Moving to Ireland from New Zealand: 2025 Relocation Guide for NZ

Ireland is a dynamic and exciting country, with famously friendly people and good opportunities for work and study. If you’re considering moving to Ireland from New Zealand to work, study or to join your family who are already there, you’ll need to get your visa and permits all set up in advance.

The process of relocating to Ireland from New Zealand isn’t hugely complicated as long as you meet the relevant eligibility rules - but you will need to take some time to plan your move to make sure it all passes off smoothly. This guide looks at the basics of immigrating to Ireland from New Zealand, and highlights the Wise Account as a great way to manage your money as you move.

Ireland Visa for New Zealand Residents

You don’t need a visa to travel to Ireland with a New Zealand passport. However, you do need a visa to stay in Ireland in the longer term, or to work or study there.

Generally you’ll need to apply for your long stay visa from New Zealand which means getting everything sorted out before you travel.

The most popular long term visas for Ireland are for work, study, or to join family members who are already in Ireland. The process for each of these long term visa types is different, but there’s lots of information available on the website of the Irish Embassy in New Zealand¹ which can help point you in the right direction.

Irish Immigration Requirements

To give an example of how the process might work for relocating to Ireland from New Zealand let's take the example of moving there to work.

To work in Ireland, you need to first get an employment offer and then be approved for an Employment Permit issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). Once you have this, you can then apply for your visa online. You’ll need to apply using the following documents²:

• Passport and recent passport photos
• Employment contract or a letter from your employer
• Application form covering your personal details
• Medical or travel insurance
• Evidence of qualifications and finances
• Employment Permit from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

You can apply for a long stay employment visa up to 3 months before you travel to Ireland, so getting everything arranged early is a smart plan to minimize last minute worries.

Bear in mind that the process for getting your visa looks different depending on the type of visa and the activities you expect to undertake when you arrive in Ireland, so you’ll need to look carefully through the information available online at an early stage in your planning.

Moving to Ireland checklist

Moving right across the world is no small matter and will need some very thorough planning. We’ll walk through some of the important things to think about before and after your physical relocation next, to help you on your way to the Emerald Isle.

Before You Leave New Zealand

It’s likely that you will have to apply for your visa or permit for Ireland before you travel. Even though you can enter Ireland without a visa, you can only apply for most long stay visas from your country of residence. Here are a few important things to think about while you’re planning your move:

• Research and apply for visa based on what you intend to do in Ireland - this may be done about 3 months before you move
• Set up accommodation for your arrival in ireland - while you can sort out more permanent arrangements once you’re there, you need a place to stay initially
• Compare providers and plan your relocation, including shipping household and personal goods, flights and pet relocation if needed
• Check if you need to update any vaccinations before you travel
• Get health insurance - this is likely to be needed for your visa
• You may decide to get an international driving license before you travel, depending on your intentions when you arrive

Upon Arrival in Ireland

Your Irish visa or permit will not guarantee you entry to the country - you’ll still need to provide the border control personnel your paperwork to show you’re eligible. Make sure you have all the documents you used for your application in your hand luggage, and then get ready to work through these important tasks:

• Arrange rental accommodation, phone services, utilities, internet and so on
• Open a bank account or a multi-currency digital account which lets you manage EUR as well as NZD in one place
• There’s a large expat community in most cities in Ireland - connect with others who’ve relocated to build a local support network
• Register with a doctor and dentist and check where the closest hospitals are for emergencies
• Familiarise yourself with your local area - if you’re in Ireland through work or study your employer or educational institute may help

How much money does it cost to move to Ireland from NZ?

The costs of your move will depend a lot on how you arrange everything. Having a relocation agent support you with packing and shipping your things, sourcing accommodation and settling in will cost far more than simply putting your things into a rucksack and hopping on a plane.

If you’re shipping household goods you can expect a full shipment to take 6 to 8 weeks, and a partial load to take longer - make sure you've got a plan in place while your things are on the ocean. Here are some other things to budget for when you arrange your move:

• Packing services if you choose to use them
• Shipping costs for household and personal goods
• Flights and initial living expenses for you and your family
• Pet relocation if needed
• Accommodation on arrival and until you arrange permanent housing

Moving with Pets?
Learn more about the costs of pet relocation in our handy guide.

Cost of Living in Ireland

In the Wise cost of living index, Ireland ranks as the 14th most costly place to live, just one place behind New Zealand which comes in at number 13.

These stats are based on an average cost of living, looking at things like housing, food, transport, entertainment and more. As New Zealand and Ireland are fairly similar in costs on average there shouldn’t be too much of a huge shock when you arrive - but expect some differences in cost when you get down to individual items.

Get an idea of how the cost of living in Ireland compares with New Zealand, in the Wise cost of living by country index.

Open an Irish bank account as a NZ Expat

Managing finances as an expat in Ireland is easier when you have a local account to hold and manage euro payments. Get a guide on how to open an Irish bank account as a NZ expat, including a look at top banks for foreigners, in the Wise guide to the top banks in Ireland.

The good news is that you don’t need to wait until you arrive in Ireland to start managing your money in EUR. Instead, open a Wise Account to hold, receive, send, spend and exchange EUR as well as NZD. In total Wise supports holding for 40+ currencies, and payments to 140+ countries around the world, making this the ideal international account for Ireland and anywhere else you’re heading. View your account and transactions with just your phone and spend with a multi-currency debit card at home and abroad. Wise uses the mid-market exchange rate for currency conversion with low, transparent fees - so you’ll get a good deal whether you’re spending euros or dollars.

Moving your Money to Ireland from New Zealand

No matter when you decide to exchange your dollars to euros before your move, you want to get a good exchange rate. In particular, watch out for currency conversion markups on money exchange places such as airport money exchange shops. If you’re already in the airport you’re likely to be best off just waiting until you arrive in Ireland and then getting your euros at an ATM in the airport.

Withdraw from your Wise Account with transparent exchange fees and the mid-market rate, and no Wise fee for the first couple of withdrawals monthly. Just add money to your account in NZD, and convert to EUR in the Wise app. Or leave the linked card to do the conversion for you when you spend. There are no extra fees to pay to spend a currency you hold in your account, and you only pay low fees from Wise whenever you exchange.

Open your Wise Account

Moving your KiwiSaver Savings to Ireland

If you’re planning to move to Ireland permanently you might want to withdraw your KiwiSaver savings. You won’t need to wait until you’re 65 to do this - but you will need to prove you’ve left the country permanently to get your money.

Contact your KiwiSaver provider after you’ve left New Zealand to discuss their withdrawal process and get the permanent emigration withdrawal form. You can then submit this with a signed statutory declaration which confirms your permanent emigration from New Zealand, as well as supporting evidence like your flight tickets or your passport and Irish visa or permit.

Complete guide to withdrawing your Kiwisaver savings overseas 👉

Start your Irish journey with Wise

Open a Wise Account to hold a balance in EUR and make EUR payments even before you leave New Zealand. You can add funds in NZD easily, and then spend with your linked debit card. You’ll automatically get currency conversion at the mid-market rate and low, fair fees - and you're ready to tap to pay like a local when you land.

Get Started with Wise

Plus Wise makes it easy to send money back home to New Zealand for those ongoing bills, and you can simply swipe your card for NZD spending when you go back home to visit.

Make life easier with your move to Ireland with our guide to getting started - and with a Wise Account to hold, send, receive, spend and exchange euros and New Zealand dollars side by side.