·         NZ BUSINESS VISAS:  New Zealand is keen to attract successful entrepreneurs – hence the existence of INZ's Investing and Business Category visas. Those considering investing or establishing a business in the country have a number of options, including the Long Term Business Visa (LTBV), the Entrepreneur Category and the Active Investor Migrant Policy.

Under the LTBV, migrants can apply for a work visa in order to start a New Zealand business before applying for residency. If you are of good health and character, have a sound business plan and sufficient money gathered in investment funds to support yourself and any dependents, you may qualify for an LTBV.

The LTBV is often used as a step towards applying for permanent residency under the Entrepreneur Category. To be eligible for this category, you must have established, purchased or made a significant investment in a New Zealand business, and have been self-employed in the business for at least two years.

The Active Investor Migrant Policy aims to attract investors with significant business experience who can help support and develop the country's economy. There are three categories within the policy – the Global Investor Category, for migrants investing NZ$$20 million or more in New Zealand; the Professional Investor Category, for migrants investing NZ10 million or more; and the General (Active) Investor Category, for migrants investing a minimum of NZ$2.5 million in addition to having NZ$1 million for settlement funds. Additional health and character requirements must be met to apply for residence under any of these categories.

·         NZ FAMILY CATEGORY VISAS:  One of Immigration New Zealand's aims is to reunite migrant families. There are currently four sub-streams to the Family Category: Partner, Parent, Brother, Sister and Adult Child and Dependent Child.  

·         NZ SKILLED MIGRANT CATEGORY:   The Skilled Migrant Category remains a popular choice for many migrants wanting a new life in New Zealand. It is New Zealand's most popular visa category. Designed to fill skills shortages and to attract talented professionals and trades people to New Zealand, it assesses applicants according to a points-based system. 

To apply, you need to be between the ages of 20 and 55 and meet pre-decided standards of health, character and English language proficiency. You will also need to score at least 100 points in order to submit an Expression of Interest (EoI).

All EoIs over 140 points are automatically selected every fortnight for an Invitation to Apply (ITA). Those EoIs which display other desirable factors, such as skill in a New Zealand shortage area, will then be selected, followed by other lower-scoring EoIs.