New Zealand Helpful Information

A Guide to Importation of Personal & Household Effects into New Zealand.

Eligibility

Your household or other related effects (excluding motor vehicles, boats and aircraft) will qualify for concessionary entry, i.e. free of duty and exempt GST, for a reasonable time after you arrive in New Zealand, provided you can meet all of the following conditions.

Conditions

• you have arrived and on arrival hold a document authorising residence in New Zealand; and
• you have resided or lived outside New Zealand for the whole of the 21 months before the date of your arrival in New Zealand; and
• you have owned and used the goods before the date of your departure for New Zealand; and
• the goods are for your own personal use and not intended for any other person or persons or for gift, sale or exchange.

The following goods will not qualify for duty free entry, unless you can establish that the items have had personal use prior to their arrival in New Zealand:

• goods shipped directly after purchase to avoid local taxes in the country of export
• replacement electrical equipment operating to New Zealand standards.

Goods of a commercial nature (such as factory plant and office equipment) do not qualify as household effects.

Documents

To arrange a customs clearance we require the following:

• a completed Unaccompanied Personal Baggage Declaration
• Photocopy your passport (picture page and visa page)
• an inventory of what is in the shipment

Quarantine clearance

All shipments to New Zealand are subject to MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) clearance. Charges are payable at destination and will vary dependant on the nature of the items being imported.