New Zealand’s Active Investor Plus visa: a considered plan B for globally mobile families
Since the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa – often called the “Golden Visa” – was revamped in April 2025, a total of NZD $4.845 billion has been added to the investment pipeline or committed to investment in New Zealand through 837 applications. For investors and families in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore who are weighing up where their future – and their family’s future – might best be secured, that momentum tells its own story.
Investors have two options. The Growth Category requires a minimum NZD $5 million investment held for 3 years in higher-risk investments, with a minimum of 21 days spent in New Zealand. The Balanced Category requires NZD $10 million held for 10 years, with 105 days in New Zealand – a figure that can be reduced by diversifying into Growth Category investments. To date, 83.3% of applications have been made in the Growth category.
What the numbers reveal is telling. Just 4.1% of capital has been committed to private equity and 1.4% to direct investment, with managed funds making up 49% of investment type. Most applicants are taking a deliberately hands-off approach. That is because, for the great majority of these families, the AIP is not fundamentally an investment decision. It is a decision about the future.
So what is the real driver? The answer is New Zealand itself. An island nation with beautiful outdoors and friendly people, widely considered one of the safest places to sit out global uncertainty, and with a 2026 Corruption Perception Index score of 81 (ranked 4th in the world), New Zealand is a credible plan B for those seeking long-term security for the people they care about most. PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel holds a 100% shareholding in Second Star Limited, which owns a 193-hectare property in Wanaka, and Avatar director James Cameron — long a New Zealand resident — officially became a citizen in 2025. Both show that you can remain fully part of the wider world while keeping a secure home at the bottom of it.
For families in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, that is precisely the appeal. The AIP is not about chasing a return. It is about:
Future mobility – a genuine second base and freedom of movement, whatever changes in your home jurisdiction.
Future optionality – a residence pathway kept open and ready, so the choice is yours to make when the time is right.
Family security – a safe, stable, English-speaking country in which your children and grandchildren can live, study and thrive.
Wealth preservation – the reassurance of a stable, well-governed, rule-of-law economy in which to anchor part of your family’s future.
Long-term planning – a considered, multi-generational decision, not a short-term play.
An AIP application is a significant undertaking, and the right adviser makes all the difference. For those looking to partner with a specialist immigration lawyer who:
- provides excellent, technically rigorous legal advice
- works seamlessly alongside your other financial and professional advisers, wherever in the world they sit
- understands that while investment returns matter, growth is not the main consideration
- understands that security and future choice are at the heart of the decision to make an AIP application; and
- ensures every client is walked alongside, personally, throughout their individual journey
The right first step is a conversation with Adele Mitchell, who leads the immigration team at Corcoran French.
We are not the first, the largest, or a faceless corporate – and that is deliberate. Corcoran French offers something increasingly rare: a specialist, high level of service delivered individually, not through a production line. Deeply embedded in the South Island and in our clients’ communities, we take the time to understand each family and to achieve the best outcome for them. When the decision is this personal, and the stakes are this high, you deserve an adviser who treats it that way.
To start a confidential conversation, contact Adele Mitchell, Immigration Lawyer and Senior Associate, Corcoran French – 74 Armagh Street, Christchurch, New Zealand | (03) 371 1063 | adele.m@cflaw.co.nz