I want to ship my stuff after arriving in New Zealand

[vixxann]

Still watching this thread with interest (and much concern!!)

[ldlim]

I just received an email from customs. I emailed them saying we are arriving for a 3 week visit to do interviews and vacation, then apply for permits.

Thank you for your enquiry,

Firstly if you are coming here for a initial quick visit that is for a holiday then that is only a holiday.

Then after this to qualify you must have one of the following at the time of your arrival, to bring in used personal and household effects.Exempt from tax.

A current residence visa or permit or current returning residents visa or permit

A current permanent residence visa including a resident return visa issued by the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia.

A current work visa or work permit that was issued for a minimum of 12 months .

A current work visa or work permit issued under the long term business visa policy that was issued for a minimum of 9 months.

A current visitors visa or permit that was issued for a minimum of 3 years.


Harry Perkins
for Comptroller of Customs.

So looks like our only option is to come to NZ for a few weeks secure jobs then return to the US and apply for our work permits. This seems like a lot of hassle, not too sure what we will do now.

LD

[IanW99]

I just received an email from customs. I emailed them saying we are arriving for a 3 week visit to do interviews and vacation, then apply for permits.





So looks like our only option is to come to NZ for a few weeks secure jobs then return to the US and apply for our work permits. This seems like a lot of hassle, not too sure what we will do now.

LD

So they are saying that if you arrive on a visitors visa, leave and then return on a suitable visa before your goods arrive then all is ok (this isn't what the website says).

So at least there is an option available, even if not a good one.

Still doesn't really answer the question completely though e.g. is there a length of time that you have to be out of the country for first? Or can you leave, get the new visa in your passport and return straight away?

Who's visa do they consider e.g. if you are a couple and your OH doesn't arrive until after they have the appropriate visa then can all the personal belongings be brought in under their name so no custom charges, or do you have to work out each persons belongings costs?

Ian

[vixxann]

Who's visa do they consider e.g. if you are a couple and your OH doesn't arrive until after they have the appropriate visa then can all the personal belongings be brought in under their name so no custom charges, or do you have to work out each persons belongings costs?

this is exactly what I have been thinking....

I think there are just too many queries here for this to work smoothly for customs/immigration. For example what about if my family arrived in NZ for holiday - secured work and applied for 12mth permit - then left to oz for a holiday and coming back into NZ with passports stamped???

I cannot afford to pay thousands (on top of shipping) to bring in our effects but I have things I cannot bear to part with and really wanted to bring

[ldlim]

Unfortunately I can't seem to get solid clarification on this.

After talking with hub and then calling immigration today I was told we all have to leave NZ and return under the appropriate visa. This didn't sound correct to me.

When asked how long we would have to be out of NZ before returning the gal I spoke to said there was no time frame we had to be out of NZ. When I referred to the 21 months as stated in the customs information she said that was untrue.

I gave her a hypothetical situation:

Family all arrive in NZ, visit for 3 weeks and we secure jobs. We leave NZ, apply for our work permits and return a few weeks later. Would we be charged any sort of duty on our household items.

She said "No".

Still having to pack the family up and return to the US and then return back to NZ (6k in airfare), not sure what we will do. I am really just waiting to see the results of someone actually attempting this.

LD

[ourquest]

My follow-up isn't going to be helpful either. I have received the same confirmation from customs that we must have arrived with an appropriate visa allowing long term stay in NZ to avoid paying duties.

The 21 month rule does make some sense I think. I interpret it as follows; you must have been resident outside of NZ for the preceding 21 months. This still allows you to travel to NZ for say 3 months, arrange employment, and then return to your home country and wait for your work permit or PR before returning to NZ. Your three month visit would not be residency, specifically because you would have held a "visitor's permit" and in legal terms still resident in your home country at that time. So in this scenario you would not have been resident in NZ for the preceding 21 months and when your stuff arrives you won't be charged duty.

Hence Idlim's email from customs saying "if you go on a holiday then it is just that, a holiday". Again, in legal terms a holiday is not residency.

So to summarise, what this ruling does do is annoy those of us who wish to arrive on holiday and never leave again, having obtained our permits allowing us to stay in NZ whilst we are in NZ.

I still think it strange, as NZIS do not prejudice us this way at all, and in fact one of the circumstances under which they will grant an extended visitor's visa is if a first time application for residence is pending and likely to be granted during the extension!! So clearly they do not mind us being there...