28 October 2021
Ref: DOIA 2122-0717
Lisa Thompson
[FYI request #16201 email]
Dear Lisa,
Thank you for your email of 26 July 2021 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)
requesting under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) the following information:
“details of the proposed changes to business immigration / investors category. This includes any
aide memoire to the minister”.
Please accept our apologies for the delay in providing a response to your request. We trust you will find
the following information of use.
As you will be aware, New Zealand currently has two investor visa categories, Investor Visa One and
Investor Visa Two, as well as an Entrepreneur work visa and a Global Impact visa which aim to attract
skilled innovators to our shores. The Investor One visa category has attracted $5.6 billion dollars in
investment to New Zealand from 560 investors in the 12 years it has been running. The Investor Visa Two
category has attracted $4.8 billion in investment to New Zealand from 2,255 investors since 2009.
Building off this strong foundation, high-quality international investment will play an important role in
supporting New Zealand’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The Government’s response to the
pandemic has lifted our global reputation as an attractive place to live and invest and we are currently
looking at ways to capitalise on this opportunity.
Identified in scope of your request is advice given to the Minister of Immigration, including four briefings
and one aide memoire. These documents are listed below:
Title
Date
MBIE briefing 2021-1640 Immigration Policy Priorities and Work
4 December 2020
Programme Proposals
MBIE briefing 2021-2992 [Title withheld under section 9(2)(f)(iv)]
25 March 2021
MBIE briefing 2021-3878 Cover briefing: The Investment Attraction
26 May 2021
Strategy and Investor Migrants Cabinet paper
MBIE aide memoire 2021-4122 Updated Cabinet paper: The Investment
10 June 2021
Attraction Strategy and Investor Migrants
MBIE briefing 2021-3995 Investment Attraction Strategy and Investor Migrants:
29 June 2021
Cabinet paper and talking points for DEV, 7 July
I have made the decision to withhold this information in full under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act, to
maintain the constitutional conventions for the time being which protect the confidentiality of advice
tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision, in accordance
with section 28(3) of the Act. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Kirtsy Hutchison
Manager Immigration (Border and Funding) Policy
