What changes financially when you move to New Zealand?

Tick where your income comes from. You then see which rules New Zealand and the Netherlands apply to your situation: which country may tax you, which schemes exist and how you get insured. With the source, so you can check it yourself.

Everything about AOW, pension and tax in New Zealand →

Where does your income come from?

You can tick more than one. A pension from several sources is the rule rather than the exception.

AOW (Dutch state pension)You receive AOW, or will start receiving it during your move.Occupational pensionPension built up with an employer outside government.Government service pensionABP years as a civil servant, state-school teacher, police or defence.Salary from work thereYou will be employed in the country itself.Self-employed work thereYou will work there as a freelancer or business owner.Rent, dividend or interestIncome from assets held outside your new country of residence.Annuity or substantial interestAn annuity policy, or 5% or more of the shares in a Dutch bv.

This applies to everyone who moves. Tick above what applies to you, and the rest will appear.

What the Netherlands doesn't let go of

Which Dutch obligation travels with you?

Note

Child benefit and allowances stop on departure

Your Dutch child benefit, healthcare allowance and housing allowance stop when you emigrate to New Zealand. For child benefit, the quarter in which you leave is the last one.

Have them stopped yourself, so that you do not have to pay anything back later. And factor the loss into your family budget before you go.

Where this comes from: The stop list from the knowledge article on stopping allowances on emigration.

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For inheritance and gifts the Netherlands counts you in for ten more years

The Inheritance Tax Act (Successiewet), the law on inheritance and gift tax, pretends an emigrated Dutch national still lives in the Netherlands for ten years. That applies on death and to gifts.

If you die within ten years of leaving, your heirs pay Dutch inheritance tax, as if you still lived here. What you give away in those years, to your children for example, falls under Dutch gift tax. So review your will and your gift plans before you leave. For a gift in the first year after you leave, this even applies to everyone who lived in the Netherlands, also without Dutch nationality.

deemed residence: 10 years

Source: Inheritance Tax Act 1956 (Successiewet), Article 3(1) and (2) — the deemed residence of ten years, and of one year for gifts — checked on 2026-10-18

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This is not tax advice

These are the rules that apply to your situation. The outcome is not included. New Zealand is a treaty country: your accrued AOW (the Dutch state pension) goes with you in full. But as long as you are a Dutch national, your AOW remains taxed in the Netherlands. Your occupational pension, on the other hand, is taxed in New Zealand. Do you ever expect NZ Super, the New Zealand state pension? Then know that your AOW comes off it dollar for dollar. What that means for you together is the work of a tax adviser who knows both systems. Take this list with you to that conversation.

Still deciding between countries? Put the rules of two or three countries side by side

Then actually doing it

Knowing which rules apply is the first half. The second is applying them in time: in the right order, without missing a deadline, and with your documents at hand.

Start your step-by-step plan for New Zealand See the destination

Every step on one list, free

Not ready to start yet? Then you get the departure checklist for New Zealand: every step in order, to print and tick off. With it, five mails in a week and a half about the pitfalls and the real costs. If the rules for New Zealand change, you'll hear about it. After that we ask once where your plans stand, send one offer, and now and then one thing that fits your moment. No newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.