Hi Gray,

What a helpful agent you had! Not suprised really, so many bad stories about agents floating around.

Well, the old 'what is sufficient money' question has long baffled people, and even the Immigration Service themselves can't put a figure on it. All it really means is that you have to assume that your business will make no money for the first 2 years, so you have to have sufficient funds to carry you through that time. The sort of figure you're talking of bringing would keep the average kiwi family going for 10 years, so I think you can assume that's enough money!

One thing of note, if some of that money has to be used for starting a business, and putting in to working capital, then however much you are setting aside for that cannot be counted. Some basic examples:

If you're planning on spending $450k setting up the business, then you're going to stuggle with $50k for 2 years.

If the business is going to cost $150k, then you're laughing.

To start a business, you need to have a Long Term Business Visa already approved. You must already know what business you are starting, have experience in that type of business, have a business plan, including profit/loss projections and future growth/expansion plans. All this needs to be approved. The LTBV is probably the single most complicated and expensive route to immigration.

If you can get a job and gain residency that way, it's by far the best option. Once you have residency, you can just start any business you like.

Hope that helps!