This week’s speaker was Nick Arathimos, one of the founding partners of MIEA, Migrant
Investor and Entrepreneur Association.
Nick’s talk started with the purpose of MIEA, which focuses on supporting migration
through social interaction and networking
. They have held events to share advice on
finances, schools, and general family support. These events receive support primarily
from private organizations, including banks and migration services. There were, for
example, events hosted by AZN, focusing on education, and another, focused on
philanthropy such as supporting cancer research at Malaghan Institute. Currently there
are about 170 members, mostly based in Auckland.
Nick then went on with the update on MIV, Migrant Investor Visa. Nick explained that
previous government’s focus was on startup business in NZ was not successful, and
current government’s AIP, Active Investment Plus, which has a very generous residency
requirement, etc. has drawn more than 250 applicants, with funding exceeding NZD1.5
billion, since it was launched earlier this year. Majority of these applications are from the
US, with a few from China and other Asian countries. Nick explained this success could
be also due to the internation politics, war in Europe and Middle East, and growing
influence of China in Asia and other parts of the world, while the immigration investment
support is down in Australia and Europe.