Free to read — no card, no plan
Sorting New Zealand out yourself? Here is everything we'd tell a client in week one.
Most people who land in New Zealand don't need an assistant. They need to know which three things to do first, which forms actually matter, and which free official service already covers the problem. That's what this page is. It costs nothing — there is no card, no plan and nothing to cancel — and we'd rather you used it and never paid us than paid us for something you could have done in an afternoon.
What we do ask is that you finish signing up first: create your free account and fill in your client form. That is the whole price of admission, and once it is done the guides open on this page and stay open.
Information only — not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice. Every section links to the official New Zealand source, which is always the version to trust.
Checking your account…
Sign up free to read the guides
All thirteen sections are free to read — there is no card, no plan and no agreement involved, and there
never will be for this page. What we ask is that you sign up: create your free account, then fill in your
client form. Signing up is the first step for everything here — it is what your document folders and your
saved progress hang off — and it takes a few minutes.
Everything official these guides point you to is free too, and always will be. If you would rather not sign up at all, the government sources we rely on are the version to trust anyway — start at govt.nz.
One step left — your client form
Your account is set up, so you are nearly there. The last part of signing up is your client form: who you are,
your visa situation and what you are trying to sort out. It takes a few minutes, it is still free, and there is
no card and no plan involved. Finish it and the guides open here straight away.
Already filled it in? Reload this page and the guides will be here.
Our own referrals. We refer clients to licensed advisers and lawyers, and where we have a commercial arrangement with a provider we tell you so before you engage them. You are never obliged to use anyone we suggest, and our fee does not change either way.
13. When it's actually worth paying someone
We'd rather be honest about this than have you sign up and regret it.
You probably don't need us if…
- You already have friends, family or an employer here sorting your housing and paperwork.
- You're comfortable on government websites and have the time to read them. Everything in sections 1 to 11 above is genuinely doable alone.
- You're visiting for a few weeks. See section 10.
- Your real problem is a visa question. See section 12 — get an adviser, not an assistant.
- Money is tight right now. Use the free services in section 11 first. They are good, and they are free. Come back to us later if you still want to, or don't.
Paying for help tends to be worth it if…
- You've arrived with no local network at all, and are otherwise piecing things together from Facebook groups and cold emails.
- Your time is worth more than the fee — you're starting work immediately, or studying full time, and the admin is eating the hours you don't have.
- You want one accountable named person who knows your whole situation, rather than starting from scratch with a different call centre each time.
- The bureaucracy is genuinely intimidating in a second language, and reading the official page isn't the hard part — making the call is.
- You need one specific thing done fast — a place to live, or a round of job applications — and you'd rather buy that once than learn the whole system.
If you're in the second list, the plans are just below. If you're in the first, take this page and good luck — that's what it's for.
Want us to do it instead? Here are the plans.
You do not need one of these, and nothing above is locked behind them. A plan is for when you would rather
hand the admin over: we write the CV, send the applications, make the calls, and open the
full listings catalogue so you can apply to accommodation and jobs yourself
with your own documents attached. Memberships are billed weekly for a fixed term —
there is no lump sum up front — and you sign the agreement before anything is charged.
Your client form is already done, so choosing a plan is the next
step: pick a term, sign your service agreement, and your weekly payments start from there. Prices are in New
Zealand dollars and include GST where GST applies.
About this page. This is general information about living in New Zealand, published free by JTR Global OpenWings Limited. It is not legal, immigration, tax, financial or medical advice, and it is not a substitute for the official sources linked throughout. Rules, rates and thresholds change; the government website is always the version that counts. If you spot something on this page that has gone out of date,
tell us and we'll fix it.
