Summarised by Centrist
Immigration lawyers say New Zealand’s upgraded Active Investor Plus visa is effectively off-limits to Chinese investors due to Immigration NZ’s refusal to accept capital transfers through China’s state-sanctioned QDII programme – the primary legal route for overseas investment.
While the visa overhaul on 1 April was meant to attract more foreign capital, excluding QDII (Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor) and QDLP (Qualified Domestic Limited Partner) pathways has caused Chinese interest to collapse.
The QDII and QDLP pathways are Chinese government-approved schemes that allow Chinese investors to legally move funds overseas through licensed domestic institutions.
Immigration adviser Peter Luo said clients had to cancel or pause applications. “QDII is virtually the only lawful channel for mainland Chinese to invest abroad,” he said.
Immigration NZ argues that QDII-style transfers don’t meet the criteria for “active and ongoing investment,” citing concerns that funds may be repatriated after the investment term. Immigration lawyer Arran Hunt said this rationale is unclear and inconsistent, since any investor can withdraw funds later regardless of their origin.
Lawyers Harris Gu and Hunt believe Immigration NZ is either misinterpreting the law or applying its own “baseless” restrictions, and are calling for a re-evaluation of the rule, which they say disproportionately disadvantages Chinese investors.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment insists the policy is “country neutral” and designed to attract “high quality and productive” investment.
