Uglobal Immigration Magazine Volume 2, Issue 1 | Page 87

UGLOBAL.COM the resident visa application. The visa processing time will vary depending upon the circumstances and processing office workload; a time-frame of five to 10 months is typical. Upon completion of the visa processing, a letter indicating an “approval in principle” is issued. 85 “ 新西兰允许申请人在满足一定条 件的情况下自由选择投资项目 ” The second stage starts with the “approval in principle” advice. The applicant can now proceed with transferring funds to New Zealand and moving the funds into acceptable investments. The applicant can proceed with confidence knowing that his or her eligibility for the resident visa has been confirmed, subject to the compliant transfer and investment of funds in New Zealand. It is expected that the funds will be transferred and invested in New Zealand within 12 months, with extensions to that possible for a maximum of 24 months for the investor 1 visa and 18 months for the investor 2 visa. The third stage is the resident visa. It is granted following the acceptable investments being made in New Zealand. This is a period of three years for investor 1 or four years for investor 2. As the holder of a resident visa, the applicant and included family members are eligible for benefits in New Zealand. The principal applicant is obligated to stay in New Zealand for the required time over the investment period: 88 days for investor 1 and 438 days for investor 2. Measured time periods are accumulative and do not need to be consecutive stays. Following the completion of the investment period, with the required stay requirements met and investments held in acceptable investments throughout the period, the applicant and included family will be able to apply for permanent residency. Citizenship is an option after five years of residency, including qualifying stay periods in New Zealand, although it is less of a necessity when considering that the permanent residency is for life without any ongoing obligations. No limitations are placed upon holding dual citizenship. Upon reaching 65 years of age, subject to qualifying requirements, which generally include at least 10 years of living in New Zealand, residents are eligible for a pension. For a single person, this is currently $801 per fortnight. A pension is made available to all eligible residents with no assessment of income or assets required. With a minimum stay required in New Zealand of under three months, attractive and flexible investment options, and no further ongoing commitments after the issuance of the permanent resident visa, New Zealand should be high on any list of countries for investors, whether they’re seeking to move now or just to have the option to relocate at any time in the future. Welcome to New Zealand: Kia ora! JAMES ALAN HALL James Alan Hall is the principal agent and managing director of ANZ Migration, established in Singapore in 2003. Hall has 15 years of industry experience and is an Australian registered migration agent (#0428740) and New Zealand licensed immigration adviser (#200800600). He specializes in investor and business immigration, is regularly invited to speak at international conferences, and provides mentorship. Hall has represented clients before the Australian Migration Review Tribunal and Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Prior to the immigration industry, Hall was a PMP certified project manager with IBM working across the Asia-Pacific region.