TommyLuck

What a pain in the bottom.

To cut a long story short; thought, was advised (on here and by other expats and NZers, no blame attached) and the fact my wife set one up whilst being being a UK resident last November that setting up an account required just a couple of proofs of ID.

WRONG!!

Annoyingly, NZ legislation changed in April so it's up to date with the rest of the world in needing a proof of address before setting up an account (hence no blame being attached here on BE).

So, make sure you have this before you try and set one up. Better still, have a go at setting one up before you leave the UK.

I'm sure some people will turn up without a permanent address with a view to finding a rental/something to buy at least to start with, so be aware.

Luckily for me the wife has an account, so she's the chancellor. For now ...

janiejones

Phew, that was lucky. We organised an account through the New Migrant service with ANZ, mainly to get the baggage deal, but it meant we had all our ducks in a row before we arrived. I would imagine that most of the big banks would offer this, but it may take a bit of research.

JPA

Yeah. We set up a migrant account with BNZ from the UK. Once we had a rental address we closed the account and moved to Kiwi bank. We did need proof of address for the kiwi bank, so we went into BNZ, changed our address from UK to NZ, then asked them to print out a statement with the new address on.

TommyLuck

Ah ha.

There's the correct answer right there.

HPP

We've just set up current and savings accounts with Westpac from the UK. Was easy - one visit to the bank with passports and proof of address. Done. Picking ATM cards etc up when I'm in Hamilton in Aug.

chc4me

All banks must comply with the new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules from 1 July 2013. So yes it has become more difficult to open a bank account. All financial institutions now require proof of who you are and proof of address. The best method is your Passport (must be Valid) and a Utility bill (must be within last 3 months). Must also be a physical address, not a post office box.

To make it more confusing, different providers will accept slightly different items. For example, one company will accept a Sky Bill, but others will not. Not many companies will accept an electronic copy of your utility bill or an online bank statement, just something to be aware of if opening a new account or other financial matter (e.g Kiwisaver).

If you can open a bank account before arriving in NZ like some of the previous comments, then it will make it much easier when you arrive.

M_and_M

Even if you set up an account with westpac in the UK you will still need a proof of address when you arrive and walk into your local bank to activate the account.

I got my employer to write me one, and that was sufficient. The initial address I used was temp. They still need the proof though.

HPP

Not sure that's right, not what Westpac have instructed us to do. The UK branch scanned all our docs and sent them to NZ who have acknowledged receipt and have just said to come in and pick up the card. Maybe its just them

M_and_M

They told me that too, in the UK. I speak from experience, I arrived in NZ in April, and I am just telling you what my local Westpc said to me when I went in to access the account. The documents in the UK were to verify my identity but in NZ it was almost like opening it all over again, with the amount of paperwork they asked for.

HPP

Ah, thank you I shall go prepared!

M_and_M

Although they could see my identity had been verified elsewhere, they still needed me to prove that I was who I said I was, and I still needed a proof of address in NZ as you might expect for a bank account. Once you have that, the bank statement can be used to help you with all the other paperwork trails that you will need to start on!

HPP

Hmmm, we don't have an address there yet as we're not moving til December although I am out there in August. I do have a job though and they know that. It was then NZ branch that emailed me to say my card was ready when I wanted to pop in and collect it so I could use it in Aug. I know I have to take my passport. We'll see.

M_and_M

Ooooh!! Perhaps it's watch this space!

j19fmm

I opened my account online whilst in the UK then walked into a local Westpac branch with my passport and a utility bill from the UK, as requested by them. Eftpos card given there and then, easy as

old.sparkles

I also opened a Westpac account in the UK - went to the branch in London with passport and other ID, including visa grant, and eftpos card sent to UK before we left with pin numbers, so all good to go before we arrived