Erica Stanford: Immigration Minister on the success of the Government's new 'golden visa' scheme

The Immigration Minister says the first proper data will be collected on the value overseas investors bring to New Zealand.  

The Government's confirmed almost 200 applications have been received from overseas investors since settings loosened in April. 

Erica Stanford says applicants have six months to find and make an investment.

But she explained what happens after the initial funding is often more significant. 

"We know through the data that we do have that they invest a whole lot more once they get here and they see the ecosystem and they fall in love with the place - and they're quite big philanthropists as well." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heather duple c l the Wan's new golden visa skin
to attract wealthy foreigners as going gangbusters. In the last
three months it has attracted one hundred and eighty nine applications.
Now that is a lot more than the one hundred
and sixteen applications that came through under Labour's rules, and
that took two and a half years. Erica Stanford is
the Immigration minister. Hey Erica, good afternoon, Erica. If we've

(00:20):
got two hundred applications almost, why have only seven been
granted visa so far?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well, what happens is that these people have got six
months in which to find their acceptable investment and make
their investment. It used to be eighteen months. We've shifted
it back to six months, and so there is a
period of time we're only early days yet in which
we've got to start pushing these biases through. But one
hundred application has been approved in principle. It's not bad

(00:48):
half to just ten weeks.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yeah, what's the difference between actually approved and improved in principle?
What are you waiting for that?

Speaker 2 (00:54):
This is where they are about to put their money in,
for example, So we've got to do a whole lot
of work in the background. So we've got to make
sure that their applications are final, full dunally medicals, we've
got to trace sources of funds. It takes quite a
while because we don't want dirty money, so that's why
it takes a little while to get to this point.

(01:14):
Then they're approved from principle and then they make their investments.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Fabulous And where are these people coming from?

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Well, predominantly a lot of them are coming out of America.
So there's one hundred and eighty nine applications and eighty
five of those are out of the States. Are closely
followed by China twenty six and then Hong Kong twenty four,
and then Germany at sixteen, and we're seeing quite a
lot of interest out at the German market.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Is there any requirement on them to keep their money
here for a period of time?

Speaker 2 (01:44):
There is, depending on if they're going for the balanced
category or for the growth category, that's either five years
or three years, So there is a period of time
they've got to have that here. But we know that
actually that initial investment is almost it's significant, but it's
actually what they invest after that we know through the

(02:04):
data that we do have that they invest a whole
lot more once they get here and they see the
ecosystem and they fall in love with the place, and
they have there quite big philanthropists as well, So there
is a huge amount of investment that goes on after
that initial investment.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Are you going to keep measuring the benefits that these
people bring? Like it's one thing to get them here,
then to actually know what they're doing the benefit to
the country, are you going to measure that?

Speaker 2 (02:27):
We are. We've put written something into the instructions that
allow us to keep tracking what they do after their
initial investment. We've never had that data before, but we
will be tracking it. We will also, through IMZ, keep
a really close eye on the businesses that are being
invested in. So we were just today at Hotline Labs
who are wanting to grow to a one hundred million
dollar plus company and export up to Europe and a

(02:49):
need funds in order to do that. So it'll be
companies like that and all the people that they employ
and the export dollars at their earning will also be
a part we'll look at tracking through in the through
invest New zealand that new body as well.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Erica, Thanks very much, appreciate your time as Erica Stanford
Immigration Minister. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
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