International Migration Outlook - New Zealand 2007/08
10. Entrepreneurs
10.1.1. Background
In 1999, the Long Term Business Visa (LTBV) and the Entrepreneur Policy were introduced as part of a wider business immigration review, which also included the introduction of the Employees of Businesses Relocating to New Zealand Policy and the Investor Policy.
The LTBV is a temporary permit that affords people with the opportunity to set up a business in New Zealand. Long Term Business Visa holders who have managed their business successfully for a minimum of two years can then apply for residence through the Entrepreneur Policy.
Prior to 2002, there were concerns that the LTBV/Entrepreneur Policy was not delivering quality business migrants who could contribute to New Zealand's economic growth. There were reports of migrants using the LTBV/Entrepreneur Policy as their 'last resort' because they could not meet more stringent requirements through other skilled policies. In particular, there were concerns that the English language requirement was set too low for people to settle well and to establish a successful business in New Zealand.
Consequently, a number of policy changes were made in 2002 to improve the quality of entrepreneur migrants, including:
- more stringent English language requirements;
- a stronger focus on compliance with employment/immigration laws; and
- a more precise definition of a business that is 'beneficial to New Zealand'.
10.1.2. Flow of migrants
After the 2002 changes, the numbers of LTBV applications dropped (Table 23). Given that more stringent English language requirements were introduced, this drop did not come as a complete surprise.
| Financial Year | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/02 | 02/03 | 03/04 | 04/05 | 05/06 | 06/07 | 07/08 | |
| Total | 1807 | 1177 | 392 | 209 | 154 | 170 | 71 |
| South Korea | 733 | 465 | 80 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 5 |
| China | 670 | 389 | 68 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| UK | 73 | 81 | 94 | 83 | 76 | 70 | 32 |
| USA | 15 | 32 | 22 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 4 |
| Other | 316 | 210 | 128 | 83 | 50 | 70 | 28 |
Source: Department of Labour
Nevertheless, when looking at applications from English speaking countries, it seems that the 2002 policy is just as popular as the previous (1999) policy. So despite the initial shock of lower inflow of total numbers (coming mainly from a drop in applications from China and South Korea), the number of applications approved under the current (post 2002) policy has been relatively steady.