Eligibility on a New Zealand Work Visa

Once you have a New Zealand Work Visa, including Work to Residence visas and Long Term Business Visas, as well as being able to live and work in New Zealand according to the terms of your visa you are generally eligible to:

• Enrol your children for publicly funded primary and secondary education (though they may need a student visa, they will not have to pay international student fees). However, you will need to meet an income threshold NZ$33,675 for your children to be considered as domestic students if your work visa is issued after 30th November 2009 under the essential-skills policy. On any work visa you and your children will have to pay international student fees for tertiary study.
• Be exempt from having to pay duty or GST on the value of the household goods you import to New Zealand if you are on a Work to Residence or Long Term Business visa of any length, or a Work visa valid for more than 12 months.
• Be covered by ACC if you suffer an accident in New Zealand,
• Subsidised New Zealand health care for yourself and your dependent children as long as your work visa is valid for more than two years. (You'll probably be covered by New Zealand’s reciprocal health agreement with the UK for urgent health treatment if you are on a shorter work visa or even just visiting NZ),
• A four year exemption from New Zealand tax on your foreign sourced income as a Transitional Resident.

When you are in New Zealand on a temporary visa, you will not be able to apply for health, life, income, trauma and travel insurance on the same terms as a New Zealand resident or citizen. We have several excellent options available to you if you wish to take out insurance cover in New Zealand while you are on a work visa, which are excellent value when compared to specialist expatriate insurance products you can buy in the UK. Please contact us for further details.

You will not be able to contribute to New Zealand’s subsidised retirement savings scheme, KiwiSaver, while you are in New Zealand on a work permit. If you are thinking about continuing to pay in to your UK pension fund once you are resident in New Zealand, please note that under HMRC rules you only qualify for tax relief on contributions up to the ‘basic amount’ of ₤3,600. You are only eligible for this relief for five tax years after you leave the UK.

If you have a baby while you are in New Zealand on a work or other temporary visa, they will not automatically become a New Zealand citizen unless you or your partner is a New Zealand permanent resident or citizen. You will need to include your baby on your application if you decide to apply for permanent residence. 

Please see our articles for more information on applying for New Zealand Long Term Business Visas, Investor Visas, Work Visas and Work to Residence Visas.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the financial side of life in New Zealand, and don't forget to order your free copy of our comprehensive New Zealand Guide.