slide 1: New Zealand Entrepreneur Work Visa
Business investors can now avail the opportunity to have an enterprise in the lucrative
economy of New Zealand by either purchasing or starting a new one The
Entrepreneur Work Visa lets you to setup a business in New Zealand with
investment as low as NZ 100000. If your business plan is approved you can claim
120 points and this could be the first step towards getting your New Zealand residency.
It is not mandatory that you live permanently in New Zealand under the Entrepreneur
Work Visa. At first the visa is valid for 12 months which is known as the start-up phase.
On successfully establishing your business another 24 months visa is granted to you. In
this visa application you can also accompany your dependents with you.
Visa conditions:
Following conditions need to be met if you are granted the Entrepreneur Work Visa:
Entry permission:
Once you arrive in New Zealand you need to apply for entry permission. This can be
done by completing an arrival card which you’ll be given on your way to New Zealand.
slide 2: Your entry can be refused if:
• The character requirements are not met.
• Your circumstances have changed from the time you were granted the visa.
• If required you do not allow to provide your photo or fingerprints or an iris scan.
Travel:
This visa allows you to have multiple entries to New Zealand. till it expires.
Work:
On this visa it is compulsory that you only work for yourself in the same business and
location mentioned in your visa application.
Contact details:
In case your address or other contact details change after your visa approval you need
to update your visa officer. The contact details are required to get in touch with you
once the ‘start-up’ phase is completed.
No Welfare Assistance:
Welfare assistance shall not be applied or accepted if you are in New Zealand on
Entrepreneur Work Visa. The condition applies to your dependent as well.
Study:
In any 12 months period you are allowed to study for 3 months.
Visa Expiry:
Once the visa expires you have to make an exit from the country.
Detailed Visa Requirements:
The Entrepreneur work visa is a sub-category of work visa. This initiative is taken in
order to promote self-employment in New Zealand. Entrepreneurs now can have their
own business in New Zealand by making a capital investment as low as NZ 100000.
To avoid any disruptions ensure you have the appropriate visa. Also make sure your
slide 3: visa hasn’t expired or has been transferred to your current/new passport which is being
used for travelling to New Zealand.
Principal applicant’s personal details
Following documents are required for the applicant’s personal details
• passport or certificate of identity or if that is unavailable
• your full birth certificate or a certified copy
-If the applicant is present in New Zealand they must show their current visa and of
their dependants too. It is highly recommended to provide the original passports. This
will enable the immigration officer to speed up you application procedure.
Partner’s personal details:
If a partner is included in the application the main applicant needs to provide evidence
that they are living together in a genuine and stable relationship. Also they both have to
meet the minimum requirements for partnership see the Residence Guide INZ 1002
for full details of partnership instructions.
Dependent children:
Provide an original or certified copy of a full birth certificate for each child. The
documents must state the names of both parents. If the child is adopted provide a full
adoption order from the home country. Note that documents must show the adoption is
in accordance with the New Zealand Adoption Act 1955.
Character requirements:
slide 4: If the candidate is a first-time applicant or has held a work visa under the Entrepreneur
Work Visa Category for three years and are applying for a further work visa the he/she
and each person included on the application aged 17 years or older must provide:
• a police certificate from the country of their citizenship
• police certificates from any country in which they have lived for more than five
years.
Note that the certificates provided must be less than six months old at the time the
application is submitted.
Health Requirements:
The applicant and his family should to be in good health to be granted an Entrepreneur
work visa. Every person who is included in the application needs to provide a Medical
Certificate. A General Medical Certificate and a Chest X-ray Certificate is required to
fulfill the health requirement.
English Test Requirements:
A minimum standard of English language skills are required by the principal applicant
either if he is applying for the first time or applying for a renewal of visa and hasn’t
previously provided the English language proof. At this stage your partner and/or
dependents are exempted from the condition of providing English language proof.
However while applying for residency later all applicants shall be required to meet the
minimum English test requirements.
You can provide evidence for your English proficiency by either submitting result of any
of the following tests or by providing proof of English-speaking background.
The minimum test requirements for Entrepreneur work visa are
IELTS – General or Academic Module Overall score of 4.0 or more.
slide 5: TOEFL iBT Overall score of 31 or more.
Pearson Test of English Academic PTE
Academic
Overall score of 29 or more.
Cambridge English B2 First FCE or B2 First for
Schools FCE for Schools
Overall score of 142 or more.
Occupational English Test OET Grade D or higher in all four skills Listening
Reading Writing and Speaking
General Business information:
The main objective of granting Entrepreneur visa is to enable experienced business
people to grow and establish businesses in New Zealand. The business shall be having
the following characteristics
• innovation.
• export potential.
• yielding enough growth.
slide 6: Your business plan shall reflect all these characteristics and a detailed plan shall be the
prime part of your application.
In addition to a detailed business plan the principal applicant also needs to provide the
following details
• Indicate the type of your business.
• Provide the desired location of your proposed business.
• Provide evidence that you have enough funds in addition to investment capital for
your maintenance and accommodation and of any of your dependent.
• If you experienced any previous business failure of bankruptcy you need to provide
the details.
• In case of any previous convictions of fraud or financial impropriety your application
shall not be approved.
• Mention if you aim to establish a new business or purchasing an existing one.
• In case of purchasing a business you need to provide name of the vendor contact
details worth of the business and it’s performance details of the past two years.
Elements of the Business Plan
Details of proposed business
venture
You need to mention
• Details of the proposed business.
• Customers the business will target.
• Targeted industry.
• Required assets for the company.
• Distribution network of company.
Supporting documents All the documents must be in English.
Intended role in the business Mention your involvement in the business i.e.
your role and job descriptions.
Proposed ownership structure of
the business
Select a legal structure for your business and many
the names of partners if any. You must hold a
minimum 25 share of the business.
SWOT Analysis Complete a brief SWOT analysis highlighting the
main strengths weaknesses opportunities and
threats that will impact the business. Also explain
ways to overcome these threats or weaknesses.
slide 7: Knowledge of the New Zealand
business environment and market
research
-Provide detail of previous exposure that you have
had to the New Zealand business environment
including any previous business dealings or
connections with other New Zealand businesses
that is relevant to the area in which your proposed
business will operate.
-Any commissioned market research on your
proposed business has to be mentioned in your
application.
Advice from trade associations in
New Zealand
Details of any contact that you have had with
New Zealand trade associations relevant to your
business sector.
Professional advice Details and documentation needs to be provided of
any professional advice that you have received
regarding your business.
Professional qualifications If you obtained a professional or trade registration
required in order to operate the proposed business
provide it’s evidence. If the registration is in
process outline what you have done to achieve this.
Required Consents or Regulations Give the detail of consents that your business may
require under the Resource Management Act or the
Overseas Investment Act. In case other consents or
regulations for example health and safety
requirements apply to your proposed business
mention them as well.
Other qualifications Certified copies of other qualifications relevant to
your proposed business need to be mentioned.
Marketing strategy Provide details of the market strategy for your
business including:
• the estimated market size in New Zealand
• the targeted market share
• how to achieve this market share
• analysis of the prevailing competition in the
market
• any pre-arranged agreements that either the
business or you have with suppliers or distributors
and
• any license registration or distribution rights
required in order to export.
Achievements of the proposed
business
Mention the projected goals of your business for
the first three years of operation.
Timeline Provide details of the time required in establishing
your business including the time required to find
the premises recruiting the staff and establishing
a distribution network.
slide 8: Financial Information:
You will need to state the total capital required to establish the business in your visa
application. A summarized table can serve the purpose to mention the available funds
their utilization net funds available in local currency and the conversion rate applied.
Bank statements shall be required to support this information.
If the funds are in the form of investment in a property or any other asset the way they
would be utilized need to be mentioned.
Forecast the profit and loss statements for the business:
In your application you will be required to include a document that will forecast the
profit and loss statement of your business.
It is advised that the suppositions should be consistent and coherent with other sections
of the business plan. The following assumptions are particularly important
• Revenue/sales – you need to explain the basis for the forecast such as past
experience undertakings from prospective customers or market research.
• Gross profit margin –the basis for the gross profit margin as per revenues/sales
should be explained and supported. Provide evidence where appropriate.
• Salaries – this should reconcile with the number of employees which you stated in
the business plan to be employed. Ensure you include the cost of full-time and part-
time employees.
• Drawings – list the drawings including your own salary that you expect to make.
You must pay yourself a salary for the business to be considered profitable.
• Rent – as above explain the basis for your forecast for example the cost of the
existing lease the current market rental for equivalent premises.
• A balance sheet is not mandatory though it is worthwhile including one to
demonstrate the capital structure of the business and the assets used by it. It will
also aid in preparing the cash flow forecast.
slide 9: Details of projected cash flow:
A template is provided in your application pack for completing the cash flow forecast. In
that section you need to provide details of the three year projected cash flow for the
business.
How can you apply
You can apply for New Zealand Entrepreneur Work Visa by completing and
submitting the Entrepreneur Work Visa Application yourself or by the help of your
representative.
Immigration Experts is there to file your application.