Our business partner Anglo Pacific International, has kindly advised us of the following regulation that is now (September 2008) in place:

The law, as of 06 June 2008, requires that the document (see definition of document below) that you are able to produce to NZ Customs to qualify your household effects for free entry to NZ is the document you hold on the date of the importation of the goods, not the document you hold when you first arrive in the country, nor any document you may later receive at any given date after the arrival of your goods.

If you choose to allow your household effects to arrive in NZ and at the date of the importation of the goods, your visa status does not yet meet the level required for duty & GST free entry, you will be required to declare the second hand value of your household effects and pay duty & GST to the NZ government. It is very unlikely in these circumstances that you would get this refunded, even if at a later date you gain the required visa. In short, what matters is the document you hold at the date of the importation of the goods, not at the date of your personal arrival in to the country and not at any given date after the arrival of the goods.

From 06 June 2008, the wording of reference 80(b), (c), (d) and (e) concessions will be amended to require that the document authorising residence is held on the date of importation of the goods. This has the effect of aligning the concessions more closely with immigration procedures where the majority of the qualifying permits or visas are issued after the person's arrival in New Zealand. It also meets the New Zealand government's intention in relation to migrants.

In addition to the above change, the definition of a document authorising residence has been amended to cover the following.

• A current New Zealand Passport
• A current Australian Passport
• A current New Zealand Residence visa or permit or a current returning resident's visa or permit
• A current permanent residence visa (including a resident return visa) issued by the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia
• A current work visa or work permit that was issued for a minimum of twelve months
• A current work visa or work permit issued under the Work to Residence (Skilled Migrant Category) policy or the Long Term Business Visa/Permit category
• A current visitor's visa or permit that was issued for a minimum of three years.

Household goods imported by returning New Zealanders are admitted free of duty & GST provided they have resided outside New Zealand for more than 21 consecutive months and that the goods have been owned & used by them overseas. This can sometimes be useful to first time migrants where their partner is a returning national, so it makes sense for the shipper to place the consignment in the name of the most relevant party for ease of customs clearance.

The following links may be of use to you:

http://www.customs.govt.nz/travellers/Household+Effects/When+No+Customs+Charges+Apply.htm

http://www.customs.govt.nz/travellers/Household+Effects/When+Customs+Charges+are+Payable.htm