citybanklondon

Hi Folks,

Does anyone have info about a family coming on permanant residency, spouse not working as kids are small, 3 kids aged 10,6 and 4. If I earn say $50k gross per year will there be assistance from NZ Govt towards the rent? I thought one does get assistance as $50k is not considered enough to live on for a family of five. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.......

Spacecake799

Hi,
Do a google search for working for families tax credits. The government site will pop up with a calculator.
I should just say, 3 children and a salary of $50 and needing to pay rent. No chance. You really wont have any sort of lifestyle.

MrsFychan

you can work it our here:
http://www.ird.govt.nz/calculators/k...mate-2014.html

and on $50k gross per year how on earth are you going to manage, thats roughly a take home wage of $42000
https://www1.e-services.ird.govt.nz/...Lsh0VAeLsU2s!/

if you have rent say at $450 per week that takes your yearly rental cost to $23400 leaving you just $18600 for all utlilies, food. school fees, school books, travel costs, entertainment for the year ??

look at http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=793974 with someone asking similar on $65k

ellenarosemary

Go to work and income once you get here, you are entitled to help with your rent (depends on what you earn) and if you earn below a certain amount,you will qualify for a top up to the wages. This is available from almost day one, as long as you have wage slips etc to show and a bank account, will take a couple of weeks to action.

Child Tax Credit type benefit is not available until your children have been in the country 183 days, then you will probably get help there too, again depending upon how much you earn and how many children. This is via IRD and not Work and Income, but you can normally book an appointment through them.

ps. My husband currently earns less than that, and whilst its tight we do fine - it all depends on the person and how you live. Once you get established you can always look for a better paid job, cheaper rent, etc etc.
Also will depend hugely on whether or not you will need a mortgage in the future.

Good luck

citybanklondon

Thanks folks, seems the best thing would be to bring all my savings with me and buy a house outright $250k cash with perhaps a very small mortgage of $60-70k and then with no rent to pay the $50k salary may be enough to get by on... I have seen on gumtree.co.nz that in chch homes are going for that price range but I dont know what kind of areas they are. What 'dodgy' areas in chch should be avoided at all costs??? Is Linwood ok for instance? or Philipstown or Saint Albans?? thanks for any input. regards.

MOSO

You'll need to check the small print about benefits both from IRD and Work and Income. In my experience IRD wanted to know about savings, assets (i.e. house/mortgage) before assessing eligibility for any benefits and I think you need to have been in the country for a certain amount of time depending on what benefit you're after. Work and Income may well want proof of salary for the last 12 months on top. A friend with a low family income was recently talking about a community card that gives discounts on doctors fees etc. which she was trying to get through Work and Income but they were having to put together a huge amount of documentation to be able to claim.

If you've got savings, a low mortgage and had a good salary for the last year I wouldn't rely on being able to claim much.

I'm not in Christchurch but I assume you've approached the Uni for jobs and all the various language schools for ESOL work?

Kiwikaye

Hi.

The fact is you are going to struggle. Living on $50k in Christchurch can be done but its not easy. Frankly, anything you can buy house-wise for $300k won't be worth living in and most parts of Linwood and all of Phillipstown should be avoided at all costs. The parts of St Albans where you can buy a house for that kind of money should also be stayed well away from.

I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to put you off, but if you want a nice 3-4 bedroom property in decent condition with good schools, you're going to be looking at around at least $400-500k, even post-earthquake. Beware of "bargains", what looks cheap usually is for a reason. There are a number of people selling earthquake damaged properties for not much more than land value, but these may have been written off by the insurance company and therefore are uniunsurable - no insurance means no mortgage and you definitely don't want to be living in Christchurch (or anywhere else for that matter) with no insurance. Check out www.trademe.co.nz and www.realestate.co.nz for property prices - both rent and buy. If you want to buy in Christchurch you will need an excellent lawyer and do lots of due diligence on the property.

I was born and grew up in Christchurch and it used to be an affordable place to live, but not anymore. OH and I lived there from 2009-2012 before we gave up and came back to Oz. We were earning around $70k between us with him working full time and me part-time and we only just managed to pay the bills - we weren't starving but there was very few restaurant meals/take aways, lots of shopping for specials, etc. I love Christchurch and it will always be my home town but you need to be aware of the downsides.

If you want any more info or have specific questions, feel free to ask - always happy to help.

Good luck with the move.

citybanklondon

Thanks Kiwikaye, seems there is alot of hype about NZ and the reality is that life there is no more different to any other place. If I am going to spend $400k on a property in NZ I might as well spend the equivalent in the UK and be in a place with a better NHS and more job opportunities for DW as she is a motion graphics designer and the UK has more businesses needing that skill than NZ. Also my spouse has indefinite leave for the UK which expires if one stays outside for 2 years so it would be better to move them all to the UK sooner rather than later.

Secondly, in NZ we have to wait 2 years to get any sort of benefit but in the UK we are entitled from day one until we get jobs. This is the scenario we are facing and with each passing day I am begining to think NZ is not a right step, but jsut to secure a place for a possible future move over I will come to NZ alone (much easy to survive alone flatting etc) get my PRV so if after 4-5 years we think of coming over and my wife can find work as a graphic designer then my PRV will enable them to come over on the family category which is much easier than applying under Skilled migrant which I obtained recently. Currently the way the world economics is playing out, there seems no better place than the Middle East to stay and earn a living as it is still stable, tax free, easy going and one can move from job to job within the Gulf. I think in the present scenario this is what I must do, but thanks for the frank comment and its not those words that have put me off, I frankly think the UK would be much better for the family and its just 6 hrs away from the ME so even a monthly family visit would be possible but impossible to come to NZ if I was in the ME and the family in chch !! cheers

Kiwikaye

I've never lived in the ME but from what I've heard, the difference between your lifestyle there and the lifestyle you would get in Christchurch on around $50k would be a pretty big shock. I think the visa issue with your DW is a pretty big consideration as well. On that money in NZ you certainly wouldn't be looking at regular trips back to the UK. Lovely as it is, it's a long way from anywhere (except Oz) and flights are expensive.

FWIW I think you're making the right decision - all the best.

ellenarosemary

Just a follow up for the 'Working for familes tax credits', if you tick the box 'Foreign Income Exempt' (which means you pay no tax on any foreign income for four years), this will EXCLUDE you from being able to claim working for families tax credits.

If you dont have any foreign income, or indeed very little and you qualify for the working for families tax credits, either dont tick the box, or if you have already done so contact IRD and get it removed (very easy), that way you can claim the working for families tax credits if you are entitled. Any foreign income can be declared at the year end.

Remember your children have to be in NZ for 183 days before you are able to claim (claim about 4 weeks before this as they are a bit 'slow' on the paperwork).

Good luck.