You may apply for this category of visa if you are an
experienced business person and want to work in your own business in
New Zealand. If you’re granted this visa, you can buy or set up a
business in New Zealand, which you can do either without living here
permanently or as a first step towards New Zealand residence.
You must make a capital investment of at least NZ$100,000. However,
if your business is in the science or ICT (Information and
Communication Technology) sectors or shows a high level of
innovation or export potential, this requirement may be waived.
Moreover, you must score at least 120 points on our Entrepreneur
Work Visa points scale and must provide a business plan for the
business you intend to buy or set up in New Zealand.
Once you get the visa, you can stay in New Zealand for 12 months in
the startup stage of your visa, then another 24 months once you
have shown that you have set up your business. With this visa, you
may go to New Zealand to buy or set up your own business, work in
your own business in New Zealand for up to 3 years in total and
include your partner, and dependent children aged 19 and under, in
your visa application.
You can apply for a residence visa (not a work visa) under the
Entrepreneur Residence Visa Category. If you need more time to meet
our residence requirements, you can apply for another Entrepreneur
Work Visa. If granted, it’ll allow you to stay in New Zealand to
work in your own business for another three years.
You will not be able to get an Entrepreneur Work Visa
if you have been made bankrupt or been involved in a business
failure in the last 5 years, or you have been involved in any kind
of business fraud or financial wrongdoing.
You may
press here to check
the criteria.