change. The AIP framework was last materially revised in April 2025 and Immigration NZ updates the NZTE-approved fund list periodically. This page is informational only and does not constitute immigration or financial advice. Always confirm current settings with a licensed immigration adviser and review fund disclosure documents before committing capital. Wholesale investments carry higher risk than retail products and reduced regulatory protections — investors must meet the FMCA 2013 wholesale-investor criteria independent of the visa pathway.