Business Investor Work Visa NZ: The Visa That Replaced the Entrepreneur Work Visa
The Entrepreneur Work Visa no longer exists for new applicants. New Zealand closed it in 2025 and replaced it with a fundamentally different proposition: the Business Investor Work Visa, which opened on 24 November 2025. The old category let you start or buy a business with as little as $100,000 of capital and a good business plan. The new one asks for serious money into a business that already works, and for you to move here and run it yourself. If you are researching the Entrepreneur Work Visa, this is the category you actually need to understand now, and this guide sets out how it works using Immigration New Zealand’s published settings.
What happened to the Entrepreneur Work Visa
The Entrepreneur Work Visa closed to new applications in 2025 as part of a redesign of New Zealand’s business migration settings. Existing Entrepreneur Work Visa holders are not stranded: they can still renew under the old rules and progress to the Entrepreneur Resident Visa in the usual way. But nobody can start the old pathway now. The Government’s reasoning was that the old category produced too many marginal businesses started from scratch, so the replacement inverts it: buy into an established, trading business with staff, keep it running, create one more job, and residence follows.
The Business Investor Work Visa at a glance
- Opened: 24 November 2025
- Visa length: up to 4 years, and you can include your partner and dependent children
- Two investment options: NZ$1 million into an established business gives a 3 year work to residence pathway; NZ$2 million gives a fast track to residence after 12 months
- Ownership: buy the business outright, or acquire at least 25 percent of it, provided the investment threshold is met
- Reserve funds: at least NZ$500,000, on top of the investment, to support you and your family
- Residence stage: a separate Business Investor Resident Visa once you have run the business for the required period and met the conditions
Who qualifies
Immigration New Zealand’s eligibility settings require you to:
- Invest in a business that has been operating for at least 5 years
- Meet the NZ$1 million or NZ$2 million investment threshold
- Show at least NZ$500,000 in reserve funds
- Demonstrate business experience, such as having owned a business with at least 5 full-time employees, or a business generating NZ$1 million in annual revenue
- Be 55 years or younger
- Meet English language requirements
- Meet health and character requirements
Not every business qualifies. Immigration New Zealand excludes a list of business types from being acceptable investments, including convenience stores and discount shops, drop-shipping operations, fast food outlets, franchised businesses, home-based businesses, gambling, tobacco and vaping, adult entertainment, and immigration advisory services. Our guide to franchising a business in NZ explains why franchising sits in a different category of its own. The business must also be lawful and genuinely trading, and the investment is assessed on the business value, so property value and GST treatment matter when a purchase is priced.
Running the business: the conditions that lead to residence
The work visa is only the first half. To qualify for the Business Investor Resident Visa you must show, at the residence stage, that you:
- Have been actively involved in running the business in New Zealand: this is an owner-operator visa, not a passive investment
- Have maintained the same level of ownership
- Have maintained at least 5 full-time equivalent jobs in the business
- Have created and maintained at least 1 new full-time job for a New Zealand citizen or resident, lasting at least 12 months
- Can show the business is solvent
- Meet the time in New Zealand requirement: 184 days in each of the previous 3 years
- Still meet health and character requirements
Under the fast track option, residence can be granted after 12 months of operating, with conditions requiring the business to be run for 3 years in total across the work and resident visas. The message in both options is the same: the investment buys you the opportunity, but the residence is earned by operating the business, employing people and actually living here.
Business Investor vs the old Entrepreneur settings
| Entrepreneur Work Visa (closed) | Business Investor Work Visa | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital | NZ$100,000 | NZ$1 million (or NZ$2 million fast track) |
| Business type | Start new or buy existing | Established business, trading 5+ years |
| Pathway | Work visa, then residence after 2 years running the business | Residence after 3 years, or 12 months on the fast track |
| Job creation focus | Up to 3 new jobs in the old residence settings | Maintain 5 FTE, create 1 new full-time job |
| Business plan | Points-based plan assessment | Investment and experience based assessment |
Do not confuse this category with Active Investor Plus, New Zealand’s passive investor route, which involves larger sums placed in approved investments without running a business. Business Investor is for operators. Our general guides to work visas in NZ and starting a business in NZ cover the surrounding landscape, and more business migration topics sit in the immigration category.
Costs and process notes
Application fees for business category visas are substantial and change over time, so confirm the current fee for both the work visa and the later resident visa in Immigration New Zealand’s fee finder before you budget. Beyond fees, realistic costs include business due diligence, legal and accounting advice on the purchase, valuation, and the settlement funds to live on while the business beds in. The purchase itself must be completed and evidenced to INZ’s satisfaction, so sequence matters: immigration advice first, purchase contract second, because a business that turns out to be an unacceptable investment cannot be fixed after the money moves.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still apply for an Entrepreneur Work Visa?
No. The category closed to new applications in 2025. Existing holders can still renew and progress under the old rules, but new business migrants use the Business Investor Work Visa, or Active Investor Plus for passive investment.
Can I start a brand new business under the Business Investor Work Visa?
No. The investment must be into a business that has already been operating for at least 5 years. Starting from scratch is exactly what the new category removed.
How much money do I need in total?
At least NZ$1.5 million in reach for the standard option: NZ$1 million invested, plus NZ$500,000 in reserve funds, before fees and purchase costs. The fast track requires NZ$2 million invested plus the same NZ$500,000 reserve.
Do I have to live in New Zealand?
Yes, substantially. You must be actively running the business, and the residence stage requires 184 days in New Zealand in each of the previous 3 years. This is a relocation pathway, not a remote investment.
Can my family come with me?
Yes. Your partner and dependent children can be included in the work visa application, with the usual requirements applying to them.
What happens if the business fails?
Residence depends on the business being run successfully and solvent at the residence stage, with the jobs maintained and the new job created. A failed business means the residence criteria are not met, which is why the category targets established businesses and experienced operators rather than start-up risk.
Sources
- Immigration New Zealand, New Business Investor Work Visa is now open (24 November 2025): https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/new-business-investor-work-visa-is-now-open/
- Immigration New Zealand, Business Investor Work Visa and acceptable investments: https://www.immigration.govt.nz
Disclaimer
This article is general information about New Zealand’s business investor visa settings. It is not immigration, legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Business purchases for immigration purposes should never be completed before taking advice from a licensed immigration adviser and a lawyer.
