Billionaire in bid for $10m Kiwi visa

Reclusive Google billionaire Larry Page applied for a $10 million investor visa three months before he came to New Zealand on a medevac flight, The Press can reveal.

Immigration NZ said yesterday that Page, the co-founder of Google and the sixth-richest man in the world, applied for residence under the ‘‘investor plus’’ category on November 3. That category requires applicants to have $10m to invest in New Zealand over three years.

On January 11, the Government received an application for Page’s child to be medevaced from Fiji to New Zealand for medical treatment. He and his child arrived on a Kiwi air ambulance the next day. Page went into managed isolation at an Auckland hotel, while his child went to the Starship children’s hospital.

Immigration NZ said that because Page was offshore at the time of his application, it could not be processed because of Covid19 restrictions. It was approved after he arrived in the country.

Representatives of Page have not responded to repeated requests for comment. He is believed to have returned to Fiji, where his family have been staying during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Page is understood to have an interest in Wisk Aviation, which has developed an electric, autonomous aircraft intended for use as an air taxi. The company has its headquarters in the US but has a presence in New Zealand and will trial aircraft here. Wisk is one of the flagship projects in the Government’s Innovative Partnership programme.

After breaking the news of Page’s previously unheralded visit to New Zealand, The Press revealed yesterday morning the billionaire’s entourage asked for preferential treatment, including an upgrade, during his stint at an Auckland managed isolation hotel.

Immigration NZ said that the holder of a resident visa like Page’s can apply for permanent residency after two years.