Immigration New Zealand has now received 264 applications. 208 of these are under the Growth category and 56 are under the Balanced category, which puts the total amount of committed investment at NZD $1.6 billion.

It’s a good start for the burgeoning new Active Investor Plus visa – the Golden Visa that was remade on the 1st of April this year. As it’s generated $1.6B in 4 months, we could hopefully see it is possible that this could balloon out to $5-10 billion per annum, and that would be a welcome shot in the arm to boost New Zealand’s struggling economy.

But where are these applications coming from?

Over forty percent are from the USA, with China in second place. However, investment from America is starting to slow down while investments from other parts of the world are starting to catch up. In particular, we’re currently seeing a lot of interest from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Germany. We’ve also caught the eye of several other countries like Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and the UK which will hopefully produce results.

According to investor feedback, investing in New Zealand is sometimes less to do with pull factors that attract them here but more to do with push factors that makes them want to take their funds out of their home countries. Global instability and few alternatives mean we’re seen as one of the few available options for investors, rather than New Zealand being attractive enough that they would choose to invest here ( we accept that this is debatable kiwi patriots). This means that we can’t expect an early winning streak to last forever – eventually other countries will do more to be more appealing and open their doors, and we could slip down the queue.

That isn’t to say New Zealand doesn’t have anything that attracts investors, of course. Our quality of life and security has always been appealing to investors (see more here), our tax rules are sometimes favourable (we don’t have inheritance tax for example, which is common in Asia – Japan and South Korea have some of the highest rates in the world 55% and 50% respectively) and the removal of an English language requirement has been appreciated by the Asian market.

However, some may argue that New Zealand is still lacking something unique or compelling enough to make it stand out on the world stage. Once the world economy stabilises we may not be considered so attractive. If we’re going to be serious about attracting foreign investment, we need to be doing more to make New Zealand competitive.

With investment from the US waning and investment from Asia waxing, we may need to consider reshaping and refocusing our attention to that sphere. Our agriculture products have always been popular – dairy, meat, honey, and even wine – but we should be asking ourselves what else we can do to promote New Zealand and create more eye-catching products worth investing in. Recent tax reform is a sensible and overdue step.

Still, it’s not as if Asia is a no-brainer option. They have their own pitfalls, like the difficulties around transferring wealth or the complexities of international investment can make matters cumbersome. Additionally, some markets are more mature than others. Hong Kong and Singapore, well versed with complex financial instruments, may be more willing to accept risk than some of the more emerging economics around Southeast Asia but this is not a given.

The system is ticking along right now at least. Immigration New Zealand have 127 applications approved in principle and the investors are currently investing in New Zealand, and 27 applications where the investors have fully invested here. The Prospectus content has over 1000 views and a conversion rate of 48%. This means Invest NZ has had 524 enquiries, mostly from priority markets like USA, Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, China, and Germany.

But let’s look at what’s going on with the applications themselves for a minute.

Growth category applications make up almost 80% of all Active Investor Plus applications. As a reminder, the Growth Category is when migrants invest NZD $5 million into managed funds or direct investments into NZTE approved NZ businesses. However, only 42% of managed funds and 44% of direct investments are approved by Invest NZ (previously New Zealand Trade and Enterprise). In other words, almost half of these applications get rejected as not satisfying immigration instructions. Many Kiwi businesses are open to foreign investment but not able to organise and structure themselves properly. The common reoccurring issues we’re seeing are:

Managed fund issues

• Lack of disclosure around rebranded funds and legacy asset exposure

• Incomplete/inconsistent information across documents

• Missing Investor-facing materials or legal documents, especially for first-time funds

Direct investments

• Incomplete financial templates, unclear use of capital

• Lack of clarity of economic benefit from capital raise

• Inconsistencies between application and supporting collateral

• Insufficient market validation or evidence of feasibility/growth milestones for startups and greenfield projects

• Failed NZ Resident Entity test or active trading history

When millions of dollars are involved, it's important to make sure that you dot every i and cross every t. You need professionals who specialise in the Active Investor Plus visa, who know the immigration rules and understand the complex business side of the investment as well. It’s rare to find this perfect blend of knowledge and skills, and that’s where Queen City Law proudly stands out.

As an award-winning law firm, we are uniquely placed to be a one stop shop to cover all of your immigration and legal needs. Our team of specialists are highly capable and more than happy to assist you with any of your legal needs. Don't get passed around like a ping pong ball. As they say touch it once and touch it right.

It is too important and too expensive not to engage one of New Zealand’s leading law firms who are longstanding and proven experts in all aspects of NZ business immigration. If you want to secure the golden opportunity under the golden visa, you can contact Queen City Law for more details.

For further information watch Marcus speak to the current AIP numbers on YouTube here.