Immigraion Programs
Applicants to New Zealand immigration are granted Long Term Business Visa & Permit first which then gets converted to permanent residency after meeting the business evaluation criteria. With effect from November 20, 2002 following procedure for grant of Long Term Business Visa & Permit for New Zealand is required to be adopted:- If the applicant is not able to prove that he had studied and carried on business in English knowing environment then it's mandatory to pass the IELTS examination by obtaining average of 5 bands before the application can be

1. Long Term Business Visa
2. Investors
3. Entrepreneur
4. Employees of Relocating Business

• IELTS examination by obtaining average of 5 bands before the application can be filed for the visa.
• He must have owned or managed a business for more than three years in the home country.
• A realistic business plan demonstrating an understanding of business environment of New Zealand is required to be prepared and for the success of that plan business experience relevant to that type of business is required to be shown in home country.
• Initially the visa is granted for 9 months and the person is required to transfer the funds for making capital investment mentioned in the project report within that period and further take steps to establish a business in accordance with the plans submitted in New Zealand Immigration Department. The business plan submitted with the application for Long Term Business Visa & Permit cannot be changed suomotu but it can be changed with the permission of Immigration Dept. After the funds had been transferred and steps had been taken to establish a business in New Zealand, the applicant can seek extension of the visa for the remaining period of two years and three months of the total duration of Long Term Business Visa & Permit. Another extension for 3 years can be applied after the expiry of the first term of 3 years.
• An applicant will be eligible for permanent residency after an expiry of two years,

2. Investor
The Investor category is for people who have a minimum of NZ$1 million to invest in New Zealand, but who may not wish to actively run a business there. This category operates on a points system, with points awarded for age, business experience and investment funds.
The current pass marks are 12 points.

3. Entrepreneur
The entrepreneur category is for people who have successfully established a business in New Zealand while authorised to live in that country on a work permit such as the Long-Term Business Visa. The business must have been operating in New Zealand for a minimum of two years.

An applicant will be considered to have successfully established a business in New Zealand if: he/she;

Has established or purchased, or made a substantial investment and thereby is owning at least 25% of that business Is lawfully active in the management & operation of that business for at least two years.

4. Employees of Relocating Businesses
The Employees of Relocating Businesses category (i.e. business proposed to operate in New Zealand) facilitates the granting of residence to key employees of businesses relocating to New Zealand who would not otherwise qualify for residence.

To qualify for consideration under this category, the person must be a key employee of the relocating business i.e. CEO considers the person essential for the operation of the relocated business in New Zealand

Additional Requirements
In addition to the specific requirements of age, business experience and investment funds, the applicant and other family members are required to meet certain other requirements of having acceptable standard of health, good character and minimum English language standards.