New Zealand's Active Investor Plus visa: tighter source-of-funds rules, and Build to Rent from December 2026

New Zealand's Active Investor Plus visa, which grants residence in exchange for a minimum investment of NZD 5 million, has changed twice in the past three months. On 13 August 2026 Immigration New Zealand (INZ) announced clearer rules on borrowed money, source of funds and gifts. On 8 September 2026 the Minister of Immigration, Erica Stanford, with the housing and building ministers, announced that Growth category investors will be able to put money into Build to Rent developments from December 2026, through approved managed funds only.

Neither change touches the minimum amounts. The first matters most if your wealth sits in one country and your banking in another, as is common among investors in the UAE and Asia.

The two categories

The visa was rebuilt from 1 April 2025, when two categories, Growth and Balanced, replaced the previous weighted system and the English language requirement was dropped. INZ's current summary of the categories is set out below.

Growth is aimed at higher-risk assets, such as approved managed funds and direct equity in New Zealand businesses. Balanced also allows listed equities, bonds and property development. Invest New Zealand says that from 1 June 2026 philanthropy may make up to 20 per cent of a Growth investment.

The government says the refreshed visa has drawn more than 900 applications, more than 80 per cent of them in the Growth category. That figure counts applications. It says nothing about approvals.

The August tightening

INZ's 13 August announcement, and its current guidance on transferring funds, set out four points.

Borrowed funds. Loans are acceptable only from a bank or commercial lender acceptable to INZ. They must be secured against the assets nominated in the application and obtained in the same country or jurisdiction as those assets. You must also show that it is not economically viable or practical to sell and transfer the assets themselves.

Source of funds. You must show that the nominated funds were earned or acquired lawfully and moved through appropriate banking channels.

Gifts. A gift must be unconditional, and lawful where it was made.

Transfers. Money must move as a cross-border payment through the international banking system, such as SWIFT or telegraphic transfer, from accounts in your name, and must not come from cash deposits. If the funds are held in a different country from the one where they were earned, you must show they moved through the banking system from that country.

The applicant has 6 months from approval in principle to transfer and invest, with a possible 6-month extension, and must provide evidence within 3 months after that period ends. INZ also dropped the requirement for a non-revocable managed fund agreement; a legally binding one is now enough.

Build to Rent from December 2026

From December 2026, Growth applicants may include Build to Rent developments, but only through managed funds approved by Invest New Zealand, never directly. The investor and family may not live in a development their money funds. INZ says detailed eligibility rules will be published before the change takes effect. The Balanced category gets no direct Build to Rent option.

Who it suits, and who it does not

The Growth category suits an investor with NZD 5 million in liquid, documented wealth who wants residence without relocating: 21 days over 3 years is a light presence requirement. Build to Rent funds add a property-linked option.

It suits less well an investor whose wealth is illiquid or spread across jurisdictions, who planned to borrow wherever credit is cheapest, or whose funds have passed through cash.

Costs and timelines

The official costs are the investment itself and INZ's application fee, which is published on the INZ website; we could not confirm the current figure. The official timeline after approval in principle is 6 months to invest, extendable by 6 months, then a holding period of 3 or 5 years depending on category.

What it means in practice

Consider a hypothetical founder resident in Dubai, whose wealth is a villa in Dubai and NZD 6 million in a Singapore brokerage account from the sale of a Singapore company.

If she sells part of the portfolio and wires the proceeds by SWIFT from her own account, with the sale documents, the file is straightforward. If she would rather keep the portfolio and borrow against the Dubai villa, the loan would have to come from a lender in the UAE, secured on that villa, and she would need to explain why selling assets is not practical. A loan from a Singapore bank against the Dubai property would fail the same-jurisdiction rule.

On tax, Inland Revenue says a person becomes a New Zealand tax resident after more than 183 days in New Zealand in any 12-month period, or on having a permanent place of abode there, whichever comes first. The Growth category's 21 days would not on their own trigger the day test. A home in New Zealand could, however, count as a permanent place of abode. Inland Revenue also gives eligible new tax residents a one-off exemption on most foreign income for about 4 years.

What to watch

The Build to Rent rules. INZ has promised detailed requirements before December 2026, including which funds qualify.

What we do not yet know. INZ's August announcement did not give an effective date or say how the borrowed-funds rule applies to applications already lodged. Nor is it clear whether Build to Rent will be open to applicants whose approval in principle predates December 2026.

Further changes. The visa has been adjusted repeatedly since April 2025, so check current INZ guidance on the day you apply. Before you pay anyone to structure the transfer, ask them to trace on paper each step your money will take from the country where it was earned to New Zealand.