Moving to New Zealand

mjtomo · 23 July 2019 at 1:11PM

Hi all,
My wife and I(aged 30 and 32) are moving to New Zealand in August for at least 3 years and quite possibly emigrating.

We have no house, no debt in the UK.
We are looking at taking an initial £4000 over to NZ which we have budgeted and will cover initial expenses as we are starting work straight away.

This leaves us with £11,000 and we are unsure what to do with it.
I would ideally like £6,000 to be stored for long term (10 years or more), with £5,000 relatively easily accessible.
We have a Nationwide Flex Plus Loyalty Saver and an ISA with Nationwide that I have not used as yet this financial year.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thankyou

newatc · 23 July 2019 at 2:03PM

I would take the whole lot over with you. The £4000 doesn't sound like much cover and it would be annoying to say the least if circumstances were such that you had to borrow in NZ at a much higher rate than your savings are producing over here.

I would think the saving rates are higher in NZ.

Congratulations on your move. It's a lovely country

EdGasketTheSecond · 23 July 2019 at 2:28PM

If you want to invest here then NS&I let non-residents invest in their 1 and 3 year bonds. rates are 1.5% and just under 2%.

koru · 23 July 2019 at 3:44PM

If you leave the money here (or have any other assets or liabilities here, including accrued pension rights), bear in mind that you may be taxable in NZ on any change in value, expressed in NZ$. So if NZ$ weakens against £, the value of your assets goes up in NZ$ and you are taxed on this.

I think there are temporary holidays for new arrivals. Research the NZ FIF rules and accruals rules.

rajeshk4u · 23 July 2019 at 10:31PM

Make sure you have the ability to transfer money from the UK to NZ. E.g. Transferwise etc...

[Deleted User] · 24 July 2019 at 6:36AM

Suggest you digest this before investing or keeping savings outside of NZ
https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/nz/pdf/January/beyond-borders-individuals-kpmg-nz.pdf

badger09 · 24 July 2019 at 11:26AM

Obviously the NZ tax situation is key here, and I know nothing about it:o

However, if you are intending to return and settle in UK in future and neither of you has owned a property, then you might consider opening & funding LISAs while you still can. That would cover up to £8k, generate up to £2k govt bonus and could be used towards property purchase, or retirement when you return.

Moving to New Zealand

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