Changes to the Active Investor Plus Visa Programme and their legal implications under the Overseas Investment Act

8 May 2025

How will the new AIP visa trip up unsuspecting overseas investors?

The New Zealand Government recently altered its Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa programme in the hopes of luring extra investment onto Kiwi shores.

Key changes to the AIP Visa Programme

Kicking off on 1 April 2025, the AIP visa will see two new investment categories:

1. The Growth category requires applicants to invest a minimum of NZD $5 million over a 3-year period; directly into NZ businesses, or into certain managed funds.
2. The Balanced category requires applicants to invest a minimum of NZD $10 million over a 5-year period. This category will support a wider range of investment opportunities such as new property developments, existing commercial / industrial developments, bonds and listed equities.

Legal implications of the new programme

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis proposes the loosened AIP visa will welcome ‘hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars into the country. It is important to balance this hope against the considerations posed by existing NZ legislation; specifically, the Overseas Investment Act 2005 (OIA).

The OIA governs the acquisition of significant business assets, certain types of land and fishing quotas by overseas persons and entities. As such, it imposes the following:

1. Consent requirements from the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) must be satisfied by investors wishing to obtain substantial business assets or sensitive land. Investors must pass specific requirements and tests to assess the positive impact of the investment in the country.
2. Investors should be aware of the OIA’s ownership thresholds, since OIO consent must be sought for property acquisitions where an overseas investor wishes to control over 25% of a company.
3. The OIO also applies the Increased Housing Test; meaning consent is more likely granted for residential property investments where the goal is to on-sell, rather than to retain.
4. Investors must comply with the OIA’s monitoring and reporting requirements by providing regular updates to the OIO and maintaining transparency in their activities.

Alignment of AIP Visa with OIA requirements

Overseas investors may find themselves at an impasse; the AIP visa aims to relax the conditions around investment whilst the purpose of the OIA is to impose conditions on the kinds of investment being made. We predict this will pose challenges since regardless of how much an investor can invest, consent is still required on all investments considered sensitive land or significant business assets under the OIA.

From a compliance perspective, the AIP visa aims to attract high-value investment by simplifying processes, whilst the OIA requires detailed consent applications and continuous monitoring. It will therefore not be immediately clear how investors can ensure compliance with their obligations.

Whilst the Government has not released details, it has confirmed there is also reform in store for the Overseas Investment Act 2005 before the end of 2025.

To help navigate your compliance obligations and avoid the legal minefields posed by the new programme, please reach out to the team at Martelli McKegg.