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Thread: Active Investor/Entrepreneur Visa

  1. #1
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    Default Active Investor/Entrepreneur Visa

    Hello Everybody (apologise for the mess earlier - those who read this will know what I mean)

    29 July 2009, INZ changed their Active Investor Migrant policies (thankfully) to something a bit more realistic because the prior policies were an absolute failure (only 23 people recieved this visa status).

    The question that I have is under the general status, the rules state that you must have $1.5M NZD available for 4 years. What is the definition for "investment"? Like take St Kitts & Nevis in the Caribbean. They have "approved projects" that people seeking to move there that don't want to go through the normal immigration process can invest in ($350,000 USD + $15,000 for a St. Kitts Passport).

    Does NZ have a list of approved projects, where can I find it and how would I invest it?

    Thanks,

    Dan

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheBigSaxon View Post
    Does NZ have a list of approved projects, where can I find it and how would I invest it?
    How about contributing to Doc Mike's Pharmacy and Ice Cream Parlour?

  3. #3
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    www.immigration.govt.nz says:

    Acceptable investment (Active Investor Migrant Policy)

    An acceptable investment means an investment that:
    - is capable of a commercial return under normal circumstances; and is not for the personal use of the applicant(s) and
    - is invested in New Zealand in New Zealand currency; and
    - is invested in lawful business enterprises or managed funds that comply with all relevant laws in force in New Zealand; and
    - is a semi-active or an active investment; and
    - is not (directly or indirectly) invested in residential property development ; and
    - has the potential to contribute to New Zealand's economic transformation goals of innovative, productive, and globally competitive firms.

    Notwithstanding the above, where an investment fails to meet one of the acceptable investment requirements, a business immigration specialist may consider, on a case by case basis, whether the failure was beyond the control of the principal applicant and if satisfied that this was the case, may consider the investment acceptable.

    Personal use of investment funds

    Personal use includes investment in assets such as a personal residence, car, boat or similar.

    Active investment

    A principal applicant qualifies for bonus points if they undertake active investment as part of their overall investment in New Zealand. The minimum amount of active investment required to qualify for bonus points is NZ$500,000. The amount claimed for active investment can be placed in a number of investments subject to meeting the active investment requirements as set out below.

    Points for nominated active investment funds are as follows.

    $4+ million: 16 points
    $3.75 million: 15 points
    $3.5 million: 14 points
    $3.25 million: 13 points
    $3 million: 12 points
    $2.75 million: 11 points
    $2.5 million: 10 points
    $2.25 million: 9 points
    $2 million: 8 points
    $1.75 million: 7 points
    $1.5 million: 6 points
    $1.25 million: 5 points
    $1 million: 4 points
    $0.75 million: 3 points
    $0.5 million: 2 points

    Definition of 'active investment'

    An active investment is:

    - a direct investment of NZ$100,000 or more, in the establishment of a new lawful enterprise which undertakes significant economic activity in New Zealand, and results in the principal applicant acquiring 10 percent or more shareholding; or
    - a direct investment of NZ$200,000 or more, in an existing lawful enterprise which undertakes significant economic activity in New Zealand, and results in the principal applicant acquiring 10 percent or more shareholding.

    Definition of 'semi-active investment'

    A semi-active investment is a direct or indirect investment (including managed funds) in the equity of an existing lawful enterprise(s) which undertakes significant economic activity in New Zealand and does not qualify as an active investment.

    Managed funds

    For the purposes of this policy managed funds are defined as either:

    - a managed fund investment product offered by a financial institution; or
    - funds invested in equities that are managed on an investor's behalf by a fund manager or broker.

    In order to be acceptable as a form of semi-active investment a managed investment scheme must be a 100 percent New Zealand equity based fund (ie a fund that invests only in New Zealand companies).

    Residential property development

    For the purposes of this policy, residential property development includes:
    - building, or arranging to build, a household unit for the purpose of selling it; or
    - acquiring a household unit from a person who built it or arranged for it to be built for the purpose of selling it; or
    - acquiring and subdividing land for the purposes of residential property development; or
    acquiring and/or selling an existing household unit.

  4. #4
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    .. I would read this that an investment is basicly anything that's invested in NZ, public or private, direct or through funds -- as long as it's not property development (;-).

    They give you bonus points if you get 10+% of a company. If you just buy stocks or funds, you don't get the bonus points, but they do qualify as an (semi-active) investment. INZ does seem to use term "significant economic activity" as a potential excuse to deny anything.


    We've been looking into this new option as well as we don't have job offers, OH's points are a bit on the low side and mine are off-the-scale because I don't have a degree but plenty of expertise.

    Our primary interest would be to arrive, look around, settle in a bit and start looking for what to do -- establish a business vs. find a job, get contacts in our fields of expertise, get familiar with the investment options in NZ, etc.

    If I were at INZ, I'd also include an option to include your own, non-mortaged property as part of the investment. After all, if you buy a 3mil house in NZ, isn't that as big commitment as 3mil in NZ stock?

    Other issue is the amount of money invested and what's the selection criteria for EOI's. Does the minimum $1.5m get you in as you don't really want to put all your money in this lock-up deal. Perhaps they could give bonus points for the settlement funds, now it's minimum $1m but if you bring more, you get more points. I have a feeling that NZ doesn't really get that many immigrants in the investor category.

    The nice thing is that after approval in principle, you have 12 to 24 months time to transfer and invest the money. That gives you plenty of time to find the right investments.

    PS. As we're looking for 1.5-3 year timeframe, we are probably putting in a skilled migrant application with her details and see how it goes. If it doesn't, we'll just go with the investor or LTBV plan.

  5. #5
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    Thanks Petri.

    I have an email from the Business Development office that handles much of these accounts but he is slow in response and a bit vague at times. I did not see this but this helps immensely.

    I'm in a difficult situation plus I'm trying to help my sister and her husband (I'll explain). We came here on a work visa, lost my job and now INZ is writing some nasty grams about being here on a WTR. I telecommute to the USA (software developer) but it is per diem work and there is nothing to be found. Moved to Auckland to better my chances but after a couple of interviews I was simply told that I would be a fantastic talent but I'm simply over-qualified (I came from Microsoft and I think I scared them off a bit). So despite having a 250 score, I'm stuck.

    Well, my wife and I thought that's ok because we also filled out and submitted all the paperwork for an Active (Migrant) Investor with nearly 200 points (don't recall the exact number). My wife owned a bakery and cafe for a number of years and I owned my IT consulting office for nearly 5 years plus we came over with $10+MNZD. Our thought was that if the work bit didn't work out, we could always just retire. Our assumption was that merely having the funds in a Kiwi bank would be good enough.

    Now my sister and bil want to come here too. But there is a catch: Neither have a college degree & he has a felony from when he was 17 years old (he was sentenced as an adult because it was a felony - burglary of a home). He is now 33, the record has been purged but it is still on his FBI report (won't come off - he checked, he has to be actually pardoned). But they have money... not a lot but enough to cover the $1.5M NZD + the $1M NZD settlement. We have been told by INZ that his felony would not grant him access through normal settlement process but they would look the other way if he applied as either an Entrepreneur or the Active Investor categories (hypocrites).

    I really wished INZ would make this easy and had a public works program but anyway we are thinking about either buying an orchard and hiring a steward or opening a dog kennel. The orchard would be simple and another board member from a couple of years ago did this same thing to good success. My wife was heavily involved with Helen Klause which runs a No-Kill-Animal shelter in the USA and she has expressed interest to me on selling our home in Fendalton, ChCh and buying up a something either in the Tauranga-Pyes Pa area or maybe going to Paraparamu-Upper Hutt area or even just staying here in Auckland.

    Sorry to ramble. Very few understand the uniqueness of the situation and it was nice to just let it all out.

  6. #6
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    Just curious, what's the status with your own active investor application? Was it under the old rules?

    It sounds like your sister and bil should just send the EOI and see how it goes.


    The FAQ at immigration.govt.nz is a bit more descriptive:

    What is an acceptable investment?

    An acceptable investment is defined as investment that:

    1. is in either one or more of the following:
    - bonds issued by the New Zealand government or local authorities, or
    - bonds issued by New Zealand firms traded on the New Zealand Debt Securities Market (NZDX), or
    - bonds issued by New Zealand firms with at least a BBB- or equivalent rating from internationally recognised credit rating agencies (for example, Standard and Poor’s), or
    - equity in New Zealand firms (public or private), including managed funds and:
    2. is capable of a commercial return under normal circumstances and has the potential to contribute to New Zealand's economy, and
    3. is invested in New Zealand in New Zealand currency, and
    4. has the potential to contribute to New Zealand’s economy, and
    5. is invested in lawful enterprises or managed funds that comply with all relevant laws in force in New Zealand, and
    6. is not for the personal use of the applicant(s), and
    7. is not (directly or indirectly) invested in residential property development or deposit taking financial institutions (e.g. banks or finance companies).

    Note: that for the purpose of the Migrant Investment Policy, convertible notes are considered an equity investment.

    What is meant by personal use of investment funds?

    Personal use includes a personal residence, car, boat or similar assets.

  7. #7
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    Petri,

    You're brilliant. As for our old Active Investor submission... because our EOI was selected on the merits of my Skilled Migrant point scale, the Active Investor was never reviewed, only filed.

    I say your brilliant because the short and simple answer is staring us in the face at #1. Buy bonds! That is all we need to do.

    Here is the link for the New Zealand Debt Management Office:

    http://www.nzdmo.govt.nz/faqs/buykiwibond

    Here I am, over-complicating this (the beast of an application in the A.I. didn't help - both new and old) when this is all we needed to do. Heck, 1/3 of my American retirement is still held in Treasury bonds (I made out like a fat rat when the market fell).


  8. #8
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    Default Update!

    The new policy is working

    All 8 Active Investor applications were selected! Apparently one had only 20 points which equates to "we have a lot of money and want to move to New Zealand".

    http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...mentpolicy.htm

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheBigSaxon View Post
    The new policy is working

    All 8 Active Investor applications were selected! Apparently one had only 20 points which equates to "we have a lot of money and want to move to New Zealand".

    http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...mentpolicy.htm
    Just noticed the same thing.. EOI only applies to the new Investor 2 category, not the plus category where you just need money. So 20 points is basicly someone 60+ in good health, without any business experience, no english skills and 3 million NZD of money (2m to invest, 1m to settle).

    I just mailed our EOI with 70 points (the minimum we can get).

  10. #10
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    Petri,

    How is your submission process going? We are getting ready to come home... wrapping up buying a wonderful place in Parameromo (in between Coatesville & Albany).

    We ended up going AI 2 with rather no fuss. Now we are working on her parents and getting them here.

    Dan

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