Hi Sara,

We are with ASB. We tapped into http://www.migrantbanking.co.uk/home/ and printed off their application form, filled it in and sent it off to their London branch on 8th June along with a covering letter saying we were leaving on the 25th June, certified copies of passports (our solicitors' receptionist did this for us free), original utility bill and original bank statement.

We had an account by the 15th June - they emailed us first then sent a pack. We also got an email from a contact ASB branch in Auckland. We then asked for a more local branch and they sent us that a few days after.

We transferred our money to the ASB in London and when we got to NZ, popped into our local branch, opened an account and they transferred the money into our new account. Took about a day to transfer. So easy.

If you tell them of your urgency, it may be they could move even faster in opening an account.

We stayed in a motel for that first week, so a permanent address is not needed - just care of the motel's name. As a visitor, you will be classed as non-resident and pay a non-resident tax which, according to the bank statement I received yesterday is just 10% of the interest earned that month. We had no trouble acquiring a cheque book or EFTPOS card. We did need an address before we could get a credit card.

Hubby (bless him!) sends me money over here by transferring from our UK account to the ASB in London which automatically then gets transferred to my local NZ branch. I can also do that myself online ... but he likes to feel he is providing for us. :icon_wink: :icon_lol:

Hope that helps.
::):