Innovation visa to entice global entrepreneurs to New Zealand

A new class of visa aimed specifically at bringing innovative global entrepreneurs to New Zealand will be launched early next year, the government announced on Wednesday.

The government's Immigration New Zealand (INZ) agency would partner with the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF), a charitable organization set up by the Hillary Institute, which was founded by the famous New Zealand explorer, to administer the scheme, said Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse.

The fellowship would be responsible for attracting, selecting and integrating "high-impact entrepreneurs, investors and start-up teams to launch global ventures from New Zealand" under the new global impact visa (GIV) program, Woodhouse said in a statement.

"EHF will identify potential applicants and build a regional network which will support participants across the country, while INZ will be responsible for processing and making decisions on visas," said Woodhouse.

"By drawing on private sector strengths and knowledge in this space, the government is better positioned to accelerate innovation and continue to grow the contribution migrants make to the economy."

The visa would run as a four-year pilot, and be limited to 400 visas over the duration of the pilot.

Up to 80 New Zealand entrepreneurs and investors would be accepted into EHF over the four years, providing the opportunity for collaboration between GIVs migrants and New Zealand entrepreneurs and investors.

The program would open to applications in early 2017 with the first GIVs migrants to arrive later in the year. Endit