If you thought the question of what came first- the chicken or the egg was mind boggling then settling down in foreign lands can be as confusing.
The things you need to set up when moving to a new country are-
That you have the right to work in the country. You should already know this because you will have applied for your visa, which unless you have a skill visa then you need a working holiday visa. Look up http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/visit/
* Finding work
* finding accommodation
* opening a bank account
* obtaining the right to work document- IRD in NZ
* getting a local sim card.
If you plan to find work and accommodation as soon as you arrive in your new country, then I think and have found it to be very beneficial to research before you go. My top idea for researching jobs is to look up www.seek.com.nz this is where we have found the majority of our jobs. One job listed was for an agency, which we both successfully obtained jobs; the agency is called Madison Recruitment and is dotted over New Zealand. We started looking up seek before we arrived in New Zealand .
Also looking up accommodation is a good idea, not only does it help you see what’s out the on the market but it helps you get adjusted. In NZ we used www.gumtree.com.nz to find our accommodation.
Which Order To Do Everything?
Opening up a bank account-
In NZ we picked ANZ. They were very helpful and the bank was good, no complaints. Other big banks include ASB.
You will need to make an appointment in the bank to see a customer service representative and they will book you in with a consultant, which all seems rather formal.
You will need ID, passport is the easiest and most convenient. They also prefer proof of address but this will not always be possible, as you will just have arrived in the country and may not have an address yet, so they will have your new card sent back
to the bank branch and you can collect when ready. Also they need a deposit which was around $200, so make sure you withdraw the money before hand, this can be lifted out straight away, which doesn’t make too much sense.
IRD-
Where to apply, how to do it, opening times, cost, letter in post- then provide this to employer, do this asap
To be able to work and get paid you must have an IRD number.
You can go to any Post Shop or AA shop and collect the form, you will need to provide originals of two identification documents as well as legible photocopies of these documents (we used our passport and driving licence). You must also have the original and a photocopy of your visa
If you are prepared you can fill this out in the shop and hand straight in to the clerk who will verify it and hand back your original documents. Please note it takes between 8-10 working days for Inland Revenue to send your confirmation back to you.
More information can be found on the Inland Revenue website https://www.ird.govt.nz/how-to/irdnumbers/
Phone-
Having a local sim card is beneficial, you can add it to your CV/Resume and it’s handy for calling job offers back and accommodation hunting.
We chose Vodafone in NZ not for any particular reason. My phone doesn’t pick up wifi or 3g which I don’t mind, so I was at an advantage, I could go on the cheapest pay as you go plan at $9 which was renewed every 30 days. Shannon originally went for the $29 plan but soon moved down to $19 which was good for him. If you are into your data then you may need to still with the highest pre-paid plan, the highest plan also gives you international calls, which we don’t need as we have wifi on our tabs and can skype/ messenger home.
As we were only here for 1 year we didn’t feel it necessary to get a contract as it would have been a waste of money, but if you are here longer it’s something to think about.
So in my opinion, you need to find work and accommodation before you arrive or as soon as you arrive, having a local sim card from the start also helps. You need your IRD number before your work can pay your wages, so this is also a top priority, but you will also not get paid if you don’t have a bank account (of course you can use your home account but not good with exchange rates and foreign transfers) and you need an address to send the IRD letter to you.