Visits to New Zealand for the purpose of business meetings, conferences and research should generally be made with a visitor visa. It is possible to obtain long term multiple entry visitor visas if business visits are a regular and ongoing occurrence although this is not necessary for visitors from visa free countries. For those visits where a key employee or manager is seconded or otherwise required to undertake a period of extended work within an organisation operating in New Zealand a work visa/permit is required.

Holders of permanent residence permits are free to work or be self employed in their own business as any other New Zealander. Similarly the holders of “open” work permits are able to be self employed for the period of their permit. Open work permits are issued under Family Policy to the partners of long term work permit holders and New Zealand citizens and residents, and the partners of some postgraduate tertiary student permit holders. Apart from these examples the appropriate visa that is required to establish and operate a business in New Zealand is the Long Term Business Visa or LTBV.

PathwaysNZ has successfully processed more than 100 LTBV cases. However since the introduction of more restrictive policies in 2002 the number of applications currently being made has significantly decreased. The LTBV application process is detailed, time consuming, often uncertain, and relatively expensive compared with other possible visa options. For these reasons PathwaysNZ will always first explore and exhaust all other visa options before agreeing to accept instructions for LTBV cases. LTBV clients must be genuinely intent on, and have the ability, to undertake their planned business in New Zealand.

For a LTBV application to be successful an applicant must:

• Satisfy the English Language standard
• Submit a well researched, comprehensive and individual Business Plan clearly demonstrating:
  - The viability and potential profitability of the proposed business
  - How the business will benefit New Zealand
  - The applicant’s knowledge of New Zealand and New Zealand business practices

        As part of its LTBV service PathwaysNZ is able to undertake the required business
        research and prepare the Business Plan

• Have actual business or management experience relevant to the proposed business
• Have sufficient funds to establish or purchase the proposed business and to cover family living costs for the 3 year LTBV term
• Demonstrate a genuine commitment to undertake the planned business

On approval of the LTBV application the applicant will initially be granted an interim 9 month work visa. Within this period the applicant must transfer their business investment funds, as specified in their Business Plan, through the trading bank system into New Zealand and provide evidence that they have actually established and commenced business operations as per their Business Plan. At this time the LTBV is then reissued to a date 3 years from the date of issue of the original 9 month visa.

It is prudent to base a LTBV application on the purchase or establishment of a defined business as applications can take time to process and it is possible any specific business opportunity may be lost in this timeframe. PathwaysNZ is able to build some flexibility into Business Plans to accommodate a range of potential business scenarios. LTBV applications are currently taking 3-4 months to process. Visas are endorsed restricting the holder to only undertake the actual business in the locality consistent with the Business Plan. However it is possible for minor business changes to be approved, in advance, by INZ. There is no age limit for applicants under the LTBV policy.

The partner of a LTBV holder is issued an open work permit and dependent children up to 20 years can be issued student permits allowing for study up to completion of secondary school. Only dependents aged less than 20 years at the time of the LTBV application lodgement can be included in the application.

LTBV holders who successfully undertake their business in New Zealand can later apply for permanent residence under the Entrepreneur residence policy.

Applicants who have successfully established business in New Zealand can apply for permanent residence, along with their partner and dependent children, under this policy category. It is important to note that under residence policy dependents aged up to 25 years at the time of application lodgement can be included in the residence application provided they are financially dependent on their family. This is a variance from LTBV policy.

For an Entrepreneur residence application to be successful an applicant must:

• Satisfy the English Language standard (IELTS 5.0)
• Have maintained at least a 25% ownership of a business in New Zealand for 2 years
• Have been actively and legally (ie; be on a LTBV or open work permit) involved in the day to day operation and management of the business in New Zealand for 2 years
• Provide evidence that the business is benefiting New Zealand. It should be appreciated that this assessment is made pursuant to INZ policies and advice from PathwaysNZ should be sought on how this requirement is best satisfied for individual businesses
• Demonstrate that the business is profitable or has the ability to be profitable in the following 12 months

Nearly all successful LTBV applicants later proceed to apply for residence under the Entrepreneur policy. There is no age limit for applicants under this policy.

The new Active Investor Migrant residence policy was introduced 26 November 2007 following an extended period, since 2002, of poorly patronised, or no investor based residence policies.

The industry is cautious about the new policy which has been formulated with significant Government input and there are doubts that the target of 300 applications/1000 people a year is viable. Furthermore, applicants who can satisfy the investor policy requirements are likely to also have the attributes to be able to achieve their New Zealand immigration objectives under other, less onerous, policy options. However it is early days and advisers have little choice but to work with the policy as it now stands.

A summary of the three streams of investor categories from the Immigration NZ website follows:

	Global Investor Category	Professional Investor Category	General (Active) Investor Category
Investment funds	NZ$20 million for 4 years, $5 million of which must be actively invested	NZ$10 million for 4 years, $2 million of which must be actively invested	NZ$2.5 million for 4 years
Minimum settlement funds	None	None	NZ$1 million
Minimum Business Experience	4 years	4 years	4 years
Maximum age	None	Up to 64	Up to 54
Minimum English language	None	IELTS level 4 for 2 out of 4 bands	IELTS level 5 for 2 out of 4 bands
Minimum Time in New Zealand	20% each year from year 2	30% each year from year 2	40% each year from year 2

There are significant additional policy considerations which lie behind the above summarised criteria eg; the business experience must be in a business in which the applicant held a 25% shareholding and the business must have had at least 5 employees and an annual turnover > NZ$1 million. There are also a range of considerations that apply to the investment funds and their realisation, transfer and investment in New Zealand that require careful explanation in advance of any application proceeding.

Applicants intending to apply under the Active Investor Migrant Policy must first complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) in hard copy. For the General Active Investor Stream applicants are assessed against a range of criteria for which various "points" are attributed and their EOIs are then placed in a pool from which regular selections are made. Successful EOIs are then further assessed and it is at this point applicants may be invited to formally apply for residence.

Any person contemplating an application under the investor policy should seek specialist preliminary advice from PathwaysNZ at an early stage to ensure a proper, accurate and current understanding of the policy and process before progressing such an application.

In addition to the business or investment specific documentation requirements of the above business applications all applicants must satisfy all normal immigration application requirements including being of good health and character.

PathwaysNZ has assisted with business and investor immigration applications which have resulted in over NZ$50 million of investment in New Zealand.