Active Investor Plus · Balanced
New Zealand's golden visa, without the venture capital
The Balanced category takes NZD $10 million for five years and lets you hold bonds, property developments and listed shares. It asks for 105 days in the country, or as few as 63.
This is the passive half of New Zealand's investor visa. You can live, work and study here from the day it's granted, then apply for permanent residence once the five years are done.
The Balanced terms, in short
NZD $10M
Your minimum investment
about USD $5.8 million as of September 2026
60 months
How long it stays invested
audited at 24 and 60 months
105 days
In New Zealand across those five years
roughly three weeks a year
63 days
The floor, if you invest NZD $13M
14 days off per extra million
Growth or Balanced
Two doors, and one costs double
New Zealand runs one golden visa with two doors. Growth asks for NZD $5 million across three years, and that money has to go somewhere active: a fund Invest New Zealand has approved, or a direct stake in a Kiwi company.
Balanced asks NZD $10 million for five years and opens the menu up. That's the whole trade. You pay twice as much and wait two years longer; in return, you can hold government bonds, corporate bonds, listed shares and property developments. They're things that pay a coupon instead of needing an exit.
The cheaper door is the popular one. Of the 837 applications New Zealand had received by late July 2026, 710 were Growth and 127 were Balanced. So Balanced is the minority track, and it's the one people pick when they'd rather not underwrite startup risk with eight figures.
Active Investor Plus Visa (Balanced)
For investors. Balanced category offers flexible investment options and pathway to permanent residency with slightly higher residency requirement.
- Processing time
- ~120 days
- Timeline
- Permanent residency after investment period, minimal physical presence (105 days)
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Key requirements
- Significant investment in NZ (Balanced category)
- Minimal physical presence (105 days)
- Health and character checks
About that data card
The 120 day processing time above is the long way of counting. Immigration New Zealand has been getting to approval in principle in about 36 working days. That's the decision that matters because it starts your six month clock to move the money. How fast you go from there to a resident visa depends on how quickly your funds land and clear.
The menu
What NZD $10 million is allowed to buy
Balanced money can go anywhere Growth money can go, plus the assets Growth investors get locked out of. Invest New Zealand keeps the approved list and decides what qualifies before you wire anything.
One rule catches people out. The house you occupy isn't an investment. Residential property only counts when it's a new development that adds housing. Commercial or industrial property has to be new, or upgraded in a way that adds real value like earthquake strengthening.
- New Zealand bonds: government, local government and corporate
- Property developments: new residential, or new and upgraded commercial and industrial
- Listed New Zealand shares
- Invest New Zealand approved managed funds, and direct stakes in New Zealand companies
- Philanthropy to approved New Zealand charities, under rules that tightened in June 2026
Tax
Four years of not paying New Zealand tax
Stay outside the New Zealand tax net for the decade before you arrive and you land as a transitional resident. That's an automatic four year exemption on most foreign income: overseas dividends, interest, rent, pensions and capital gains. You get it once in a lifetime, and it doesn't cover foreign salary.
New Zealand also has no capital gains tax, inheritance tax, gift duty or wealth tax.
Now for the part that brochures skip. That exemption covers foreign income, and your NZD $10 million is New Zealand income. Interest on New Zealand bonds is taxed here from day one, whatever your residency looks like. At 105 days spread over five years you're nowhere near the 183 day residency test, though that test isn't the only way to become a tax resident. American citizens keep filing with the IRS either way.
New in 2026: you can buy a house
Until this year AIP holders were treated like any other foreign buyer, so buying an existing home meant first living here long enough to count as ordinarily resident. That changed on 6 March 2026. You can now buy or build one residential property worth more than NZD $5 million, with consent from the Overseas Investment Office first. The house doesn't count toward your $10 million. Watch the tax angle, too: a home you keep here can create a permanent place of abode, which makes you a New Zealand tax resident no matter how few days you spend here.
Here's the catch
With this much money on the table, it's worth saying the hard parts plainly.
The money is locked for five years. It's invested, not parked. Bonds and listed shares can lose value, and you're the one who has to keep at least NZD $10 million sitting in acceptable investments the whole time. New Zealand checks at 24 months and again at 60.
The 105 days are a floor, not a plan. They only count once you're holding the resident visa; if you want them cut to 63, you have to nominate the extra NZD $3 million before you're approved in principle, not after.
The start is tight, too. Approval in principle gives you six months to transfer and invest the whole amount. There's a one-time six month extension if things go sideways, and that's the end of the rope.
Who to call before you wire anything
Greener Pastures
New Zealand Golden Visa
New Zealand golden visa work is all they do. They handle the application, the source of funds file and the Invest New Zealand side of the investment.
Simon Conn
International Mortgage Lending
International mortgage lending across New Zealand and a long list of other markets, which matters more here now that AIP holders can buy a home above NZD $5 million.
Working In New Zealand
New Zealand Relocation Specialist
Relocation people for the unglamorous half: shipping, schools, IRD numbers and finding somewhere to live in the 12 months your family has to arrive.
Questions we get about Balanced
Will New Zealand tax my worldwide income?
Not for the first four years, as long as New Zealand hasn't taxed you as a resident in the previous decade. Transitional residents get an automatic one time exemption on most foreign income. It doesn't cover New Zealand income, so interest on your New Zealand bonds is taxable here regardless. US citizens still file a US return every year.
Is there an English test or an age limit?
Neither. The April 2025 settings dropped the English requirement and the age limit, and there's no annual cap on approvals. You still have to pass health and character checks, including police certificates from every country you've lived in, and show a lawful source of funds.
How much money do I need for the Balanced category?
NZD $10 million in acceptable New Zealand investments, held for 60 months. That's roughly USD $5.8 million at the September 2026 rate, and the rate moves. Government application fees start around NZD $27,470 on top, and you'll pay advisers and fund managers separately.
Do I actually have to live in New Zealand?
No. You need 105 days in New Zealand across the five year investment period, which is about three weeks a year, and they only count while you hold the resident visa. Invest more than the minimum in Growth style assets and that drops by 14 days per extra million, down to a floor of 63 days at NZD $13 million.
Can my family come with me?
Your partner and dependent children aged 24 and under can be included on your resident visa. They each have to activate it and arrive in New Zealand within 12 months of the visa being granted. Miss that window and they have to apply for residence again.
What's the difference between Growth and Balanced?
Growth takes NZD $5 million for three years and only allows active investments: approved managed funds and direct stakes in New Zealand businesses. Balanced takes NZD $10 million for five years and adds bonds, property developments and listed shares. Growth needs 21 days in the country, Balanced needs 105.
Can I buy a house in New Zealand on this visa?
Yes, since 6 March 2026. AIP holders can buy or build one residential property worth more than NZD $5 million, after getting Overseas Investment Office consent. Sign nothing unconditional before that consent. The house doesn't count toward your $10 million, and owning a home here can make you a New Zealand tax resident.
Not sure which door is yours?
Take the Expatsi Test and we'll show you where you'd actually fit, in New Zealand or somewhere cheaper.
Why not you?