BIV business experience: three years as an owner or senior manager need different evidence

8 hours ago

3 min read

BIV requires at least three years of acceptable business experience. Paid self-employment and paid senior management have different scale tests. The self-employment route uses at least five full-time employees or annual revenue of at least NZD 1 million. Senior management requires at least five full-time employees under the applicant's direct management and annual turnover of at least NZD 5 million. The difference between 'or' and 'and' matters.

Experience route	Scale to establish
Paid self-employment	At least five full-time employees, or at least NZD 1 million annual revenue
Paid senior management	At least five full-time direct reports and at least NZD 5 million annual turnover

INZ includes businesses, charities and non-governmental organisations operating in a commercial environment. The organisation's label alone does not settle eligibility: the paid role, operating context and relevant scale still need evidence. Do not substitute the proposed acquisition's five full-time-equivalent positions for the applicant's own past experience requirements.

Owners need to establish more than registration

Registration and shareholding identify a relationship with the enterprise, but do not independently prove paid self-employment over the required period. Connect actual responsibilities and remuneration or income to company financial, tax and employment records. Passive ownership, lending money or occasionally helping a relative should not be presented as three years of qualifying operation without checking the facts.

For the revenue alternative, distinguish company revenue from the owner's salary, profit and asset valuation. Overseas accounts should retain the original currency, accounting period and appropriate conversion evidence. Do not annualise the strongest month without justification or use today's staff count as proof of the business's scale years earlier.

Managers must identify their direct reports and authority

The group's total workforce is not the applicant's direct-report count. Use authentic organisation charts, reporting relationships, job descriptions and appointment records to establish who reported to the applicant and when. Staff managed by other supervisors should not all be attributed directly to the applicant merely because the title was senior.

INZ gives examples of senior responsibilities: approving significant costs, marketing strategies or business plans; tax and legal compliance; financial decisions; staff management; production, service or logistics oversight; and strategic planning. Select records of duties genuinely performed. There is no reason to manufacture examples of every listed activity. A senior title without corresponding responsibilities still needs an honest assessment.

Build a dated evidence trail rather than a total-service figure

Map the organisation, role, paid arrangement, duties, direct reports and scale for each relevant period. Link those entries to accounts, tax returns, pay records, ownership, appointment letters and employer references. INZ lists employer-letterhead references stating the position, dates and contact details. Generic praise about being a valued employee does not answer the separate scale and responsibility questions.

Company renaming, restructuring and promotion should be explained with genuine records. If only part of a longer career meets the selected criteria, identify the supported period rather than treating all years of service as qualifying experience. Whether particular periods can be recognised requires the complete facts and applicable instructions, not an automatic total produced from a CV.

Assess the person before committing to an acquisition

Experience is one part of BIV eligibility. The applicant must also address being 55 or younger at application, English, funds, an acceptable nominated business, health, character and fit-and-proper requirements. Complete the background assessment before major transaction commitments. Buying an otherwise eligible business does not repair missing personal experience, guarantee a visa or establish that the investment will be profitable.