how do you plan a working holiday in New Zealand and what are the steps you need
to take to plan a New Zealand working holiday and what do you need to do in
your first week in New Zealand on a working holiday visa all of that coming
right up in this video
hi guys we're Robin and Laura the team behind backpackerguide.NZ helping you
plan an epic backpacking trip in New Zealand before we begin make sure to hit
the subscribe button below to be part of our notification squad and make the
most of New Zealand today we are talking exclusively about working holiday visa
in New Zealand that's the ultimate gap year here we're gonna be covering
everything you need to know by the timeframe and how to organise it we're
gonna start four months ahead of your trip and then go down from there two
months and one month before departure and on top of that we are gonna cover
everything you need to do during your first week when arriving in New Zealand
on the working holiday visa so what do you need to do four to five months
before the start of your working holiday well first you need to do some research
to see if New Zealand is right for you and then once you've decided it totally
is here are the steps that you need to take the first thing to do is to check
if you are eligible for a working holiday visa in New Zealand there's over
40 countries that are eligible and every country has different conditions so we
like to use a website called workingholidayNewZealand.com where you can
enter a few information and get an instant result on your eligibility for
working holiday visa as well as your conditions then you want to start
thinking about money look into the cost of traveling in New Zealand the cost of
life in New Zealand as well and start saving up money so you have enough money
for your trip Laura and I think that about 5,500 New Zealand Dollars plus
return flights is plenty enough to have enough money to enjoy New Zealand
as well as not been too stressed job wise speaking of jobs start looking into
what kind of job you can do during your gap year here in New Zealand there's heaps of
entry-level jobs and there is something for everybody but it's really important
to be open minded and want to try new things and finally the last thing to do
is to start planning the best and biggest epic bucket list for your trip
in New Zealand the best way to do that is to watch our
video webseries called New Zealand's biggest gap year where we challenge
ourself to tackle 365 activities around New Zealand in only 365 days that will
help you plan the best bucket list ever once you have found out whether you are
eligible for a working holiday visa in New Zealand and decided that New Zealand
is the best country for you then it is time to apply a book and make this trip
real this is a good idea to do this about three to four months before the
start of your working holiday all right so to get started you would want to
apply for a working holiday visa in New Zealand this is really easy to do you
just go online and you apply it takes you about 30 minutes and then you
receive your visa by email within two days or weeks something like that we
have a full guide on how to do so on backpackerguide.NZ and it's a breeze you'll
see trust us then you would want to start booking your flight it's really
the most expensive part of your trips so you want to take the time to shop around
and find the best deal for you you will find out that the city of departure is
usually the thing that affects the most the price of your trip we have lots and
lots of advice on how to find a cheap flight for New Zealand on backpackpackerguide.nz
and we put a link to the article in the description below
then you will want to start looking into working holiday program those are
companies that usually try to facilitate and make your first few weeks much
easier when arriving in New Zealand they usually pick you up from the airport put
you in a hostel teach you how to get a job open your bank account get a cell
phone all those nitty-gritty this is not
something for everybody but if it's something that you are interested in
go on backpackerguide.nz and then check out our article on the subject to see if
that's the right fit for you if you decide not to go for that you will want
to make sure to book a hostel in your city of arrival
just because especially in summer in Auckland Wellington and Christchurch
things get really really busy so you want to make sure that you do
have a room for when you arrive after a 14-hour flight finally you also want to get a travel
and medical insurance this is mandatory with a working holiday visa and
something we have a full article on backpackerguide.nz with a lot of
information about that turns out that backpackerguide.nz is a great
resource for planning a gap year in New Zealand we write a lot of articles and we
go in-depth on all those subjects so we had a lot of links in the description
below make sure to take some time to read because that's your Bible for
backpacking in New Zealand oh and one more thing you also want to make sure to
apply for an international driving permit this is something that you can
only do back home in your home country you can know that when you're in New
Zealand and especially if you do not have an English written driving licence
this will make your life so much easier in New Zealand so make sure to get one
it's definitely worth it we are one month before departure so now's the time
to start gathering the supplies you're going to need and gearing up for your
working holiday all right so one month before departure is a long time to do
some shopping but you've got a lot to buy first step you need to buy yourself
a brand new luggage what are you going to be doing backpack or suitcase there
are pros and cons for both of them and we have an article on backpackerguide.nz
so you can read it check out which one's gonna be the best for you
and go for that one then it's time to fill up your luggage these are lots of things
that you cannot live without so you need to start making some lists and also
making some choices because not everything is gonna fit we have some
packing lists available on backpackerguide.nz so you can get
inspiration here and see what other travelers usually pack for the gap year in
New Zealand you also want to start thinking what you're gonna have on you
carry-on you're gonna have a very long flight ahead so you want to make sure
that you have enough entertainment and you also want to make sure that you have
all you essential like passport flights tickets each and every insurance
paperwork and the most common things also you're gonna want me make sure that
all your electronics is gonna be working here in New Zealand because we all know
that you cannot live without your phone without your laptop without your tablet
without your iPod so you need to make sure that you have a travel adapter and
also that they're going to be working here especially your phone because the
New Zealand phone network is very different than what you are used to back
home so we are going to be linking below to a few articles that we tell you more
about that and also link to websites that will help you check if your phone
is compatible with New Zealand networks and finally you need to talk to your
bank i know no one likes to do that but hey is the two thing you need them to do for you first up you need
them to make sure that their write down that you're gonna be going overseas that
don't flag your card but because very often that's just not enough you need to
make sure that you give authority on your bank account to a trusted family
member like you mum so in case you are stranded on the other side of the world
with no money she can come to your rescue all right so this is d-day you
are finally leaving home and making your way to a beautiful New Zealand for the
gap year of your life but before you get into the country there is a few more
thing that you need to know so once you arrived in New Zealand you got your
luggage you are gonna head over to the
immigration desk here immigration are gonna look at your passport they might
ask you a few questions but they'll also ask you do you have anything to declare
now when you are on the flight over to New Zealand you should have got a
passenger arrival card which lists a few things that you will be checked for
biosecurity for instance hiking or camping equipment or food or anything
like that so even if you're unsure of something and even if you have packed
something don't be sketchy and don't try to hide
it just declare it chances are it's gonna be completely fine but it's always
good to declare it because if something is found and you did not declare it then
you will receive an instant fine so this then gets checked once you go over to
biosecurity at biosecurity your luggage is x-rayed and scanned for these items
there's quite strict biosecurity rules in New Zealand to keep the country
beautiful but it should an absolute breeze and you'll be
cruising on out of the airport to your shuttle off bus to your hostel so now
once you're making your way to your hostel you're just gonna relax take it
easy because tomorrow this is where you're gonna go through and start
setting up your working holiday congratulation you've made it to New
Zealand right now you put me sleeping in your hostel trying to get rid of that
jetlag and stressing over the fact that you have this stupid idea of taking a
gap year in New Zealand what the hell were you thinking but
don't stress we're here to help and it is what you need to do for your first
week to get started in no time on day one you wanna head out of the hostel you
want to wake up around 7:00 a.m. and go to bed around 10:00 and get some fresh
air it's very important you get rid of the
jetlag and that's your only thing to do today so get out to walk around take the
time to explore it with the city and maybe stop by the supermarket so you can
get yourself some groceries so you have enough food for next week to come then
when getting back to the hotel stop by reception and ask about the proof
address this is a paper that will tell the bank where you're living for when you
open your New Zealand bank account it's a super simple process there is really
almost nothing for you to do and finally I'm pretty sure that you mum is dying to
know if you are in New Zealand sound and safe so make sure that you use text
Facebook emails and whatever else to tell your mum that you are okay on day
two this is a good time to set up your phone for New Zealand now hopefully
you've done a bit of research on the different phone network providers in New
Zealand and the plans that they offer and choose one that suits you rather than
just picking the first free SIM card that you find in your hostel and then if
you follow the steps that we talked about before on making sure your phone
works in New Zealand then all you have to do is pop your SIM card into your
phone and follow the on-screen instructions it is that easy
and the first call you're gonna make with your phone is to the bank to make
your bank appointment it will be a quicker process if you book an
appointment with one of the suburb branches rather than in the busy city
center on day 3 it's time for you to actually open your bank account so you
need to show up to a bank at the appointment time and you need to bring
with you your passport your proof of address your tax number from back home
as well as a copy of your visa once the bank account is opened
don't leave the bank just yet you need to ask them for a few things
first you need to ask them for letter stating that your bank account is fully
functional you will need that when applying for an IRD number and you also
want to ask them for couple of bank statements which you will need to use as
proof address throughout your trip finally you also want to ask them how to
transfer money on to your bank accounts there is a lot of different ways they
are ways that we prefer than others because they are cheaper and faster and
we have an article about that and backpackerguide.nz but you
won't have all the options laid out in front of you on day four head to the New
Zealand post office for a bit more paperwork to do first up you will want
to apply for an IRD number to do so you will need your passport a copy of your
visa you put your address as well as the letter from the bank stating that
your bank account is fully functional it's a very simple process just a form
to fill and then you hand it over at the counter but you can even do that online
nowadays so we have an article on backpackerguide.nz walking you
through the entire process now one you are the post office you may
want to consider apply for the HANZ 18 plus card there's multiple reasons to do that
but the main one is the fact that to buy alcohol in New Zealand there's only
three acceptable pieces of ID which for you it's going to be only you passport
so if you don't want to carry your passport all the time when you're going out
which you know you're gonna drunk and lose your passport then you're gonna be
stranded in New Zealand I know there is worse things than that but just in case you
may want to apply for the HANZ 18 plus car the only cost $45 and these are just a
very short paperwork to do we really recommend you do that because it's quick
and cheap on day five start planning how you're
going to be getting around New Zealand now why wait until day five to start
thinking about this well in New Zealand it's actually cheaper to book in the
country rather than booking from overseas so this is very true for the
New Zealand bus companies so really take that into consideration but also if
you're thinking of buying your own car when you're in New Zealand you can
actually see what cars are available around you in your time and location
also there are many different choices for the bus companies to take around New
Zealand there are a hop-on hop-off bus companies there are national coaches so
really take this time to think and don't book anything yet just think about it
while you're waiting for your IRD paperwork to get back to you on day six
take the time to explore and have fun in your arrival city remember a working
holiday is about having fun as well so in Auckland for instance there is so
much to do you can go over to Rangitoto Island you can take a ferry to Waiheke
Island you can climb up Mount Eden and get awesome views of the city you can go
to the Auckland museum or in Christchurch you can go through the
beautiful Botanic Gardens or go to the beach and in Queenstown you have so much
to do you can go hiking Ben Lomond you can do a bungee jump or a skydive and
finally in Wellington you can go to the Te Papa museum or go to Zealandia to
see some wildlife there is really a lot to do and you can get some inspiration
of New Zealand's biggest gap year which is our daily travel blog here on YouTube
so check that out in the description below and finally on day seven of your
gap year in New Zealand you should be sorting out your transportation if you
decided to go for a bus you want to book your bus pass so you first bus
tickets and if you decide you should shop for car you want to start the process
you wanna contact dealers start seeing some cars doing some test drive and
start sorting out your finances if you decide that you want to travel
early start working on your itinerary start making some crosses on that New
Zealand map make sure that you check all the spot that you are dying to see here
New Zealand and if you decide to work early it's time for you to start polishing
that New Zealand CV check out some articles on backpackerguide.nz
we have heaps of tips on how to make that CV pop out you also wanna start
looking for long term accommodation in the areas where you want to work in
because as much how that you find that short term accommodation like the
hostel you are staying staying in right now
speaking of the hostels you so want to take the time to socialize with other
backpackers it's highly likely that they're going to be heaps of backpackers
that have been here for a while so go to the bar have a drink with them and learn
from their successes and their mistake it's a critical part of your trip to
socialize and also learn from others mistakes so that's it for our tips on
how to prepare the best working holiday in New Zealand possible we really put a
lot of work into backpackerguide.nz to make sure that this is the
ultimate Bible for your gap here in New Zealand
and that is all the informations you need to make your trip awesome if you do
have any further questions make sure you put them in this in the comments below
so we can answer them to you and maybe make a different video next time the
answers that very questions we really thrive on your feedback also make sure
to hit subscribe because we publish videos like this all the time so you
wanna make sure that you're up to date and you get all the best tips until next
time travel safe