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Work-to-residence pathway for experienced business people investing in and actively running an established New Zealand business. Replaces the closed Entrepreneur Work Visa (from Nov 2025). Investment options: NZD $1m (3-year pathway) or NZD $2m (12-month fast-track), plus NZD $500,000 settlement funds. Age 55 or younger; English and business-experience requirements apply. Confirm on immigration.govt.nz.
Varies
Min. income
NZ$12,380
Application fee
Not specified
Processing time
Up to 4 years
Stay duration
New Zealand’s Business Investor Work Visa replaced the Entrepreneur Work Visa in November 2025. It targets experienced business people investing in and actively running an established NZ business — NZD $1m (3-year work-to-residence) or NZD $2m (12-month fast-track), plus NZD $500,000 settlement funds. NomadIndex lists stay up to 4 years and an application fee of NZD $12,380. Useful for US founders researching a “New Zealand startup visa” — not a filing service.
US founders: treat investment capital and active business-operation requirements as the core gate, not a remote-work income floor. NZD figures need USD budgeting separately. NomadIndex does not submit Immigration NZ applications.
Search interest still clusters around “New Zealand startup visa” and entrepreneur pathways. This page maps NomadIndex’s Business Investor Work Visa fields (slug retained as new-zealand-entrepreneur for URL stability) for founder planning, with US-facing caveats and links to related NZ programs and compare pages.
Overview based on publicly available information — not a complete application checklist.
| Requirement level | Very high |
| Visa type | Startup |
| Minimum income | Varies |
| Investment pathways | NZD $1m (3-year work-to-residence) or NZD $2m (12-month fast-track), plus NZD $500,000 settlement funds. Property value not counted. |
| Application fee | NZD $12,380 (visa fee + immigration levy per Immigration NZ). |
| Program change | Entrepreneur Work Visa closed November 2025; this page tracks the Business Investor Work Visa under the same URL slug. |
| Application fee | NZ$12,380 |
| Processing time | Not specified |
| Stay duration | Up to 4 years |
Tax notes highlight capital investment thresholds and settlement funds rather than a remote-income floor. NZ tax residency and US worldwide reporting can both apply — get advisor input before relocating or wiring investment funds.
Tax treatment varies by individual circumstances. Consult a qualified tax advisor before relocating.
High-intent next steps from this visa hub — verify every figure with official sources.
Confirm all requirements directly with the issuing authority.
www.immigration.govt.nz
Last checked: July 29, 2026
Side-by-side comparisons involving New Zealand.
More visa options in New Zealand.
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See how Business Investor Work Visa stacks up against other programs or run a quick program match check.
Structured playbooks referencing this visa program.
Direct answers based on NomadIndex dataset fields — not personalised immigration advice.
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Dataset last reviewed: June 2026
NomadIndex data is for informational and planning purposes only. Requirements change frequently — verify with official government sources before applying.
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