Your first weeks in New Zealand: bank account, IRD number and 45% if you're late

At most destinations you can do the arrival administration in any order. Not in New Zealand: the first two steps hang together, and whoever reverses them pays for it, literally.

First a bank account — preferably from the Netherlands already

Whoever applies for their IRD number from abroad has to show they hold a fully functional New Zealand bank account: an account you can pay into and withdraw from, with your identity already verified.

Several New Zealand banks let you open that account from the Netherlands — often a number of months before arrival — after which you activate it on the spot with your passport. Do that. It saves weeks in which you cannot receive a salary and cannot transfer rent.

Then your IRD number, and right away

The IRD number is your tax number. Without that number nothing works: no wages at the right rate, no bank interest at the right rate, no KiwiSaver.

Work out what waiting costs. If you don't give your employer a completed IR330 form with your IRD number and your tax code, they are required to withhold income 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's worth of furniture.

If you have already arrived, use the route for new arrivals. Inland Revenue then checks your identity directly with Immigration New Zealand and you don't have to send in your documents a second time. Count on eight to ten working days for the offshore route, and up to twenty days if you apply by email.

Enrol with a GP

Don't put it off until you're ill. Enrolled patients pay a subsidised rate per consultation; whoever is not enrolled pays the full rate. Practices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch regularly have their books closed, so start on this in your first weeks.

Bring your e-visa letter as proof that you are entitled to publicly funded healthcare. And keep the distinction sharp: everything that is an accident runs through ACC and covers everyone, visitors included; everything that is illness runs through the public system and hangs on your visa.

Exchange your driving licence

Good news after everything there was to report about the car: the Netherlands is on the list of exempt countries. If you have held your full licence for two years or longer, you exchange it without a theory test and without a practical test — you walk into an AA or VTNZ branch and come out with a New Zealand driving licence. If you have held it for less than two years, you do sit a practical test.

You may drive on your Dutch licence for a maximum of twelve months. Don't wait until month eleven: driving on the left becomes second nature faster than you think, but the counter's appointment book can be full.

Rent first — buying is not yet allowed

On a work visa you may not buy a home in New Zealand; with a resident visa you may only do so after you have lived there for twelve months, or earlier with paid consent. That is not advice but law, and it shapes your entire first year.

The rental rules are clear: the bond is at most four weeks' rent, a pet bond at most two weeks extra, and your landlord has to lodge the bond with Tenancy Services within 23 working days. Check that last point — it is your only proof that the money is held somewhere.

Children at school: your postcode decides the choice

Schools work with zones. If you live within a school's zone, your child has a guaranteed 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 — and houses within a sought-after zone are correspondingly more expensive.

The distinction that determines your costs is domestic student versus international student. Children of parents with a resident visa attend state education free of charge. Children of parents with a suitable work visa also count as domestic students, but need a student visa of their own — arrange that before you leave, because a child enrolled as an international student pays school fees.

KiwiSaver, and the tax year

KiwiSaver is New Zealand's retirement savings scheme. Since 1 April 2026 employee and employer both contribute 3.5%, rising to 4% from 1 April 2028. Your employer usually enrols you automatically. You may opt out, but then you leave the employer contribution on the table; whoever temporarily cannot afford the contribution can instead apply for a temporary reduction to 3%. Bear in mind that KiwiSaver money is only released at 65.

Finally, put one date in your diary: the New Zealand tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March. That doesn't coincide with the Dutch one, and in the year of your move you have to deal with both.

And on the day itself

One more thing that comes before all of the above: the New Zealand Traveller Declaration. The paper arrival card no longer exists; everyone entering New Zealand completes a declaration digitally, per person, babies included. It is free and can be done from 24 hours before departure. Do it at home — and be generous in declaring, because declaring is free and not declaring costs NZ$ 400 on the spot.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but applied to your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines monitored. See the whole journey to New Zealand.