Business Visitor Visa changes for businesses hosting overseas visitors

If your business is hosting people from overseas for training, a commercial transaction or a convention, it is worth checking whether their planned activities fit the expanded business visitor rules.

Immigration New Zealand added three activities from 20 October 2026. Each has specific limits, so the details of the visit matter.

1. Receiving informal training at training seminars

Staff from an overseas business can receive informal training in techniques and working practices relevant to that business, provided it is limited to:

• Observation.
• Familiarisation.
• Theoretical instruction.

The training must not lead to a formal New Zealand Qualifications Framework qualification. If the programme includes practical work, the appropriate visa permission needs to be assessed separately.

2. Participating in commercial transactions

The rules cover managers, supervisors and financial services personnel taking part in a commercial transaction for a business located in New Zealand.

Financial services personnel include insurers, bankers and investment brokers. When arranging the visit, check that the person’s planned activities fit this description.

3. Tourism personnel attending conventions

Tourism personnel, including tour and travel agents, tour guides and tour operators, can attend or participate in conventions.

This covers attendance or participation in conventions. If the person will also conduct tours or undertake other tourism work, those activities need to be assessed separately.

Check the activities and the time limit

Each of the three additions allows one or more periods totalling no more than three months in a calendar year.

Before arranging travel, check:

• What the visitor will actually do.
• Whether the itinerary includes practical work or service delivery.
• How long they will stay, including earlier visits.

Visitors whose activities fall outside the business visitor provisions, or who need to exceed the permitted stay, require a work visa.

Get in touch with one of our licensed immigration advisers at New Zealand Immigration Partners to check the visa arrangements for your overseas visitors.