The Active Investor Plus visa initially brought in about NZ$1 billion ($570 million) annually by attracting wealthy individuals. However, stricter rules introduced in late 2022 caused applications to plummet.

New Zealand is revising its Active Investor Plus visa by eliminating the English language requirement and other investment barriers, aiming to attract affluent investors. The updated visa program, effective April 1,

Active Investor Plus is New Zealand's Golden Visa. The Golden Visa is a special visa program offered to foreigners making investments above a certain amount. Investors can receive a visa or permanent residency in return for contributing to the country's economy, typically investing in real estate, corporations, bonds, or stocks.

The investor visa is set to become "simpler and more flexible," New Zealand's Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said.

New Zealand will relax visa rules to attract more foreign investors, in efforts to stimulate economic growth, its centre-right government said on Sunday. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the country's investor visa category would be made "simpler and more flexible" to encourage investors to choose New Zealand for their "capital,

The changes are expected to create more local jobs and give the country’s sluggish residential property market a shot in the arm.