The New Zealand Government announced on Friday 12th December changes to the Active Investor Plus visa that addressed an oversight relating to successful AIP visa applicants being unable to buy a residential home in New Zealand.
The government has changed this ruling, and these are our interpretations of the changes, pre and post Friday’s announcement:
1) Before last Friday’s announcement: “I’ve got (or I’m getting) an AIP residence visa — can I buy a home?”
Case study: “Alex” (AIP Growth applicant)
Alex plans to invest NZ$5m under the AIP Growth category and only needs to spend 21 days in New Zealand over 36 months to meet the visa’s minimum time requirement.
Alex wants to buy a normal home in New Zealand, budgeting around NZ$2m–$3m as a base for holiday visits.
What Alex discovered (pre-announcement):
- Buying residential property in New Zealand is controlled by the Overseas Investment Office if you’re not an ordinary resident or a New Zealand citizen.
- Unless Alex became an “ordinarily resident” (typically meaning they’ve actually lived here and met the 12 months / 183 days threshold plus NZ tax residency requirements, they were effectively treated as an “overseas person” for residential land.
- Again, the main consent route to buy one home to live in came with a commitment to reside – including being in NZ at least 183 days in each 12-month period after consent is granted.
Bottom line (pre-Friday’s announcement):
For an AIP investor who didn’t plan to live in NZ most of the year, the practical answer was often “you can’t easily buy a normal home to use as an owned residence”.
That oversight by the New Zealand Government is exactly what Friday’s announcement tries to address.
2) After last Friday’s announcement: “What can AIP holders buy now?”
The Government’s amendment creates a targeted carve-out:
An AIP (and Investor 1 / Investor 2) residence visa holder will be allowed to buy or build one home provided:
- it’s an existing home valued at NZ$5 million+ (New builds: land and build cost combined).
- it’s residential/lifestyle land that is not otherwise classified as sensitive, and
- they still need to apply to the Overseas Investment Office (this is not “automatic”)
What this means in plain terms:
- If you’re an AIP investor who plans to spend only the minimum days in NZ, you’ll have a clear, legal pathway to buy/build one high-value home (NZ$5m+) even if you don’t meet the 183-days-a-year “commitment to reside” expectations.
- This home purchase is separate from your AIP investment (it doesn’t replace the NZ$5m/NZ$10m investment requirement). Immigration New Zealand
Quick reality-check: If someone can live in NZ for 183+ days a year then why would they apply for an AIP visa?
Some people may choose to live in New Zealand for a minimum of 183 days a year and still prefer the Active Investor Plus pathway because it’s an investment-led path (no job offer, business sponsorship, etc.).
The key point is: the new $5m+ carve-out mainly benefits the AIP cohort who won’t be in New Zealand long enough to become “ordinarily resident” under the overseas investment settings, and that’s explicitly the rationale the Government gave on Friday 12th December, 2025.
