New Zealand
Long Term
Business Visa

The process of immigration to New Zealand on this pathway involves two visa applications. Firstly, you will be issued with a long-term multiple-entry business work visa, for an initial period of nine months to enter New Zealand to establish or purchase your business. The principal applicant who holds that multiple-entry visa can leave and re-enter New Zealand during that nine-month period as often as he/she wishes without any restriction and, whilst in New Zealand, undertake work which is connected with the establishment of the proposed New Zealand business.

After satisfying the visa officer of this, you will then be issued a further work permit for up to a maximum period of 3 years, allowing you to continue establishing and running your business.

Permanent residence can be applied for under the Entrepreneur Class once the business has been successfully established in New Zealand for at least 2 years and meets the prevailing criteria.

The success of the first stage (LTBV) largely depends on the quality of your business plan, so make sure that you seek professional advice from us on this aspect.

We can have you living in New Zealand in a matter of weeks. Once we have your Long Term Business Visa pack and are confident that it is ready to submit we can issue you with a holiday visa allowing you to travel to New Zealand while we process your long-term business visa. Once you complete our long-term business visa order form and return it with payment you will be eligible to leave immediately.

Yes. Your spouse and dependent children will be issued with matching multiple-entry visas. Generally a three-year multiple-entry "open" work will be issued to your spouse, which enables him/her to undertake any type of work in New Zealand.

Dependent children are usually issued multiple-entry student visas.  Dependent children who receive student permits for studying in New Zealand will be entitled to pay school fees at domestic student rates, and not at international student rates.

Yes, your partner can work in whatever job he/she chooses.

We recommend you go and visit the business enterprise and development manager for the local city council. Their services are free and should prove invaluable. You can present them with your business plans and ask that they write a letter of support which you can include with your application.

No, anyone can apply for this visa to New Zealand.

To apply for this NZ Visa you will need to provide:

• A fully completed New Zealand Visa application form. Apply now.
• Evidence of your business experience that you have either owned your own business or held a senior management position that is responsible for all aspects of business operation.
• Sufficient funds
• Proof of health and character by way of a police certificate as evidence of good character.
• Basic proficiency in English Language
• Visa payment - the application fee for this visa is €3500/£2500 and €1500/£1000 for formatting the business plan.
• Business plan

While there is no set limit on the capital required to be eligible for a New Zealand Business Permit, applications will be judged subjectively on a case by case basis where funds will need to be appropriate to the business.

You must possess sufficient funds and relevant business experience to establish or purchase the proposed business in New Zealand. Apart from investment capital, you must also have access to sufficient funds - independent of funds that may be generated by the business - to cover the living expenses of you and your family for the duration of the visa.

Traveltowork can set you up with a New Zealand bank account before leaving for NZ in about 4-5 days. You can then transfer money to New Zealand and Traveltowork will submit your statement of funds with your visa application.

Contact Michele on +353 1 878 3355 or mhoffman@traveltowork.com.au for more details.

Your business plan, along with supporting documents, will be used to determine that:

• You have enough money to establish the proposed business in New Zealand and to support you and any family;
• Your financial forecasts are realistic;
• You have relevant business experience, including qualifications, existing businesses, shareholdings;
• You have not been involved with a business failure within the last five years;
• You have not been involved in business fraud or wrongdoing;
• You have obtained occupational registration in New Zealand, where this is required for the business;
• That you have gained an understanding of the New Zealand market.

Your business plan must focus on the following four areas, and each section is assessed individually and assigned a weighting as follows:

Business outline - 30%: The business outline involves the description of the proposed business, including details about the potential market. The information regarding the ownership structure of the business and the numbers and skills of employees is required. A realistic proposed timeline for the business and an analysis of the business' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is necessary.

Financial information - 25%: The financial forecast section of the business plan will need to be prepared by a chartered accountant. This primarily involves a cashflow forecast and a profit and loss forecast.

Business experience - 25%: The applicant must provide evidence of business experience and provide originals or certified copies of the following documents to the Immigration Service:

- Proof of ownership of business.
- Business registration.
- Company accounts or tax returns.
- Shareholder certificates.
- Description of responsibilities in the business.

Business experience means a minimum of two years experience either owning at least 25% of a business or having management experience such as planning, organising and control of the activities of business or supervisory experience such as line management responsibilities which involves planning, organisation and control of the activities of the business.

New Zealand market knowledge - 20%: Knowledge of the New Zealand market can be demonstrated through evidence of any connections you have had with New Zealand businesses, previous involvement with New Zealand businesses, professional advice you have received from New Zealand and details of any associates or family members who have had similar business ventures in New Zealand.

You would be expected to invest at least NZ$1 million and generate at least 1 new job to be eligible for this New Zealand Business Permit.

Visa First is the only company with an online visa status engine through which you can check the status of your New Zealand Work Permit application 24/7. Check your visa status here.

Thousands of customers every year choose Visa First to organise their work visas because:

• We make getting the visa you need fast and hassle-free.
• We are the only company with an online visa status engine which allows you to check the status of your visa 24/7. Check your visa status now.
• We're visa experts and have organised over 130,000 visas for people like you.
• Our visa guarantee means no visa - no fee!*
• We don't just do visas, we sort out everything you'll need overseas - from accommodation, bank accounts, airport pick up, jobs and much more.

Apply online for your NZ Visa with Visa First today.

Visa First makes sure you can start working and getting paid as soon as you get to New Zealand. Our partner Traveltowork can start organising your New Zealand bank account before you leave home which means you can transfer money in advance and access it as soon as you arrive. Apply for your NZ bank account today.

To work in New Zealand, you will need a New Zealand Tax Number – called an Inland Revenue Department (IRD) number. Without an IRD number you will pay tax at the emergency rate of 48%. The Visa First NZ Taxsaver Pack gives you step-by-step instructions for getting your NZ IRD number fast so you can start earning and pay tax at the normal rate of 29%. Apply for a New Zealand Taxsaver Pack today.

At Visa First we do everything we can to make sure you receive the best possible service. If you feel that we have not achieved this goal we have set up a complaints handling process:

Complaints Process:

1. Where an official complaint is received by Visa First, the company will record the nature of the complaint and issue an acknowledgement email to the client within 5 business days of receiving the complaint. The acknowledgement will provide the client with the contact name who is responsible for dealing with the complaint. The official complaint must be made by email (you may also write, although this will slow down the process), and confirm that the client wishes to enter this process. Please email your complaint to complaints@visafirst.com
2. Visa First will investigate the complaint as swiftly as possible and where applicable, the complainant will receive a regular written update on the progress of the investigation at intervals of not more than 20 business days.
3. Visa First will try to resolve the complaint within 40 business days of having received the complaint. If the complaint cannot be resolved within 40 business days, the Firm will write to the complainant notifying them of the anticipated timeframe for the conclusion of the investigation.
4. Within 5 business days of the conclusion of the investigation of the complaint, Visa First will issue a resolution letter detailing the outcome of the investigation. This letter will include, if applicable, an explanation of the terms of any offer that the company is prepared to make in settlement of the complaint.