Moving to New Zealand from Fiji

What changes when you move from Fiji to New Zealand

A few things work differently on this move:

• You'll need a visa for every stage. Fiji isn't on New Zealand's visa waiver list, and New Zealand doesn't have a working holiday scheme with Fiji, so even a short visit needs a visa.
• There's a residence ballot for Fijian citizens. The Pacific Access Category lets some Fijian citizens aged 18 to 45 apply for residence each year, if they're drawn in the ballot and have a job offer.
• Your police certificate comes from Fiji Police Headquarters in Suva, and you'll need a set of fingerprints for it.
• Moving your money runs through the Reserve Bank of Fiji's emigration allowance, and your FNPF savings can only be withdrawn in full once you hold permanent residence.
• Your driving licence needs tests to convert. Fiji isn't on NZTA's exempt-country list, so you'll sit a theory test and a practical test.
• Pets come from a rabies-free country, so they don't need a rabies vaccination, but they do need an import permit and at least 10 days in quarantine.

This is general planning information, not immigration, tax or financial advice. Confirm your own eligibility and current rules with the relevant authority before making a decision you can't easily reverse.

The Pacific Access Category

The Pacific Access Category Resident Visa is a residence route only open to citizens of Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga and Tuvalu. It starts with a ballot each year.

• Who can register: Fijian citizens aged 18 to 45 when registrations close, who were born in Fiji or have a parent who was born there. You register online from overseas, or while you're in New Zealand legally.
• How many places: the 2026 ballot had places for 250 Fijian citizens. Places count people, not registrations, so each family member in a registration uses one place.
• Include your family when you register. Your partner and dependent children (aged 24 or younger) must be named in your ballot registration, or they can't be included in your visa application later. You'll need birth certificates for everyone you include.
• If you're drawn, Immigration New Zealand invites you to apply, and you have 8 months to submit your application. You'll need:
• an acceptable job offer, for you or your partner, for at least 12 months;
• enough income: at least NZD 55,404.96 a year between you and your partner if you're including children, or at least the minimum wage if you're not (Immigration New Zealand reviews these figures each year);
• English: you need to speak, read and understand it;
• a chest X-ray and medical examination, and police certificates for everyone aged 17 or over.
• Where you apply from: your application must be made while you're in Fiji, or in New Zealand on a valid temporary visa.
• If you're not drawn, you can register again the next year. Immigration New Zealand announces each year's registration dates, so check its page before the ballot opens.

The visa costs from NZD 1,389, and there's a separate fee to register for the ballot. After you've held the visa for 2 years in a row, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. See Immigration New Zealand's Pacific Access Category Resident Visa page.

Other visa pathways

If you're not drawn in the ballot, or you're not eligible, most people moving from Fiji come on a work visa first, then move to residence, or go straight to residence through the Green List. Fees are "from" figures, because Immigration New Zealand's fees depend on where you apply, and processing times are what Immigration New Zealand says it decides 80% of applications within.

| Visa | What it's for | Cost from | 80% decided within | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Accredited Employer Work Visa | A job offer of at least 30 hours a week from an accredited employer with an approved job check. Up to 5 years in total for most jobs, or 3 years for ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 | NZD 1,540 | 5 weeks | | Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa | Residence for skilled workers aged 55 or under, through an expression of interest and an invitation to apply | NZD 6,450 | — | | Straight to Residence Visa | Residence for a job with an accredited employer on Tier 1 of the Green List | NZD 6,450 | 3 months | | Work to Residence Visa | Residence after 24 months working in New Zealand in a Green List Tier 2 job | NZD 6,450 | — | | Post Study Work Visa | Work for up to 3 years after studying in New Zealand, depending on your qualification | NZD 1,670 | 4 weeks |

The Skilled Migrant Category has 3 pathways:

• Points-based: you need 6 points. You can claim them from your qualification, your income, or New Zealand occupational registration, plus up to 3 points from skilled work experience in New Zealand.
• Skilled Work Experience: at least 5 years of directly relevant work experience, including at least 2 years of skilled work in New Zealand.
• Trades and Technicians: a relevant qualification and at least 4 years of post-qualification experience, including 18 months of skilled work in New Zealand.

Qualifications and registration. Qualifications from Fiji usually need an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) from NZQA before they count for a visa, unless your qualification is on Immigration New Zealand's list of exemptions. Regulated jobs such as medicine, nursing, teaching, engineering and accounting also need registration with the New Zealand body, so start that early. See getting your overseas qualifications recognised in New Zealand.

Chest X-ray. Fiji isn't on Immigration New Zealand's list of countries with a low incidence of TB, so if you're applying to stay for 6 months or longer you'll normally need a chest X-ray.

Use Immigration New Zealand's visa tool to match your own situation to these. By law, anyone giving you advice about New Zealand immigration must be licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority, or be exempt, under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. You can check an adviser on the Immigration Advisers Authority's public register before you pay anyone.

Police certificates

• Who needs one: for a work or student visa, you need police certificates if your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or more. For a resident visa, including the Pacific Access Category, everyone aged 17 or over needs them.
• What to ask for: a Fiji Police Clearance Certificate. You apply to the Officer in Charge, CID, Police Headquarters, Suva.
• What to send: the INZ 1185 Fiji Police Clearance application form (on Immigration New Zealand's website), a certified copy of your birth certificate, a copy of the personal details pages of your passport, and a set of your fingerprints. The form explains how to get your fingerprints taken.
• Fee and timing: Immigration New Zealand doesn't give either, so contact Fiji Police for the current fee and how long it takes, and allow plenty of time.
• It must be less than 6 months old when you submit your visa application. If you apply online before it arrives, you can upload evidence that you've applied, such as a receipt.

See Immigration New Zealand's guide to getting a police certificate.

Leaving Fiji: moving money and your FNPF

Fiji has exchange controls, so moving your savings to New Zealand runs through your bank, within limits set by the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF). The rules below are from the RBF's exchange control guidelines that took effect on 1 January 2026.

• The emigration allowance. Your bank can approve up to F$250,000 per family per year as an emigration allowance. The money can come from things like the sale of your personal assets, savings, your FNPF, insurance maturities or a pension.
• What the bank needs to see:
• valid passports, including your family's;
• a permanent resident visa, residence visa or returning resident visa, including your family's (banks can also accept some long-term work, partner or employment visas that are valid for more than 3 years with an indefinite length of stay);
• your TIN letter or FRCS joint card, where it applies;
• a tax clearance certificate for amounts above F$20,000 per family per year (not needed if the money comes only from your FNPF or a tax refund);
• a capital gains tax certificate, if the money comes from selling an asset in Fiji.
• More than F$250,000. Amounts above the bank's limit need approval from the RBF, which you apply for online.
• Cash you carry. Emigrants can carry Fiji banknotes up to F$500, and foreign banknotes up to the equivalent of F$10,000 in total (including the F$500). This counts as part of your emigration allowance, and your bank records the amount approved in your Fiji passport.

Your FNPF savings. The Fiji National Provident Fund lets a Fijian citizen who migrates withdraw their full balance as a lump sum, but only if they hold an unconditional permanent residence visa for their new country. A provisional or temporary residence visa doesn't qualify. You apply on form FW04, with your birth certificate, certified copies of your passport and visa, your FNPF card, your employment history, and your last employer's acceptance of your resignation if you've worked in the last 6 months. FNPF can pay into a bank account in Fiji or overseas.

Confirm with FNPF which New Zealand visa it accepts. The Pacific Access Category first grants a Resident Visa, and a Permanent Resident Visa comes after 2 years. If FNPF requires the Permanent Resident Visa, your withdrawal may have to wait until then.

See the RBF's exchange control guidelines, FNPF's full withdrawal page, our money-transfer limits task and arranging currency exchange. Talk to your bank well before you leave, since the tax clearance and capital gains steps take time.

Tax and your IRD number

• Get an IRD number when you arrive. Without one, Inland Revenue taxes your income at 45%, and banks deduct 45% from interest. If you're on a visa, use the new-arrival process before the "must arrive by" date on your visa. See applying for your IRD number.
• Check the transitional resident exemption. If you haven't been a New Zealand tax resident in the previous 10 years, most foreign passive income may be exempt for your first 48 months. Foreign employment income isn't covered. See checking your NZ tax residency.

Healthcare

• Eligibility isn't automatic. If you hold a resident visa, including a Pacific Access Category Resident Visa, you're generally eligible for publicly funded health services. On a work visa, you're generally eligible if it lets you stay for 2 years or more, counted from your first day in New Zealand or including time you've already spent here lawfully. Children 17 or under can be eligible through an eligible parent. See Health New Zealand's eligibility criteria.
• No reciprocal agreement with Fiji. New Zealand doesn't have a reciprocal health agreement with Fiji, so consider private health or travel insurance until you're eligible.
• Register with a GP once you have an address, and bring proof of your visa when you enrol. See finding a GP.

Driving

• Fiji isn't an exempt country, so converting your licence takes 2 tests. You apply at a specialist overseas conversion site, with your physical Fiji licence, your identification and an eyesight check.
• The theory test comes first. Once you pass it, you get a New Zealand licence with a supervisor condition, which replaces your Fiji licence. Until you pass the practical test, you can only drive with a supervisor next to you who holds a full New Zealand licence.
• Then the practical test. Once you pass it, the supervisor condition comes off.
• Before you convert, you can drive on your Fiji licence for a limited time after you arrive. The clock restarts each time you arrive, so check NZTA's current limit for your arrival date.

Study the New Zealand road code before your theory test. See converting your overseas licence and NZTA: converting a car licence from a non-exempt country.

Pets

MPI lists Fiji as a Category 2 country (recognised as rabies free), so your cat or dog doesn't need a rabies vaccination or blood test. Confirm Fiji's category on MPI's country list before you book. Under MPI's 2026 import health standard, which came into force on 1 July 2026:

1. Residency. Your pet must have lived in Fiji since birth (or since arriving directly from New Zealand), or for at least 6 months before the flight (clause 1.10).
2. Microchip check by an official vet, at least 6 months before the flight. Fiji's veterinary authority then tells MPI directly that the check was done (clause 1.11). A pet under 6 months old must have its check before any tests, vaccinations or treatments.
3. Import permit and quarantine booking. You apply to MPI for an import permit, and include a signed booking with an approved quarantine facility (clause 1.13.1).
4. A sealed crate. Your pet must fly in a crate sealed with a government-approved seal. If it's opened during a transfer, it has to be resealed and documented (clause 1.8).
5. Heartworm, for dogs. A dog aged 7 months or older needs a negative heartworm test in the 30 days before the flight, and all dogs need heartworm prevention (clause 2.11).
6. At least 10 days in an MPI-approved quarantine facility after you arrive in Auckland or Christchurch (clause 1.15).

Tests in quarantine. MPI notes that for some Pacific Island countries, where veterinary services are limited, the tests and treatments may have to be done in quarantine after arrival instead (clause 1.18.2). That can make the quarantine stay longer, so ask your quarantine facility how long to expect.

MPI suggests pets from Category 2 countries are at least 12 weeks old when they fly. Allow at least 6 months, and consider a pet transport agent. See our pet biosecurity clearance task, our guide to moving with pets and MPI's guidance on bringing cats and dogs to NZ.

Shipping your belongings

Sea freight is far cheaper than air freight but takes weeks, not days. Get at least 2 or 3 quotes, and check MPI's household goods requirements and NZ Customs' household effects concession before you pack. See arranging international shipping.

Costs to plan for

• Visa fees: from NZD 1,389 for a Pacific Access Category Resident Visa (plus the ballot registration fee), NZD 1,540 for an Accredited Employer Work Visa, NZD 1,670 for a Post Study Work Visa, and NZD 6,450 for a Skilled Migrant Category, Straight to Residence or Work to Residence visa. Check Immigration New Zealand's page for your visa before you apply, since fees depend on where you apply.
• Fiji police clearance: ask Fiji Police for the current fee.
• Chest X-ray, medical examination, qualification assessment, professional registration and your licence conversion and tests: each has its own fee.
• Tax clearance: allow time, and any adviser's fees, for your tax clearance certificate and capital gains tax certificate, if you need them.
• Freight, flights and pet relocation: these vary too much to give a reliable figure. Get quotes early, especially for a pet.

Documents to gather

Your first days in New Zealand

1. Get a local SIM and data plan as soon as you land, since most of what follows needs a phone number.
2. Apply for your IRD number through Inland Revenue's new-arrival process. If it's approved, the number arrives by text or email within 2 days.
3. Open a New Zealand bank account with your passport, visa and proof of your New Zealand address, and give the bank your IRD number.
4. Register with a GP once you have an address, after checking your healthcare eligibility.
5. Sort short-term transport. You can drive on your Fiji licence for now, within NZTA's time limit, and start studying the road code for your theory test.

Setting up your life in NZ

• Utilities: once you have a fixed address, connect power and gas and set up your internet. Compare retailers on Powerswitch.
• Insurance: New Zealand home insurance includes Natural Hazards Cover for named natural disasters, alongside a separate sum-insured decision for the building itself. See our home and contents insurance guide.
• Housing: tenancy law and bond handling run nationally through Tenancy Services. See our guide to finding a home and our end-of-tenancy and bond guide.
• Schools: enrolment is based on school zones, so the suburb you choose affects which state school your children can attend. See govt.nz's guide to enrolling your child at school.

Choosing where to live

Auckland is New Zealand's largest city and job market, but Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Tauranga are all worth weighing up. They differ in rents, climate and how you'll get around.

Three official sources are worth checking before you decide:

• Community: Stats NZ's 2023 Census data shows population by region.
• Rent: Tenancy Services' market rent tool shows recent median rents for each suburb, by number of bedrooms.
• Climate: NIWA publishes climate summaries for each city. New Zealand's climate is temperate rather than tropical, so plan for colder winters than you're used to, with winter from June to August.

If a later move within New Zealand is likely, our Auckland to Wellington and Auckland to Christchurch guides cover that move. For searching, applying for and inspecting a property, see our guide to finding a place to live in New Zealand.

Timeline

Build your personalised moving plan

This guide covers what's different about moving from Fiji. Your own plan depends on your move date, whether you're renting or buying, your household, whether you have pets, and plenty of details a general guide can't know. Navaroa can build a personalised, week-by-week moving plan for your situation, free and with no signup needed to get started.