Entrepreneurship

Background

In 1999, the long term business visa and the Entrepreneur Category were introduced as part of a wider business immigration review, which also included the introduction of the Employees of Businesses Relocating to New Zealand Category and the Investor Category.

There were concerns that the policy was not delivering quality business migrants who could contribute to New Zealand's economic growth, so in 2002 policy changes were made to improve the quality of entrepreneur migrants. These changes included more-stringent English language requirements, a stronger focus on compliance with employment and immigration laws, and a more precise definition of a business that is 'beneficial to New Zealand'.

Business investor policies have also changed substantially over the last decade. In 2002, more-stringent English language requirements were introduced and tighter operational policy requirements were enforced regarding the source of investment funds. The number of migrants through the Investor Category decreased significantly after 2002, and the policy underwent further changes in 2005 and 2007.

Recent developments

New Zealand launched a new business migration package in July 2009. The package aims to boost economic performance by making New Zealand more attractive to business and entrepreneurial migrants. Since 2005, there has been a significant decrease in business migration investment due to unrealistic investment expectations and English language requirements. The new policy package is designed for migrants who want to invest or set up a business in New Zealand and gain permanent residence.

For investor migrants, the three categories of the Active Investor Category (2007) have been streamlined into two (see chapter 1). The new policy sets more realistic requirements for capital, language skills, and time spent in New Zealand annually, as well as greater flexibility in terms of investment vehicles. The requirements are summarised in Table 18.

For entrepreneurial migrants the new policy introduces Entrepreneur Plus that complements the existing Entrepreneur Category. Entrepreneur Plus offers a faster path to residence for applicants who create at least three full-time jobs and invest $500,000 in their business. The requirements are summarised in Table 19.

So far, the new policies have received positive feedback from migrants and business communities.

Table 18: Summary of requirements under the new Investor Policy

Requirement	Investor Plus	Investor
Investment capital	$10m for 3 years	$1.5m for 4 years
Minimum settlement funds	None	$1m
Minimum English language	None	IELTS 3*
Maximum age	None	Up to 65
Minimum business experience	None	3 years
Minimum time required in New Zealand	20% every year	40% every year

^* IELTS = International English Language Testing System. Principal investor applicants with IELTS 3 must complete additional English language tuition (20 hours), as part of their residence conditions.

Table 19: Summary of requirements under the new Entrepreneur Policy

Requirement	Entrepreneur (current)	Entrepreneur Plus (additional from 28/07/09)
Investment capital	None	$0.5m
Job creation	No minimum requirement	Minimum three full-time equivalent staff
Minimum settlement funds	Enough to support self	Enough to support self
Minimum English language	IELTS 4*	IELTS 4*
Maximum age	None	None
Minimum business experience	Business experience relevant to business plan	Business experience relevant to business plan
Minimum time required in New Zealand	Enough to support business	Enough to support business
Length of time to residence	Residence available after 24 months	Conditional residence available once requirements met

^* IELTS = International English Language Testing System.

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