Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has introduced a change to the Active Investor Plus (AI+) visa, with philanthropic donations now recognised as an acceptable investment under the Growth Category.
The change took effect from 1 June 2026 and provides Growth Category applicants filing on or after that date with the opportunity to count philanthropic donations towards their investment amount, which were previously only permitted under the Balanced Category.
What has changed?
Growth Category applicants can now allocate part of their investment to philanthropic donations, subject to philanthropic donations being capped at 20% of the total investment amount. There is no minimum value of donation required to qualify.
For applicants investing the minimum NZD 5 million, this allows up to NZD 1 million to be directed to eligible philanthropic causes (with the amount allowable to philanthropic donations increasing proportionally with an increased total investment amount).
The ability to count philanthropic donations under a Growth Category application only applies to applications made on or after 1 June 2026. For any applicants that have filed applications prior to this date (including those still under assessment), if there is an intention to donate under the prior Growth setting that applies to those applications (where philanthropy is not permitted), that will need to be worked through and likely will require the exercise of Ministerial discretion to allow it.
What qualifies as philanthropy?
To be treated as an acceptable investment, donations must meet strict INZ requirements.
Broadly, contributions must be made to either eligible New Zealand charities or Department of Conservation initiatives.
Eligible New Zealand charities
The charity must:
- Be registered as a charity in New Zealand.
- Have at least five years of compliant reporting history.
- Hold current Inland Revenue donee status and reports to Charities Services under tier 1, 2 or 3.
The donation made must also be exclusively directed to domestic causes within New Zealand.
Applicants are also required to disclose:
- Any existing affiliations with the recipient organisation.
- Whether the donation provides any direct or indirect private benefit.
Applications may be declined where a connection exists, and a benefit arises (financial or otherwise).
These provisions are clearly aimed at preventing philanthropic investments from being used in a self-serving way.
Department of Conservation initiatives
Alternatively, applicants may donate to approved projects listed by the Department of Conservation.
Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)
We have already been receiving queries on whether DAFs can be used to make qualifying donations. DAFs are commonly used in the USA as they provide a simple, tax-efficient charitable giving vehicle that allows donors to contribute assets, receive an immediate tax deduction, and distribute the funds to qualified charities over time.
The strict transfer rules under the AI+ programme remain applicable to funds transferred for philanthropic donations. These rules require that funds nominated for investment/donation must be in the principal applicant’s personal name and sent directly via the international trading bank system from the principal applicant to a New Zealand bank account in their personal name or the New Zealand investment/donation receiver.
The policy only allows third parties such as solicitors, pension schemes and investment firms to send funds when those nominated funds can be identified as belonging to and under the complete control of the principal applicant (personally). In this sense the current policy does not allow for beneficial ownership structures (such as DAFs) to nominate funds, transfer and invest/donate on behalf of the principal applicant.
If a New Zealand charity has IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (or an established USA presence or branch with such status), DAFs would still likely be prevented from sending funds directly to those charities under the AI+ programme based on the strict nominated fund personal ownership and transfer rules that apply. Note however this view is subject to working through a case example and with that, having the benefit of reviewing all ownership/transfer documentation – applying the ownership/transfer rules accordingly, but our opinion here is solid on confirming that DAF transfers won’t meet the criteria for standard approval.
Sending from a USA based charity branch to the New Zealand charity would also not comply with the transfer rules that apply.
Note we would consider that if an applicant wished to nominate, transfer funds and donate via a DAF, then the Minister of Immigration holds the ability to allow it by exercise of Ministerial discretion. However, such approvals are discretionary, and it can take some time for Ministerial requests to be decided on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, if any applicant wishes to donate under a Growth or Balanced visa setting and wishes to do so via a DAF, seek advice on this intention as soon as possible.
New Zealand tax credits
Whilst New Zealand provides a 33% tax credit for qualifying charitable donations, this is only eligible to people who were tax resident in New Zealand for the tax year of the donation claimed. Given that most applicants are not tax resident or unlikely to become tax resident very early in their visa engagement, this tax credit will likely not be available.
Our thoughts
This is a sensible change to align the Growth Category with the Balanced Category with respect to philanthropic donations.
Given our experience, philanthropic giving typically follows later in an investor migrant’s journey once they have spent significant time and built strong connections in New Zealand. However, this change will appeal to prospective applicants with strong ties already to New Zealand or a cause they are already engaged in overseas or passionate about and are happy to give to a New Zealand based charity to secure their residence visas.
This setting also creates an opportunity for New Zealand based charities and philanthropic service providers to secure additional donations from incoming investor migrants, at an early stage, and on an even playing field. DAFs which currently provide an advantage over New Zealand charities with respect to tax treatment in the US, are not compliant for use under the standard policy, without a discretionary exception being issued by the Minister to allow it.
Further, as set out above the changes only apply for applications made from 1 June 2026 onwards, so this excludes a significant amount of potential donors who have applied under the AI+ programme and are still seeking to complete their required investments, subject to seeking Ministerial approval to allow a donation as an exception to the rules that apply to them (as at the filing date of their application).
