In New Zealand, regulations have been made incorporating the passport rules and arrangements into New Zealand law. The regulations are:
A New Zealand registered scheme that wants to make an offer into another passport country must first apply to the FMA under s 134(3) of the FMC Act for the scheme to be registered as a passport fund.
We will assess your application to see if you meet the registration requirements set out in regulation 82B of the FMC Regulations. This will include an assessment of whether the manager of the scheme is an ‘eligible entity’ under section 3(4) of Annex 2 of the MoC and whether the scheme is and will be operated in compliance with the passport rules in Annex 3 of the MoC (passport rules).
If your application is successful, we will make a direction that the scheme is registered as a passport fund on the Disclose register. Each fund covered in your application that will be offered under the passport will be assigned a unique registration code by us and entered on the register of New Zealand Passport Funds. You will need to lodge an indication of the scheme’s status as a passport fund on the Disclose schemes register together with the information referred to in reg 63B of the FMC Regulations as soon as practicable once your application is approved. If that information changes or a change of circumstances has arisen that means the information is no longer current then you will need to lodge updated information within 5 working days (see reg 63C of the FMC Regulations).
A foreign passport fund that wishes to make an offer into New Zealand will need to first apply to the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority for entry to New Zealand.
This guide (download the PDF) is for foreign passport fund operators wanting to offer interests in regulated collective investment schemes (CIS) in New Zealand under the Asia Region Funds Passport regime. It explains how to apply for entry to New Zealand under the Financial Markets Conduct (Asia Region Funds Passport) Regulations 2019 (the Passport Fund Regulations), and discusses obligations set out in the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (the FMC Act) and the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014 (the FMC Regulations).
You can find the New Zealand Passport Funds Register and the Register of Foreign Passport Funds Approved for NZ Entry here.
The application fee for entry of a foreign passport funds under reg 12(1)(a) of the Financial Markets Conduct (Asia Region Funds Passport) Regulations 2019 is based on the amount of time spent on the application. This is charged at the FMA hourly rate ($230 per hour spent by FMA board members and $178.25 per hour spent by FMA staff. All amounts are in New Zealand dollars and include GST). We will send you an invoice for the amount you need to pay. For more information see the Financial Markets Conduct (Fees) Regulations 2014.
See more information on the levies payable by financial markets participants.
For specific information on the fees and levies payable by foreign passport funds see our Guidance for foreign passport fund operators.
The fee for an application to be registered as a passport fund under s 134(3) of the FMC Act is based on the amount of time spent on the application. This is charged at the FMA hourly rate($230 per hour spent by FMA board members and $178.25 per hour spent by FMA staff. All amounts are in New Zealand dollars and include GST). We will send you an invoice for the amount you need to pay. For more information see the Financial Markets Conduct (Fees) Regulations 2014.
Standard levies applicable to registered managed investment schemes apply for New Zealand passport fund participants. For general information on the levies payable by financial markets participants including licensed managers (of registered schemes) and licensed supervisors of managed investment products in registered schemes see here.