On 18 June 2025, the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill was introduced into Parliament with the law expecting to be passed by the end of 2025 with submissions closed on 23 July 2025. The Amendment Bill aims to reduce compliance costs and improve the timeliness of decision-making on granting consent, and it tries to ensure that New Zealand’s national interest is protected while still supporting the Government’s economic strategy of “Going for Growth” by making New Zealand a more attractive location for overseas investment. The Amendment Bill is not yet law and another update from Parliament is due on 31 October 2025.

Key Features of the Amendment Bill

1. Consolidation of tests: The Amendment Bill aims to merge the national interest, benefit to New Zealand, and investor tests into a single test for most assets (excluding farm land, fishing quota, and residential housing).
2. Faster processing: The Amendment Bill requires that the Overseas Investment Office grant consent within 15 working days, unless a national interest risk is identified.
3. Ministerial powers: Only the relevant Minister can decline an investment if it is deemed contrary to national interest.
4. New regulation-making powers: Allows specification of new classes of transactions requiring national interest assessments.
5. Repeat investor provisions: The Amendment Bill also proposes to streamline the process of obtaining consent for repeat investors whose circumstances have not changed.
6. Exemption for ownership increase: The Amendment Bill also removes the requirement for consent when increasing ownership in an investment from greater than 75% to 100% (unless the investment involves strategically important businesses).

In a recent public statement, New Zealand’s Prime Minister has announced the Government’s intention to amend the Overseas Investment Act 2005 and its associated regulations to allow foreign investors on “Active Investor Plus”, Investor 1 or Investor 2 residency status to buy a residential property, or to build a house at $5 million or higher value.

New Zealand’s Active Investor Plus residency pathway contains two categories:

1. The Growth category, which focuses on higher-risk investment, including direct investments in New Zealand businesses. This category requires a minimum investment of $5 million from the investor for a minimum period of three years.
2. The Balanced category, which is focused on mixed investments, with the ability for an investor to choose those that are lower risk. The minimum investment in these mixed investments is $10 million over a five-year span.

We aim to provide a further update on any relevant changes regarding the Amendment Bill as soon as possible. In the meantime, if you have any queries regarding the Overseas Investment Act, or would like to apply for consent yourselves, please do not hesitate to reach out to the expert team here at Queen City Law. We are here to help.

Disclaimer: This article is general commentary only and is not legal advice. Always seek tailored legal advice before making investment or immigration decisions.

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