Your first weeks in New Zealand: bank account, IRD number and 45% if you're late
The order is more binding here than elsewhere: without a New Zealand bank account no IRD number, and without an IRD number your employer withholds 45% of your wages. Besides that: you exchange your driving licence without a test, and your choice of school hangs on your postcode.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
In your first weeks in New Zealand, everything turns on the order. In most destinations you can do the arrival paperwork in any order. Not in New Zealand:
- Without a working New Zealand bank account you get no IRD number from abroad, your New Zealand tax number.
- Without an IRD number and tax code your employer withholds 45% of your pay.
Whoever reverses the order pays for it, literally.
Why a bank account first?
Whoever applies for an IRD number from abroad has to show they have a fully functioning New Zealand bank account or an IR997 declaration from a New Zealand bank. So ask your bank before you leave whether you can open the account from the Netherlands and activate it on the spot. It saves weeks in which you cannot receive a salary or transfer rent. The first money can go over via your bank or via a transfer service such as Wise, which shows the rate and the costs upfront (Vertrekklaar receives a fee if you open an account through that link).
How fast do you get your IRD number?
The IRD number is your tax number. Without it nothing works: no wages at the right rate, no bank interest at the right rate, no KiwiSaver.
Your employer needs a completed IR330 form from you: on it you give your IRD number and your tax code. If you do not hand it in, they must withhold tax at the non-notified rate of 45%. You get that back later through your return. But not in the months in which you have to pay a bond, a car and half a household.
If you have already arrived, use the route for new arrivals. Inland Revenue, New Zealand's tax authority, then checks your identity directly with Immigration New Zealand, the immigration service. If approved, you receive the number within two days by text or email. Mind the deadline: that route is open until the final arrival date on your visa.
The route from overseas goes by email and takes up to twenty days.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| IRD number as a new arrival | within 2 days of approval |
| IRD number from overseas | up to 20 days |
| Tax withheld without an IR330 | 45% |
| ACC earners' levy | NZ$ 1.75 per NZ$ 100 of pay, up to NZ$ 156,641 |
| KiwiSaver contribution, employee and employer | 3.5% since 1 April 2026; 4% from 1 April 2028 |
| Temporary KiwiSaver reduction | to 3%, for 3 to 12 months |
| Driving on your Dutch licence | 12 months if you arrive from 1 November 2026; 18 before that |
| Rental bond | at most 4 weeks' rent, plus 2 weeks' pet bond |
| Landlord must lodge the bond | within 23 working days |
| Tax year | 1 April to 31 March |
Do you have to retake your driving test?
No. The Netherlands is on the list of exempt countries. If you have held your licence for two years or longer, you convert it without a theory and without a practical test. If you have held it for less than two years, you do sit a practical test.
If you arrive on or after 1 November 2026, you may drive on your Dutch licence for twelve months from your last arrival. If you arrived earlier, the temporary period of eighteen months still applies to you, as long as you stay in New Zealand. Don't wait until the last month: an appointment at the counter can be fully booked.
Can you buy a house already?
On a work visa you may not buy a home in New Zealand. With a resident visa you may only after you have lived there for twelve months, or earlier with consent. That is not advice but law, and it shapes your whole first year.
The rental rules are clear:
- The bond is at most four weeks' rent.
- A pet bond is at most two weeks extra.
- Your landlord must lodge the bond with Tenancy Services, the government's tenancy service, within 23 working days.
Check that last one. It is your only proof that the money is somewhere.
How do you choose a school?
Schools work with zones. If you live inside a school's zone, your child is guaranteed a place there. If you live outside it, you can apply, but children from the zone go first. Your choice of home and your choice of school are therefore one decision.
The distinction that determines your costs is domestic student versus international student.
- Children of parents with a resident visa attend state schools free of charge, from 5 to 19.
- Children with a student visa based on their parents' temporary work visa also count as domestic students.
Arrange that visa before you leave. A child enrolled as an international student pays fees.
What does KiwiSaver do to your pay?
KiwiSaver is New Zealand's retirement saving. Since 1 April 2026 employee and employer both contribute 3.5%, rising to 4% from 1 April 2028. Whoever cannot afford the contribution for a while can apply for a reduction to 3% for three to twelve months.
Finally, put one date in your diary: the New Zealand tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March. It does not coincide with the Dutch one, and in your year of moving you deal with both.
What do you arrange before landing?
The New Zealand Traveller Declaration. The paper arrival card has not existed since August 2023. Everyone entering New Zealand completes a digital declaration, per person. It is free.
Do it at home, and be generous in declaring. Declaring is free, and not declaring earns you a fine at the biosecurity check (the border check on food, plants and animal products).
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to New Zealand.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Inland Revenue — applying for an IRD number as a new arrival — ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue — applying for an IRD number while living overseas — ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue — tax codes and the non-notified rate — ird.govt.nz
- NZ Transport Agency — converting a car licence from an exempt country — nzta.govt.nz
- New Zealand Government — enrolling your child at school — govt.nz
- Immigration New Zealand — childcare, schools and higher education — immigration.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue — changes to KiwiSaver — ird.govt.nz
- New Zealand Customs — the New Zealand Traveller Declaration — customs.govt.nz
- Tenancy Services — bond of at most four weeks, pet bond and lodging within 23 working days — tenancy.govt.nz
- NZ Transport Agency — time limit for driving on an overseas licence (18 months, twelve from 1 November 2026) — nzta.govt.nz
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