New Zealand experienced a significant influx of applications for its revised investor migrant visa programme, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford announced on Monday.
The government’s relaxation of rules in April, including reduced investment thresholds and removal of English requirements, attracted substantial foreign interest, particularly from American investors.
New applications under the scheme represent a potential NZ$845 million [$503 million] of new investment in New Zealand business.
Under the revised Active Investor Plus visa, the minimum required funds for high-risk investments dropped to NZ$5 million ($3 million) from NZ$15 million.
In less than three months, the scheme received 189 applications, surpassing the 116 submissions recorded over two-and-a-half years under previous settings. US citizens dominate the applicant pool with 85 submissions, followed by 26 from mainland China and 24 from Hong Kong.
The government aims to leverage this capital injection to stimulate economic growth following last year’s technical recession.
The surge coincides with New Zealand’s faster-than-expected first-quarter GDP growth, offering policymakers cautious optimism after the nation endured its worst two-quarter economic contraction since 1991, excluding pandemic impacts. The recession had stemmed from aggressive interest rate hikes to combat inflation, which peaked at 7.3% in mid-2022.
The policy shift aligns with broader efforts to attract “high net-worth individuals” seeking stable investment destinations amidst global uncertainty.
