Investors will only have to remain in New Zealand for 21 days over three years to gain residency under changes to the so-called ‘golden visa’ to attract wealthy investors to New Zealand, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says.
From 1 April, the Active Investor Plus visa will be replaced with two, simplified investment categories.
The first, the ‘Growth’ category, will focus on higher-risk investments, including direct investments in New Zealand businesses.
It will require a minimum investment of $5 million for a minimum period of three years.
The second, the ‘Balanced’ category, will focus on mixed investments, with the ability to choose ones that are lower risk.
There will be a minimum investment of $10 million over five years.
Reading more into it, it definitely seems like he was throwing money around and courting ministers before he applied.
NZ Herald actually has a good in depth article on it: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/indepth/national/how-peter-thiel-got-new-zealand-citizenship/. It’s a fairly long read.