Frequently it is necessary to ‘make a commitment to New Zealand’ in some way or spend a minimum period of time in New Zealand, in order to meet the requirements of some Visa types.
1. Applications for Permanent Residence
A context in which ‘making a commitment to New Zealand’ commonly arises is to meet the requirements for the grant of a Permanent Residence Visa after first having held Residence for 2 years. ‘Making a commitment’ to New Zealand here can be demonstrated in one of 5 different ways, which are: 1) spending a significant period of time in New Zealand, 2) tax residence status in New Zealand, 3) having made an investment in New Zealand, 4) establishment of a business in New Zealand, or 5) establishment of a base in New Zealand.
It is important to understand that unless the commitment to New Zealand is made in one of the ways allowed, a Permanent Residence Visa will not be granted. This means a Residence Visa (properly granted) will expire if the holder is outside New Zealand with expired travel conditions (section 63(2) Immigration Act). The point here is that some commitment to New Zealand must be made in order to hold a Residence class Visa in the long-term. It is certainly not something that is impossible to achieve, instead just something that needs to be remembered. If the commitment is not made in the first 2 years and a Permanent Residence Visa is not granted, there is a significant risk of the Residence Visa expiring.
New Zealand’s immigration instructions and policy are not well-designed for those who want to obtain a Residence Visa, but who fail to make a commitment to New Zealand in one of the 5 ways allowed. Policymakers want to ensure that a commitment to New Zealand is made, before Residence is held in the long-term through the grant of a Permanent Residence Visa.
We have seen some situations where a Permanent Residence Visa application has been declined because the Principal Applicant has not made the required commitment to New Zealand. If a Permanent Residence application is declined for this reason does not have much hope of being successfully appealed to the Immigration & Protection Tribunal, unless there is something about the situation which can be shown to be special (‘special circumstances’) (section 187(4)(b) Immigration Act).
2. Active Investor Residence Visas
In the context of current settings for the Active Investor Residence Visa requiring an investment of at least 5 million NZD (Growth category) or 10 million NZD (Balanced category), a minimum period of time needs to be spent in New Zealand during the investment period in order to meet conditions imposed on the Residence Visa when granted (“section 49(1) conditions”). For those investing under the Growth category, the principal applicant must spend at least 21 days in New Zealand during the 3-year investment period. For those investing under the Balanced category, the principal applicant must spent at least 105 days in New Zealand during the 5-year investment period (this can be reduced somewhat if more than NZD$10million is invested).
There is broadly no restriction on what the principal applicant or family members must do during their time in New Zealand as the holder of an Active Investor Residence Visa. The requirement to spend time in New Zealand can therefore be thought of as an extended holiday, an opportunity to experience what New Zealand has to offer. Permanent Residence can be achieved in due course if all conditions on the Residence Visa are met, because maintaining the investment plus meeting all other conditions on the Residence Visa can be recognised as making the required commitment to New Zealand. Permanent Residence achieved through this method allows holders to return to New Zealand at a later time and date, when perhaps business or other personal arrangements allow.
For example, a decision might be during the course of the investment period (before Permanent Residence is granted), or maybe after a Permanent Residence Visa has been granted, to purchase a house in New Zealand (‘residential land’ which is not sensitive for other reasons) which recent changes to the Overseas Investment Act allow. This offers the opportunity to return to and live in New Zealand in the future.
3. Comparison with other jurisdictions
There are various different Residency-by investment options around the world at the current time.
To note in particular, Australia’s ‘Business Innovation and Investment Program’ has been closed since 31 July 2024. In the United Kingdom, the Tier 1 (Investor) Visa has been closed since February 2022. The United States, Singapore and to an extent Canada (but applicants need to be able to speak French) currently maintain active Residence by investment programs. Other countries that currently maintain Residence/Citizenship by investment programs include several Caribbean Islands, Portugal, Italy and Greece.
While some of these countries are a long distance from New Zealand, they might be compared in terms of the lifestyle opportunity available. What is important to remember in the New Zealand context is making the necessary commitment to New Zealand, if the ultimate aim is to obtain Permanent Residence for the long-term. It is not possible to immediately obtain a Permanent Residence Visa, or New Zealand Citizenship, through an investment in New Zealand. You have to be prepared to put in the time.
At Laurent Law, we give advice on New Zealand’s programmes that allow applicants to ultimately achieve Permanent Residence or even New Zealand Citizenship, if this is what is desired. Sometimes a long-term plan is what is needed.