On 5 November 2026 Immigration New Zealand published an announcement that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is researching how well the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa is performing.
The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) is running the work independently for MBIE. NZIER is contacting AIP investors — including through immigration representatives where relevant — and inviting them to complete an online survey that INZ says should take about 15 minutes.
What the survey is for
INZ says standard reporting already covers where investors come from and how much and where they invest. The new research goes further: why people choose New Zealand, what is working, and what barriers they face.
Findings are intended to inform future policy reviews, how the visa is promoted, and the support offered to investors. Early findings will also be shared with Invest New Zealand.
Who is being asked — and what is not changing overnight
Only people already in the AIP pathway who receive an invitation are being asked to respond. This is not a new application round and does not change the investment rules by itself.
INZ stresses that:
- participation is voluntary
- responses are anonymous and confidential unless you choose to leave contact details
- individual answers will not be shared with immigration decision-makers
- choosing not to take part will not affect current or future visa applications or immigration status
The survey is separate from the Post Investment Questionnaire, which remains mandatory for AIP investors.
Reminder: what the AIP visa currently requires
The AIP category was reshaped on 1 April 2025. According to INZ:
- Growth — minimum NZ$5 million invested for at least three years, focused on higher-risk options such as managed funds and direct business investment
- Balanced — minimum NZ$10 million over five years, with a wider mix that can include lower-risk options such as bonds and some property-type investments
English-language requirements were removed under the 2025 settings, and some presence requirements were eased for more active investment choices.
Why Asian investors may care
INZ's own nationality table for applications received from 1 April 2025 to 28 October 2026 shows China as the second-largest source of applications (194 applications, 622 people), after the United States. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan also feature among the larger Asian sources.
Over the same period INZ reported 1,003 applications received and 521 approved, with about NZ$5.4 billion added to the investment pipeline or committed (excluding withdrawn or declined applications). Capital committed to New Zealand was reported at about NZ$3.07 billion.
Those figures describe programme scale. They do not tell investors whether deal flow, advice or aftercare has matched expectations — which is what the NZIER survey is trying to measure.
Election-year debate about visas and residency continues separately. Our guide to party immigration pledges covers campaign positions, not AIP settings. Labour's proposed capital gains tax on investment property is also a campaign pledge, not current law.
If you get an invitation
INZ encourages investors who receive the NZIER invitation to take part. NZIER will explain how answers will be used, participant rights and privacy when it sends the survey.
If you have not received an invitation, wait for NZIER or your immigration adviser to contact you. Do not share passport or banking details with anyone who cold-calls claiming to run an "MBIE investor survey" without the invitation material NZIER describes.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand, MBIE seeks investor insights on the Active Investor Plus visa (5 November 2026); Immigration New Zealand, 2025 changes to the Active Investor Plus Visa and statistics post-change (updated 28 October 2026).
