Business Migration to New Zealand – Entrepreneur Visa
If you are an experienced business person looking to migrate to New Zealand, you should consider the Entrepreneur visa as your pathway to the country. With this visa, you can bring your business skills and operations over to New Zealand, and obtain permanent residency in the country!
What is an Entrepreneur Visa?
New Zealand’s Entrepreneur visa is a 36-month business migration visa which lets experienced business people and entrepreneurs work in their own business in the country. With this visa, you can move to New Zealand to buy or establish your business, and obtaining the Entrepreneur visa is your first step towards permanent residency in New Zealand!
This visa is structured in two stages: Start-up stage and Balance stage.
Start-up stage
In this stage, you will be given an initial 12-month visa to buy or establish your business in New Zealand.
Balance stage
This stage is for you to show the New Zealand government that you have taken the necessary steps to establish your business in New Zealand. Once you’ve done this, you will be granted the remaining 24 months of your Entrepreneur visa.
What are the eligibility factors?
To qualify for the Entrepreneur visa, you must:
- Provide a detailed business plan;
- Be able to invest at least NZ $100,000 in your business (excluding working capital);
- Score at least 120 points on the New Zealand points scale (based on factors such as the likelihood of the business being successful);
- Have a clean recent history of business failure, bankruptcy and fraud;
- Meet the health, character and English Language requirements.
You should also note that if your business is in the science or ICT sectors and shows admirable innovation or export potential, the NZ $100,000 capital investment requirement might be waived!
What happens after I obtain the Entrepreneur visa?
Once your visa application gets the green light, you will be granted a 12-month residence in the start-up stage of your Entrepreneur visa. During this time, you can come to New Zealand – along with your partner and dependent children aged 19 or younger – and buy or establish your business in the country.
Once you have set up your business, you will be granted the remaining 24 months of the Entrepreneur visa in the balance stage.
How do I apply for permanent residency?
Based on the progress of your business, you can go on to apply for permanent residency in New Zealand!
There are two pathways to permanent residency in New Zealand:
Entrepreneur Residence Category (2 years)
You can apply for permanent residency in New Zealand if you are self-employed in your purchased or established business in the country for at least two years. Your business must also have significantly benefitted New Zealand.
Entrepreneur Residence Category (6 monssths)
This is essentially a fast-track to permanent residency in New Zealand. You can apply under this category if you invest at least NZ $500,000 in your business, and create at least three new full-time jobs for New Zealand citizens or residents.
Who can help me with applying for the Entrepreneur visa?
For professional immigration services regarding business migration to New Zealand, get in touch with eduaid! Our friendly and dedicated immigration consultants are licensed by the New Zealand Immigration Advisers Authority and are officially recognised by the New Zealand government! We will guide you through the entire Entrepreneur visa application process, and bring you one step closer to permanently immigrating to New Zealand!
Visit our offices, or call our immigration consultants for more information!