Can Skilled Migrant Category Residence Visa Applicants Own Part of a Business? Here’s What You Need to Know

March 11, 2025

If you’re thinking about applying for skilled residence in New Zealand, one question that often comes up is whether you can have equity (ownership) or shares in a business. Does owning part of a company mean you’re self-employed, and if so, is that allowed? Let’s break it down and make sense of the rules.

Skilled Residence vs. Running Your Own Business

Skilled residence categories in New Zealand are all about people working for someone else—specifically, an accredited employer. These categories are not designed for people running their own businesses. If your dream is to get residence by starting and growing your business, you’d need to look into the business visa options, like the Entrepreneur Visa.

The big thing to remember is that skilled residence is for employees, not business owners. If you’re working for yourself or managing your own business, that counts as self-employment, which doesn’t meet the requirements for skilled residence.

What Happens If You Own Shares or Equity?

Owning a stake in the business where you work can get tricky. Why? Because owning part of the company might make it look like you’re self-employed, even if you’re technically an “employee.” Immigration officers will take a close look at these situations, and things like the company’s ownership setup, how much of the business you own, and what your day-to-day responsibilities are will all play a role in their decision.

Here’s the key issue: if you’re calling the shots—like making management decisions, setting strategies, or having control over how the business runs—it’s likely they’ll decide you’re self-employed. And that’s not allowed under skilled residence.

Example to Picture It

Imagine you’re a skilled worker and you own 60% of a tech startup. You’re also the director of the company. Even if you pay yourself a regular salary and follow visa rules, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) might see this as self-employment. After all, you’re not just an employee—you’re ultimately the “boss” of your own business.

What Does Legitimate Employment Look Like?

For your employment to tick all the boxes for skilled residence, it needs to look like a straightforward employer-employee relationship. That means:

• You work for someone else. An accredited employer hires you to do a job.
• You don’t own the business. No equity or significant shareholding in the company.
• Clear boundaries. You carry out defined tasks as an employee without controlling how the business operates.

Example of a Good Fit

Say you’re hired as a software engineer by a large tech company that’s an accredited employer. You don’t own any part of the company, and you have a specific role with assigned duties. You report to a manager, get paid a salary, and don’t have control over how the business is run. This is the kind of setup that works for skilled residence.

What About Contractors?

Now, what if you’re not “employed” per se but working as a contractor? This is where it gets a little more flexible. Being a contractor—or working under a “contract for services”—is technically self-employment, but it’s okay under skilled residence rules if you’re hired by another party to do the work.

For example, if you’re an IT consultant hired by an accredited employer for a short-term project, that’s allowed. The catch? You can’t own or run the business that’s contracting you.

Why These Rules Exist

There’s a good reason for these restrictions. Skilled residence categories are designed to bring skilled workers into the country to contribute to the workforce, not to provide a backdoor for running your own business. If you want to start or manage a business, New Zealand has other pathways, like its business visa categories.

By keeping skilled residence focused on genuine employment, New Zealand ensures that its economy gets the right kind of support from migrants while also making a clear distinction between business visas and skilled residence pathways.

Key Takeaways

• If you own shares or equity in a business you work for, your case will be closely reviewed to make sure you’re not self-employed.
• To qualify for skilled residence, you need to be employed by an accredited employer with no substantial ownership of the company.
• Running your own business? That means self-employment, which doesn’t meet skilled residence criteria. Look into business visas instead.
• Contracting is okay as long as you’re hired by someone else and not self-employed in the sense of owning or running the contracting company.

If you’ve got big plans to live and work in New Zealand, it’s super important to set up your employment situation the right way. If you’re unsure, getting advice from an immigration expert could save you a lot of time and stress. Skilled residence is a fantastic pathway, but understanding these rules will help you make the most of it and avoid any unexpected hurdles.