[Update] I’m happy to answer your queries about preparing for and coping in NZ, but for official matters related to the visa, please check the Work Exchange Programme page first and direct your questions there. Cheers!

If you think it’s difficult for Singaporeans to travel long-term or work abroad, I can tell you that that isn’t true. There’s a place which offers a great opportunity and it comes with fresh air, wide open spaces and gorgeous scenery that’s fit for a movie.

You’ve probably seen it in a movie too – if you’ve watched The Lord of the Rings, or The Hobbit.

Under the Work Exchange Programme, up to 200 Singaporeans between the ages of 18 and 30 may work and stay in New Zealand for up to 6 months as long as they meet a few other criteria. Unlike other schemes, you can arrange it yourself without going through an agency or being tied to one employer.

There are worse decisions one could make than a New Zealand working holiday. It’s perfect if you have just graduated from the polytechnic or university. Get a change of scenery, live independently, discover your resourcefulness, deal with a foreign culture and see a bit of the world – there won’t be any lack of moments to share with everyone.

I speak from personal experience (and I paid for everything, this post isn’t sponsored in any way), so I’ve put together a few things that my friends and I learnt to make your journey smoother.

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

Just in case you didn’t know

Like Singapore, New Zealand is an island nation, but the similarities end there. NZ has 4 seasons and it’s 5 hours ahead of us (4 in the winter). Unlike Europe, Japan and North America, winter is in the middle of the year, while Christmas is a popular time for an outdoor barbecue.

The North Island is where you’ll find Auckland (the largest city), Wellington (the capital), Hawkes Bay (for the wine lovers), Matamata (“Hobbiton”) and Tongariro (“Mordor”). The South Island’s biggest city is Christchurch, and it also boasts the spectacular peaks and glaciers of the Southern Alps, Marlborough’s mussels and vineyards, and the adventure tourism capital Queenstown (on the north shore of Lake Wakatipu in the map below).

Map of New Zealand from Wikimedia Commons; see page for author [Public domain]

While most of the people are of European descent, the indigenous Maori make up nearly 15% of the population and there are significant numbers of Asians and Pacific Islanders. Did I mention the tourists, the cattle and the sheep too?

English is used everywhere although there are bilingual signs in Maori. The accent may take a little getting used to, and no, it’s not the same as the Australian accent.

Getting started

Set up an account with Immigration NZ, fill in the application form, submit it and pay the NZD165 fee. No visit to the embassy required. The approval takes up to ten days but it’s often much quicker than that, so keep checking! There is no deadline as long as places are available.

When (and if) your visa is approved, it is valid for one year. Your New Zealand working holiday begins the moment you first step foot in the country within that period, and it expires 6 months after that.

Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand fly from Singapore to Auckland (and Christchurch for SIA) in 10 – 11 hours, while other carriers such as Jetstar and Qantas have flights with a connection in Australia. A ticket for onward travel is not necessary; book a one-way fare if you want to go to Australia or somewhere else before returning home. (Hint: you’re already halfway to Chile)

You’re all set once you have packed your bags, your passport and your visa. Perhaps you’d like to read the other post on The Yellow Underpants to minimise the culture shock.

Your IRD number

If you plan to work and get an income, you will need a taxation number too. When you arrive, go to a New Zealand PostShop with a completed IR595 form (available from the counter), your passport, visa and either

  • your driving license (the temporary one doesn’t work as you need a photo on it), or
  • an HANZ 18+ card, which can also be applied for at PostShops, or
  • a employment offer from a local employer on their company letterhead – this is a bit difficult as most employers ask for an IRD number with their application, creating a Catch-22 situation.

It takes two to three weeks to deliver a card to your address. You only need the number, so call the IRD services hotline anywhere in the country to get it. The tax rate starts from 11% and it is deducted from your pay automatically by the employer. You can get a refund when you leave the country but it’s a lengthy process. Whether it’s worth your while depends on how much you earn while you’re there.

Money matters

When you get there, find a bank that lets you set up a starter account, one that does not charge fees for every transaction for the first 6 months. Again you’ll need your passport and a ‘proof of residence’ letter such as an utilities bill, but you can use the address of the hostel or hotel that you’re staying at and they will print one for you. The bank will send a letter that you’ll need to pick up and take back on your next visit.

I used ASB when I was there and I was satisfied with their services. Electronic transfers between my account and my bank back in Singapore were fast (they took just a day), and it had a mobile banking app for every OS, including Windows. KiwiBank also comes recommended as it’s very convenient. You’ll find one wherever there is a PostShop.

You’ll rarely need to use cash other than at farmers markets and some small hostels – many places accept payment by EFTPOS, the equivalent of NETS. If you need to change money, the Travel Money bureaus at Flight Centres in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown offer the best rates.

Waking up to a sight like this? Priceless.

Waking up to a sight like this = Priceless.

Mobile phones

Get a SIM card from one of the three main carriers: 2Degrees, Spark (formerly Telecom) and Vodafone. All three have plans which are priced similarly. You can use the stored value to purchase the cheapest prepaid option – it’s just NZD19 a month and comes with 500MB of data. The barrier of entry to a data plan may be lower than in Singapore, but a 2GB/month costs much more.

To add value to the card the manual way, go to a dairy (grocery store) to purchase a code and follow the instructions on the receipt. Chances are you won’t be spending a lot of time on Stewart Island, but if you end up there you’ll won’t get a signal from 2Degrees.

Finding work

Most working holidaymakers work on farms, in places of accommodation and tourist attractions, for construction firms and in factories. Office jobs are harder to come by for those on a short stay, but if you look around you may get short term projects. Go to Seek, Trademe (the Kiwi equivalent of eBay), Backpackerboard, BBH, or pick up the papers on a Wednesday or Saturday.

It’s not advisable to apply for a position before you arrive as you’ll often need a local bank account and an IRD number. You’re not tied to a single employer for the duration of your stay, so work in a few places if you want to.

Working in exchange for accommodation and other benefits is common especially at hostels, and some people combine cleaning duties in the morning with an evening job at a second workplace. This was the route I took. HelpX and WWOOF are the sites where you can find similar opportunities on small farms and in private homes.

Work on orchards and vineyards depends on the season and the crop involved (See PickNZ for the type of crop involved in each region and season). Workers may be paid by the hour or by contract (i.e. You get paid $X for each kg or barrel of fruit harvested, each vine pole set up, etc). Each has its advantages and drawbacks, and neither is easier than the other. However, you can extend your stay in New Zealand by up to 3 months if you work on a farm or in a food packing factory for 12 weeks and have the paychecks to prove it (work exchange does not count).

new zealand working holiday vineyard

Backpackers often work on vineyards like this one on Waiheke

A few things to note: This is not the best way to learn animal husbandry as farmers prefer experienced hands. Farms are rarely located near the big cities or even the hostels that workers stay at, so having a car or someone to share a ride with is a plus for such jobs. In the winter there are very few farm jobs and some attractions shut their doors, so the competition for work at ski resorts, kiwi fruit packing factories, mussel shucking facilities and the other remaining places will be intense.

New Zealand has minimum wage of NZD14.75 per hour from May 2015, which applies even if one is paid by contract, and rules governing working hours and breaks are in place. There have been cases of unscrupulous employers who withheld pay from backpacking workers, and some hostels make it difficult to get a deposit back. Do a little research, keep a paper, email and text trail as if your life depended on it, and in the event of a dispute, get help from the Department of Labour.

Getting around

If you possess a Singapore driving license, you can use it in New Zealand for up to a year. Second hand cars and camper vans are cheap and former can be purchased from NZD1000 onwards on Trademe, BBH and Backpackerboard. Caveat emptor, of course, if you choose a car that cheap. Another option is to enter a buy-back agreement with a dealership when you buy a car from them.

You can sell your vehicle at the end of a trip and recoup at least part of the costs, but the insurance, registration fee, warrant of fitness and fuel costs quickly add up. It’s not the cheapest way to get around, but it’s sometimes the only way to get to hard-to-reach farms and attractions.

For more on road trips, read my other post, Pacenotes: Driving in New Zealand

I snapped this just for the meme-worthy license plate.

I snapped this just for the meme-worthy license plate.

Buses are the least expensive way to get around NZ. If you book early enough there are insane NZD1 fares up for grabs on Naked Bus and Mana Bus services. Intercity and Atomic Shuttles (South Island) are also other options to get from one town to another. Bear in mind that the driver may not take the most direct route to your destination, which would explain the disparity between Google’s driving times and your actual trip time.

Ferries run by Interislander and Bluebridge ply the Cook strait between Wellington and Picton on the South Island. The aforementioned bus services will get you to the piers to make the 3-hour cruise. Tickets get snapped up very quickly especially in the peak season, so book ahead, especially if you’re taking your vehicle across with you.

grabaseat is a good place to look for cheap domestic airfares on Air New Zealand, whose network connects even the smaller airports in places like Taupo, Napier and Invercargill. The website tends to favour those who can book in advance, but it’s useful for those who need to get from one island to the other quickly.

The New Zealand working holiday visa is a multiple entry visa, so you can fly to Australia, Fiji, Tonga and other neighbouring territories for a well-earned break and continue working in NZ on your return. You can also use grabaseat to book fares to these destinations.

Money saving tips

Cook! Shop at a Pak n Save, the cheapest of the supermarket chains, or at a farmers market if you have more exotic tastes. Other backpackers with no skills usually cook rice or pasta and they often leave leftovers that you can use when they depart.

Join a hostel network such as BBHor YHA. Both will get you better daily and long term rates if you stay in their affliated hostels. Sometimes free wifi is thrown in as well. BBH also gives a phonecard which you can use to call home, in case the wifi is down or you just don’t want to face people on Skype.

If you’re 26 years old or younger, get a ISIC youth card from STA Travel in Singapore for discounts and offers on dining, shopping, admission and accommodation. You can use it in many places at home and around the world too!

For tips on saving money at the attractions and on a road trip, see the Yellow Underpants and Pacenotes posts.

Now you’re ready to enjoy your New Zealand working holiday. Have fun and make the most of the opportunity!

*I’d like to express my thanks to my friends Nat, Ummar, Nikki and the Expat Kiwis for their tips. You should thank them too.

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