New Zealand · visa route
Emigrating to New Zealand
New Zealand doesn't rank you and doesn't put you in a draw: it sets a threshold and tells you right after lodging whether you're over it. In return there's one thing — almost every door starts with an employer. This page shows which routes there are, what the order is, and what works differently than you expect after arrival.
€ 399 one-off · 36 steps · no subscription
- Kind of journey
- Threshold of six points, no ranking
- Lead time
- About 13 months, job search included
- Note
- Almost every route first asks for a job offer
Last updated: August 2026
The journey
Five phases, from choosing a route to being settled
The order is different here from the other visa routes: you don't start with a file but with an employer. Everything that comes after has a use-by date, and those have to be valid at the same moment.
- 1
Orientation
Which door, and which clock starts when?
Four routes are realistic: residence right away via tier 1 of the Green List, residence after 24 months of work via tier 2, the points route with six points and a suitable job, and — for those aged 18 through 30 — a working holiday of twelve months. Three limits are hard: you're 55 or younger, you score IELTS 6.5 on average, and you pass the medical examination. In this phase you also discover the clock that earns you the most money: from the day you become a tax resident, New Zealand doesn't tax your foreign income for four years.
- 2
Job and visa
Without an accredited employer your application doesn't exist
This is the phase that decides everything and takes the longest. Only an accredited employer can give you the application link with which you apply for a work visa. Since 10 March 2025 there's no median-wage requirement for that work visa anymore — but for the residence routes the wage does count. If you lodge via the points, you hear right after lodging whether you're through, and you then have four months to complete the application. Mind one date: on 24 August 2026 the points rules change, and draft expressions of interest lapse that day.
- 3
Closing the Netherlands
Treaty country for your AOW, not for your healthcare
As a single person you keep the full single-person pension of 70%, because New Zealand is a treaty country. But there's no CAK route: the country isn't on the treaty-country list, so you arrange your healthcare yourself until you're entitled to the public system. Two things differ from every European destination. Your AOW stays taxed in the Netherlands as long as you're a Dutch citizen — your private pension precisely not. And for your protective assessment you have to apply for deferral yourself outside the EU and provide security.
- 4
The move
The strictest border in the world, and your car stays here
Everything has to be clean — hiking boots, tent, bicycle, garden tools — and everything that could be a risk you declare; not declaring costs NZ$ 400 on the spot. Your household goods enter tax-free if you owned and used them yourself before departure, and the crossing takes six to nine weeks, the longest of all destinations here. Your pet needs six months' lead time and at least ten days of quarantine. And your car stays here: New Zealand drives on the left and a left-hand-drive car can't in principle be registered.
- 5
Arrival in New Zealand
Two numbers, and one ban
You start with a bank account and an IRD number — in that order, because without a New Zealand account you don't get an IRD number from abroad, and without an IRD number your employer withholds 45%. Your driving licence you exchange without a test, because the Netherlands is on the exempt list. And you can't buy a house yet: on a work visa not at all, and with a residence visa only after twelve months of living there — or earlier, with paid consent.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the New Zealand journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 1.2 of your plan
The four years in which your foreign income stays untaxed
- Lead time
- an evening of calculating, and one decision you take only once
- Costs
- none
- Validity
- 48 months from the end of the month in which you become a tax resident
This is the find of this corridor, and it's in almost no Dutch guide. Whoever becomes a tax resident of New Zealand for the first time — and wasn't one in the ten years before — automatically gets a temporary exemption of about four years on almost all their foreign income. Interest, dividends, rent from your Dutch home, income from foreign investment funds: untaxed in New Zealand, for forty-eight months. You don't have to apply for anything; you get it if you meet the conditions.
Two things you need to know already, because they change your planning. Wages and income from personal services you earn abroad are not covered — it's about capital, not about work. And you can only get the exemption once in your life.
The sting is in the trade-off. If you apply for Working for Families — the New Zealand child scheme, including Best Start — the exemption ends, also if your partner applies for it. For a family with children and little foreign capital that's an easy choice; for whoever rents out a Dutch home or has a portfolio, it can make a difference of thousands of euros a year. Work it out before you apply for anything, not after.
Put the date on which the window closes in your diary straight away. After that the ordinary rules apply, including the FIF regime on foreign shares above NZ$ 50,000 purchase value — see step 5.7.
This is step 1.2 of 36. The other 35 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
What it costs
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 17.300 – € 40.100
Where does that difference come from?
- Auto — verkopen en opnieuw kopen€ 3.000 – € 12.000
- Buffer tot het eerste inkomen€ 6.000 – € 12.000
Open the breakdown below: there you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 4.600 – € 5.900
- De verhuizing
- € 3.700 – € 13.700
- De eerste maanden
- € 9.000 – € 20.500
View the itemsPer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- Aanvraagkosten verblijfsvisum€ 3.300 – € 3.800
- Werkvisum vóór de verblijfsaanvraag€ 800 – € 900
- Taaltest€ 250 – € 650
- Medische keuring en thoraxfoto(estimate)€ 150 – € 400
De keuring moet bij een door Immigration New Zealand aangewezen arts (panel physician), en die artsen stellen hun eigen tarief vast — INZ publiceert er geen. Iedereen vanaf 15 jaar doet ook een thoraxfoto, die apart in rekening wordt gebracht. De bandbreedte is de spreiding tussen een enkelvoudige keuring en een keuring met aanvullend bloedonderzoek; jonge kinderen zitten daar structureel onder.
- VOG, aktes en apostilles€ 70 – € 200
De verhuizing
- Vliegtickets(estimate)€ 700 – € 1.700
Enkele reis Amsterdam naar Auckland, Wellington of Christchurch, altijd met minstens één tussenstop. De bandbreedte is het verschil tussen ver vooruit boeken buiten het seizoen en boeken in de Nieuw-Zeelandse zomer rond de jaarwisseling, wanneer het hoogseizoen én de schoolvakantie samenvallen.
- Auto — verkopen en opnieuw kopen(estimate)€ 3.000 – € 12.000
Nieuw-Zeeland rijdt links, en een linksgestuurde auto mag er in beginsel niet op kenteken. De uitzonderingen — twintig jaar of ouder, of een van de maximaal vijfhonderd vergunningen per jaar voor bijzondere voertuigen — gelden niet voor een gewone gezinsauto, en ombouwen is bij moderne auto's meestal onbetaalbaar. Er is bovendien geen BPM-teruggaaf, want die geldt alleen binnen de EU/EER. De auto blijft dus hier, en in de meeste plaatsen heb je er daar meteen weer een nodig. De bandbreedte loopt van een goedkope tweedehands tot een degelijke gezinsauto; wat je Nederlandse auto opbrengt, gaat er direct weer af.
De eerste maanden
- Zorgverzekering tot je publiek verzekerd bent(estimate)€ 0 – € 1.500
Nieuw-Zeeland staat niet op de verdragslandenlijst, dus er is geen CAK-route en geen S1-formulier. Recht op publiek gefinancierde zorg krijg je met een verblijfsvisum, of met een werkvisum dat je twee jaar of langer verblijf geeft. Wie op een werkvakantievisum binnenkomt, is twaalf maanden volledig op een eigen polis aangewezen — INZ eist die verzekering voor dat visum ook expliciet. De ondergrens is dus nul (verblijfsvisum vanaf dag één), de bovenkant een volledig jaar particuliere dekking.
- Borg, tijdelijk verblijf en inrichting(estimate)€ 3.000 – € 7.000
De borg is bij wet maximaal vier weken huur, plus maximaal twee weken extra als huisdierborg — dat deel is dus begrensd en voorspelbaar. Wat het duur maakt is de rest: zonder Nieuw-Zeelands kredietverleden vragen verhuurders vaak vooruitbetaling of een garantsteller, je huurt eerst tijdelijk terwijl je de wijken leert kennen, en je container is zes tot negen weken onderweg — zo lang moet je een huis met geleende of gekochte spullen draaiende houden.
- Buffer tot het eerste inkomen(estimate)€ 6.000 – € 12.000
Twee dingen maken de buffer hier groter dan elders. Je komt binnen op een baan, maar het eerste salaris komt pas na de eerste loonronde — en zolang je werkgever geen ingevuld IR330-formulier met je IRD-nummer heeft, moet hij 45% inhouden. Dat krijg je later terug, maar niet in de maanden waarin je een borg, een auto en een inboedel moet betalen. Reken op enkele maanden vaste lasten voordat het geld normaal binnenkomt.
Deliberately no amount here
Registratie bij je beroepsorgaan
Verpleegkundigen, leraren, artsen, ingenieurs en elektriciens mogen hun vak in Nieuw-Zeeland alleen uitoefenen met een registratie, en die registratie levert bovendien drie tot zes punten op. Er is geen centraal tarief: elk beroepsorgaan stelt zijn eigen kosten vast, en de verschillen lopen van enkele honderden euro's tot ruim het dubbele — met soms een verplichte toets of stage eromheen. Wie geen gereglementeerd beroep heeft, betaalt hier niets. Een bedrag noemen zou hier dus voor de meeste mensen onjuist zijn en voor de rest een slag in de lucht.
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 1 to 3% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 2.500 to € 7.500.
Als je mág kopen, is het goedkoop: Nieuw-Zeeland kent geen overdrachtsbelasting en geen zegelrecht. Wat overblijft zijn de advocaat (1.500 tot 3.000 dollar), een LIM-rapport bij de gemeente en een bouwkundige keuring. Samen 1 tot 3% van de koopsom.
Note: buying isn't simply allowed here
Het verbod op de aankoop van bestaande woningen door "overseas persons" geldt onverkort. De uitweg is een residence class visa plus "ordinarily resident" zijn: je moet dan in elke periode van twaalf maanden meer dan 183 dagen in Nieuw-Zeeland zijn. In maart 2026 is er een smalle uitzondering bijgekomen voor houders van een Active Investor Plus- of Investor-visum bij woningen boven de vijf miljoen dollar. Australiërs en Singaporezen vallen buiten het verbod. Voor de meeste emigranten geldt dus: eerst je verblijfsstatus, dan pas kopen.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
Rates checked on 16 August 2026.
Your complete, personal cost picture — with your route, your documents and your deadlines — you get in Vertrekklaar.
That was the move. And once you live there?
Who may tax your pension once you live in New Zealand, is there a favourable regime, and how do you become insured? That depends on where your income comes from. Tick it and you see which rules apply to you — with the source.
See the financial conditionsThe departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for New Zealand: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that only a short update when something in New Zealand really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Read on
The knowledge base on New Zealand
Per phase, the articles that are already there. They're written from the same journey and go deeper than what fits above.
Arrival in New Zealand
- 5 min
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.
Updated 21 August 2026
- 4 min
Four years in which New Zealand doesn't tax your foreign income
Whoever becomes a tax resident of New Zealand for the first time automatically gets forty-eight months of exemption on almost all of their foreign income. You don't have to apply for anything, you get it only once — and a single application can end it in one stroke.
Updated 16 August 2026
- 4 min
Why you are not allowed to buy a house in New Zealand straight away
Since 2018 foreigners have not been allowed to buy an existing home in New Zealand. On a work visa it isn't possible at all; with a resident visa only after you have lived there for twelve months — or earlier, with paid consent. That is not advice but a law, and you plan your first year around it.
Updated 29 August 2026
- 4 min
Healthcare in New Zealand: no CAK route, but ACC
New Zealand is not on the treaty country list, so you arrange your healthcare yourself. Whether you are entitled to the public system hangs on your visa — and besides that there is ACC, which covers every accident, visitors' included, in exchange for the right to sue.
Updated 16 August 2026
Leaving the Netherlands — for every destination
- 2 min
Keeping a bank account and DigiD: the two lines you never cut
After your deregistration you still need the Netherlands for years — for the M return, refunds and your pension. Within the EU your bank account is a right, towards Australia a favour from the bank. And your DigiD you arrange before departure, not after.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
The protective assessment: the bill that travels with you, and that never expires for one item
On emigration the Netherlands imposes an assessment on your pension, your annuity and your substantial shareholding that you don't have to pay — as long as you do nothing that makes it collectable. For pension and annuity it usually lapses after ten years. For a substantial shareholding it doesn't: that one remains valid indefinitely.
Updated 27 August 2026
- 2 min
Emigrating with children after a divorce: the consent that comes before everything
With joint custody you can't just go abroad with the children — you need the consent of the other parent, or substitute consent from the court. What the court weighs, and why leaving without consent is legally child abduction.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Emigrating on early retirement: the CAK route is expected to close as of 1 November 2026
Whoever moves to the EU or Switzerland with a Dutch pension arranges their healthcare via the CAK. That door is closing to a crack: as expected, from 1 November only new applicants with AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA or Wajong will be admitted. Early retirement and RVU fall outside it — whoever is already a customer keeps their rights.
Updated 16 August 2026
- 2 min
The M form: the tax return for the year in which you emigrated
For the year of your departure you lived partly inside and partly outside the Netherlands, and a separate return goes with that. Nowadays it can be done online — but you have to think of it yourself, because an invitation rarely comes by itself.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 2 min
Your AOW accrual stops on departure — and you have one year to repair that
Every year outside the Netherlands costs you 2% AOW (the Dutch state pension), for life. The SVB has a voluntary continuation that closes that gap — but signing up is only possible in the first year after departure, and almost everyone misses that deadline.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Your Dutch pension abroad: what comes along, and who levies
The AOW (the Dutch state pension) travels fully to the EU and to Australia — the latter thanks to a treaty from 2001. Your company pension too, but *where* you pay on it depends on the tax treaty, and the exemption you arrange yourself.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Cancelling your health insurance without a gap
Your Dutch basic insurance is tied to living or working in the Netherlands and stops being a given on emigration. The art is to have the end date match your new cover — and to know which route belongs to your situation.
Updated 28 August 2026
- 2 min
Taking medicines across the border: certificates, supply and the 90-day ceiling
For medicines under the Opium Act you need a certificate — and the Dutch system only carries you for three months. What you arrange with the CAK, what Australia wants to see at the border, and why finding a local doctor simply belongs to your first weeks.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 9 min
Partner comes along without a job of their own: deregistering, healthcare, AOW and the house
Your partner has a job, a visa or a right of residence there; you come along without a job of your own. Administratively you're then no passenger: the deregistration, the end of your health insurance and your AOW accrual apply to you separately. What you get back if you arrange it well, what it costs if you let it slide — and why "just staying registered" isn't an option.
Updated 7 September 2026
- 2 min
Stopping allowances on emigration: do it yourself, and in time
Housing allowance, healthcare allowance, childcare allowance and child budget don't stop by themselves on the day you leave. Whoever lets them run gets a reclaim months later — this is what you arrange per allowance.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 3 min
Deregistering with the municipality: when exactly, and what stops then
Deregistering from the BRP is only possible from five days before departure, and is compulsory as soon as you're away for more than eight months a year. What stops at that moment, what stays, and which piece of paper you have to ask for right away.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 6 min
When does your pension stay taxed in the Netherlands? The three pots and the three conditions
"Your pension is taxed in your new country of residence" is right by approximation and not in the details. Your AOW, your company pension and your government pension each follow a rule of their own, and with the company pension the Netherlands can still levy if three conditions apply at once. This article explains which three, and which four questions you have to answer for your own situation.
Updated 27 August 2026
Ready to begin?
Thirty-six journeys are fully ready — Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Canada, Panama, United States, Suriname, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.