New Zealand has one of the most globalized economies and is in great international trade relations with mainly Australia, European Union, USA, China, South Korea and Japan. The New Zealand currency New Zealand dollar or popularly called Kiwi dollar is the 10th most traded currency in the world. Life in New Zealand is considered to be relaxed which takes care of various aspects of basic foundations of well being, level of opportunity available to its citizens.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise is the organization that supports and provides business strategic advice to anyone who wants to export goods and services to other countries. New Zealand earned about NZ $50 billion in the year 2014, and is a great place for international trade.

There are 3 type of visa available for Entrepreneurs interested in doing business in New Zealand:

Entrepreneur Resident Visa:

If you have been self-employed in New Zealand or have operated a business in New Zealand for two years on another visa, then you can apply for Entrepreneur Resident visa. If you continue to operate your own business in New Zealand, you can apply for the Entrepreneur Resident visa ideally after 2 years of being self-employed.

This visa allows you to live, work or study in New Zealand if you get the Permanent Residency visa. You can also apply for this visa before 2 years of being self employed, you need to meet the below criteria:

• You must have an Entrepreneur work visa,
• You must have an invested capital of at least NZ $5,000,000 and
• You must have created at least 3 new jobs in New Zealand.

You can also invite your spouse or partner, or dependent children aged below 24 years of age along with your visa application and stay with your family in New Zealand.

Global Impact Work Visa:

This visa is for Entrepreneurs and Investors, who have been accepted into the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, can apply for a Global Impact Work Visa. The main benefit of this visa is, it allows you to work in New Zealand while you are establishing or supporting innovation ventures in New Zealand. If you have applied for the Edmund Hillary Fellowship after 30 months, you can apply for Permanent Residency.

Entrepreneur Work Visa:

If you are interested in setting up a new business venture or expanding an already established business in New Zealand, you can apply for Entrepreneur Work visa. This visa allows people with a detailed business plan, have at least NZ $100,000 to invest in your business you can claim extra points for this when you apply for Permanent Residency through Point based system of immigration in New Zealand.

This visa allows you to stay in New Zealand for about 12 months and your visa can be extended for 2 more years. This visa allows you to include your partner and dependent children below 19 years of age to go along with you to New Zealand.

Investment Visas in New Zealand:

New Zealand offers a variety of investment visa options to people residing in or outside New Zealand to experience life in New Zealand:

Parent Retirement Resident Visa:

If you have child who is above 18 years of age and is a New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident, you can apply to permanently live in New Zealand. There is a minimum income and minimum investment prerequisite for this:

• You need to have a minimum income of NZ $60,000,
• You must invest at least NZ $1 million for a minimum duration of 4 years and
• After this you must have at least NZ $500,000 as savings.
• You can apply for Permanent Residency once you have completed 4 years of investment period..

Investor 2 Resident Visa:

If you are an investor who wants to settle in New Zealand, you have two options:

Investor Visa (Investor 2 Visa category):

If you plan to invest a minimum of NZ $1.5 million for a minimum period of over 4 years, you can apply for this visa.  There is a residence requirement of at least 146 in New Zealand in each of the last 3 years during the 4 years investment period.

You and your family need to have proficient English language skills in order to apply for this visa. In case, some of your family members don’t have required English level, they can undergo ESOL tution. The maximum age allowed for the applicants of this category is 65 years.

Investor Plus Visa (Investor 1 Category):

This is the best category to apply for if you have good amount of money for investment. If you intend to invest a minimum of NZ $10 million or more for a minimum period of over 3 years, you can apply for this visa, you can apply for this visa. The main benefit to apply under the Investor Plus category is that there are no additional requirements for you and your family.

• There are some additional criteria for meeting the investment funds requirement:
• The investments must be unencumbered which means that no mortgage, lien or charge is associated with it.
• The investments must be acquired legally or legitimately
• The investments must be transferable through banking system or an foreign exchange company that uses banking system
• If you are applying under the Investor category, you would need to submit