Can Australian PR holders work in New Zealand?
Australian 189 or 190 PR holder can live, work, visit and study in New Zealand. Australian Temporary visa holders cannot work in NZ. Pay NZ income taxes, buy house.
Australian PR holders can work and live in New Zealand. The NZ resident visa also allows you to visit and study using your Australia PR.
The work in NZ is allowed for an indefinite amount of time meaning that there are no time restrictions even with Australia Resident Return Visa.
- You can only get the NZ resident visa on arrival. You cannot apply for it before your arrival.
- New Zealand immigration uses your passport to check your Australia PR status. As a matter of fact, your Australia permanent residency is tagged to your passport when you first enter and validate the PR.
Starting 1 Oct 2019, if you are an Australian permanent resident you must hold an NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority) before you travel.
Australia Temporary Resident Visa Holders
Note that Australian temporary residents are not eligible for working in NZ. If you are in Australia on a specific work visa other than PR, you do need to apply for a Kiwi work visa to be eligible to work.
You can only apply for an NZ resident visa for work when you arrive in New Zealand. You can’t apply for it before you travel.
Your resident visa will expire if you leave New Zealand.
#1 Australia PR 189 – New Zealand
If you have the Australia 189 visa, then you are allowed to search for jobs in NZ and move to work if you get the job.
Remember that for your Australia PR to be valid, you should actually spend at least 2 years in Australia to be eligible to get an Australian resident return visa.
If you are living and working in NZ, you will not be able to meet the Aussie’s PR requirements and may not be able to renew it.
#2 Australia PR 190 Visa work in NZ
In the case of Australia 190 Visa Residency, you have to stay and work in a specific Aussie state region for at least 2 years. If you do not, your PR may be canceled.
New Zealand Income Taxes
You will need to pay New Zealand income taxes if you are working in NZ using your Australian PR.
Note that most immigrants living and working in New Zealand aim to move to Australia in hopes of making more money. The cost of living is quite high in Kiwi state as compared to Australian market.
A similar phenomenon is prevalent in immigrant college students that we interacted with in Melbourne, Australia. They all believe that moving to Sydney will open up more options for jobs and higher salaries.
Our suggestion is to carefully factor in the housing and rental costs and the income taxes before jumping on to make a decision solely on the basis of higher annual salary in Australia or New Zealand.
Buying House in NZ on Aus PR?
You can buy house in New Zealand on Australia PR while you are working in New Zealand.
Source: NZ Immigration
