Film-maker James Cameron will only have to spend 88 days over two years in New Zealand to become a resident here. Cameron recently hit the headlines over his purchase of two large Wairarapa properties – a 250 hectare dairy farm and 817ha piece of land looking over Pounui Lake – reportedly worth $20 million. Cameron’s Overseas Investment Office (OIO) application, obtained by The Dominion Post, says the movie mogul applied for residency under the Investor Plus category. This means he is investing at least $10 million in New Zealand. Requirements of this category are that Cameron must stay in New Zealand for 44 days each year for the final two years of the three-year residency application. He is not required to stay in the country during the first year. At the end of the three years Cameron and his family – wife Suzy Amis and their three children – can apply for permanent residency. “The Cameron family intends to take up their permanent visas in New Zealand as soon as possible and to permanently reside in New Zealand,” the documents say. Cameron also has an 18-year-old daughter with his ex-wife Linda Hamilton who starred in his Terminator films. Cameron will reportedly start work on two sequels to his Avatar film when he moves to New Zealand. Piracy accused Kim Dotcom gained New Zealand residency under the Investor Plus category. Dotcom, of Germany, who faces a stream of piracy charges in the US relating to his file-sharing website Megaupload, is on bail awaiting an extradition hearing in August.
