kiwi coming home

Hi, I moved from NZ when I was 11 & am now coming back as an adult. I've been living in the US for 15 years and recieved my RN license last year, so will be trying for my NZ nursing registration. I'm excited to be home,but am petrified about the move as I am essentially doing it on my own & feel a bit overwhelmed. I don't really have too much in the way of furniture (small table, small light cabinet, cedar chest- few kitchen boxes) and don't want to spend the quoted $2000 to move just that. Does anyone have any ideas about "sharing" a shipping container, or any sites to look at regarding the move? I have 3 months and have most of my paperwork in order but what have I not thought about for the move? I'm a NZ citizen, but are there any other immigration things to be aware of ? Thanks so much for being here, it already helps ease my mind.
Angie

Angie,

Welcome to MoveToNZ. ?

If you're a nurse you will be welcomed home with open arms as NZ is desperate for your services. ?It will be a huge step for you after all that time away and I'm sure you'll find a lot of changes there, but once you've found your feet again, you'll feel right at home.

If you say they're quoting $2,000 for shipping your stuff, how are they intending to send it e.g. palleting it, unaccompanied baggage, exess baggage? ?Sure, you can share a container with someone, but finding someone with a load of stuff going in the same direction as you will be the problem. ?Why not put an ad in the papers asking for someone to share with? ?There may be others in the same position who'd welcome sharing with you. ?We just had some stuff (13 boxes) shipped out from the UK to Oman and it was just palleted up and arrived in good condition. ?That cost us just over 500 GBP, which was a bit expensive, but we were in a rush to send it and couldn't wait for the other, cheaper shipping agent to perform. ?It was also door-to-door. ?You could ring some agents to ask if there's other, cheaper ways of sending a small amount.

I don't know if you've already read this thread about organising things prior to moving. ?It may be of some help to you.

If you're a NZ citizen and hold a current NZ passport, I shouldn't think you'd have any problem just knocking on the door of NZ and asking to come back in. ?The country is very keen to have it's former citizens come back to their country of birth. ?It should be very straightforward. ?If you have any doubts or worries, give NZIS a call to verify that you can just simply walk back in.

Best of luck with the homecoming.

Hi Angie,

I am sure you will be OK with your move to NZ ... at least you know where 'home' is!!! :)

I saw something the other day which you may know already, or maybe it does not apply to you, it is about a 'tax holiday' offered to returning Kiwi's.

New Zealanders returning home after living overseas find themselves being taxed on their world-wide income from the day they arrive. This often comes as a shock, particularly where they have been careful to structure their investments in tax havens.

As part of the Government's drive to encourage talented people to settle in New Zealand, the tax residence rules have now been changed to give a once in a life-time tax opportunity to returning Kiwis (and other migrants).

If you have been out of New Zealand for at least 10 years, and you take up permanent residence in New Zealand, you now qualify for a tax holiday on most overseas income earned up to 48 months after your arrival. Only two types of income do not qualify for the tax holiday.
* Wages or salary earned from overseas employment during the 48 month period; and * Business income relating to services performed offshore in the same period.

These types of income will be subject to New Zealand income tax, along with all other income you earn from inside New Zealand after you arrive.

There is no need to register with the Inland Revenue Department ('IRD'), or seek any form of official approval for the new tax holiday. Under the New Zealand system of self-assessment you decide whether or not you qualify.

Naturally, this can place you under some pressure given the penalties that may be imposed for getting it wrong. You therefore need to do your homework before filing your first New Zealand tax return. Your compliance with the tax residence rules can be a very subjective matter, and is dependant upon the facts of your personal situation.

The Inland Revenue Department are happy to give you a ruling on your eligibility for the tax holiday. However, everybody has different circumstances, and it is strongly recommended that you take advice from a qualified New Zealand Chartered Accountant.
:)

Thank you both so far for your kind words, wisdom, & encouragement! i will look into an ad for the sharing. what exactly is palleting? they quoted me a minimum 200cf container to be shipped. Will keep you posted on anything else i find, or other questions i might have. excited to be coming back to family, friends, culture, and the man i am madly in love with :)
angie

Hi Angie,

This is what a pallet looks like. If you have a smallish amount of belongings to ship, they (or you) pack everything into suitable boxes and stack them onto pallets. Usually the pallets are shrink-wrapped in strong plastic (the ones I've seen at the airport, anyway) so everything is held together in one fairly solid unit. Then, I assume, the pallets are loaded into a container with other part-shipments that don't warrant needing a container to themselves. I suppose you could say it is a kind of container-sharing, but your things could be sharing with stuff from various companies as well as small private shipments. It really depends how much in bulk you are wanting to ship as to whether they would pallet it for you. As I said previously, I only had 13 boxes of varying size and that was OK.

It's brilliant to see you so excited and with so much to look forward to. It's got to be worth all the hassle and nerves in the end.