- New Zealand softens its “golden visa” rules in order to attract investors, said its government on Sunday.
- The visa should become “simpler and more flexible,” said immigration minister Erica Stanford.
- New Zealand’s economy has struggled in recent years, with a recession and an increase in unemployment in 2024.
The New Zealand government announced on Sunday that it would make changes to its so-called “golden visa” in order to attract richer migrants to its coast.
Erica Stanford, the country’s Minister of Immigration, said that the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa would become “simpler and more flexible” to encourage investors to choose New Zealand for their “capital, skills and international connections “And as a place to” build “a life. “”
After the changes, which should take effect from April 1, two new investment categories – “growth” and “balanced” – will replace the current complex weighting system for AIP “.
The “growth” category will apply to those who make “higher risk investments” such as direct investments in local businesses. It will require a minimum investment of $ 5 million NZ (approximately 2.8 million dollars) for at least three years.
The “balanced” category will focus on mixed investments and will require a minimum investment of $ 10 million NZ (approximately $ 5.7 million) over five years.
The new rules will also see the abolition of the English language requirement.
“Encourageing, simplifying and expanding investment offers will make New Zealand more attractive and accessible to greater foreign investors,” Stanford said. “These changes will kill our economic growth, which has advanced brighter days for all kiwis.”
The Minister of Economic Growth Nicola Willis added: “We should deploy the welcome carpet and encourage investors’ migrants to choose New Zealand as a destination for their capital.”
New Zealand’s economy has been struggling in recent years, slipping into a technical recession in the third quarter of 2024 and seeing an increase in unemployment.
The chief economist of HSBC for New Zealand and Australia, Paul Bloxham, said in January that the bank’s estimates suggested that the economy of New Zealand had the greatest contraction of GDP among the developed countries in 2024, according to RNZ.
This is not the first time that New Zealand has changed its visa policies to try to help its besieged economy.
At the end of January, the country announced a new “Nomad digital” initiative allowing tourists to work remotely for a foreign employer during the holidays.
“Make the country more attractive for digital nomads ” – people who work remotely on a trip – will increase the attractiveness of New Zealand as a destination,” Willis said in a statement at the time.
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