1.
CFO PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION SEMINAR / GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING PROGRAM
If you are travelling with a WTR visa, you don’t need to provide an OECD certificate from the
POEA BUT you do need to get an exit clearance from the
Commission on Filipinos Overseas, a sticker that they will affix on your passport right after you attend the pre-dep seminar which lasts for about 4 hrs.
Their general rule is to accommodate only those who have valid visas but you may plead your case with them (e.g. you already received advice from the
NZIS that you will receive approved visas within 7 days), attend the seminar and return for the
CFO sticker once you retrieve your passport/visa from the
NZIS.
2. BOOKING A FLIGHT
Even if you’re still waiting for your visas to be returned by the
NZIS, do book your flight early, preferably a month before your planned departure to avail of cheaper fares with 40 kgs baggage allowance.
Airlines allowing 40kgs / pax, include
Qantas,
Royal Brunei and
Singapore Airlines with fares ranging from PHP 32,000 – 39,000, but you do need to provide a copy of visa / cfo clearance upon ticketing.
To book your flight, you may contact Ms. Anee Mendoza of Transnational Travel & Tours Inc. (Tel: 5337731/ 8940974 / 7533388; CP: 0917-8597400; email: trans.anee@gmail.com). She’s used to handling clients with WTR visas and is herself a member of the pinoyz2nz group.
3. BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE
It is wise to weigh your luggage bags before checking in at the airport. The airlines mentioned may allow you a 40kg baggage allowance as first time travelling migrants but they are strict in enforcing the 40kg allowance. Each kg in excess may cost you USD 28 (in the case of Brunei Air). They will also weigh your handcarry bag – you are allowed to carry upto 7 kgs only. You will be asked to transfer the excess weight to your check in luggage and you would not want to experience the hassle and embarrassment of having to stand back in line, transferring stuff from one bag to the another.
4. WHAT TO BRING
If you’re into local brands and you think you’ll have a hard time finding clothes and shoes that would fit you well in NZ, try loading your luggage with it. You may also want to include a pair of thermal clothing from Greenhills and prescription meds. No need to stuff your luggage with soap, shampoo, lotion, kitchenwares, etc. – you can buy them cheap at
the Warehouse,
K-mart,
Pack n Save,
Foodtown. Just visit these stores and compare the prices, you will observe that some items they sell cost almost the same as the ones we have in the Phils. For vitamins and cosmetics (for the ladies), you have a lot to choose from at pharmacies and the Farmers.
5. SIM CARD and PHONE LOAD
If you don’t have a roaming capacity with your smart or globe connections or you just want to shift to the local telecom provider right away, you may buy a sim card at a
Vodafone booth right after you exited the airport. A sim card costs about NZD 35 and you may top up (buy load) for as low as NZD 10 (I think), the load expires in a year. You can top up your phone in many shops, like star malls (convenience shops), shopping malls, etc.
6. BOOKING INITIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
Start scouting for a place even while you’re still in the Phils. Try the
trademe.co.nz website to look for the type of accommodations you want (flatting, apartment, studio, etc.). It provides search options for the number of rooms, location, and rental cost range. Ads in trademe though are posted by realty agents, so if you want to deal directly with the owners, try browsing the NZ Herald for real property ads on Wednesdays and Fridays (you’ll find the most ads during these days).
It is better, though, to check out the place first before you decide to rent them. Most often, the pictures posted are not the same as the actual place you will rent and the advertised price is about 35 to 50 NZD less than the actual rental cost. Plus, you need to talk personally to the owners or the agents about the add on costs such as the utility fee, energy fee and you need to find out if the place is accessible by bus / train and check for its proximity to markets, schools (if you have kids), church, etc.
Reasonable rates for a comfortable decent unit in the Auckland suburbs costs about NZD 175 – 250 / wk. Rental here is on a per week basis and before you move in, you may need to pay the following costs, for rental of -- say a 200/wk unit:
Utility fee 200
Cleaning / key bond 250 (refundable on departure if you haven’t vandalized the room)
Adv. Weekly Rental 200
Total 650
So, if you are coming to NZ without a friend or relative to provide you initial shelter, you may want to book for a few nights at a backpackers inn while checking out the house / apartment where you will eventually stay and take care of the more urgent things like opening a bank account, setting-up a post box and applying for an IRD.
A bedspace at a backpackers inn costs about NZD 15-20 but if you need a little privacy and decide to book a double room for you and your spouse, you may need to shell out around NZD 65 to 69 / night. If you book for 6 nights, you’ll get the 7th night for free. Check out the room rates of Queenstreet backpackers or Nomads Fusion Backpackers. They are along Fort Street, Auckland Central, walking distance to banks, post office and the Westfield mall where you will find the Warehouse, that provides the most affordable prices for basic necessities.
7. TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT
If nobody’s picking you up at the airport, you may take the bus or train from the airport to the place where you will be staying. Check out www.maxx.co.nz to find the most convenient time, mode and route for you and also to have an idea of the fare.
You may also call the Discount Taxi Ltd at 529 1000 at a public phone in the airport, inform them of your destination and ask for the fare rate. Most taxis would charge around NZD 50 to 65 from the airport to Auckland central but Discount taxis usually charge only NZD 35 for the same distance. Backpackers hotel usually have arrangements with the taxi company so it would help if you mention the name of the inn where you will be staying.
8. MONEY MATTERS
Opening an account here is very easy and fast. You may have to go to ANZ bank though coz ASB does not accept applications by a holder of a WTR visa with less than 6mos validity.
If you happen to visit the ANZ branch along Queenstreet, look for Devika. She handles the accounts of a lot of Filipinos and will help you fill out the forms, offer advice on how to manage your funds, etc. Since almost all cash transactions here are done using EFTPOS (cash card), she’ll probably suggest you get both the EFTPOS and a savings (?) account. You can use the EFTPOS everywhere from buying food to purchasing train tickets. You may use the backpackers address in opening an account.
I would like to share the contact details of our fellow Pinay who is glad to assist residents/incoming migrants (like us) who works in
ANZ Bank in St. Lukes Branch Auckland.
ROSALIE "ROS" NARCISO CAGUIAT
ANZ Bank
St. Lukes Branch Auckland
098155228 (ANz St. Lukes)
0212681727 (Cell #)
095278277 (Home #)
rosaliecaguiat (ym id)
By the way, you may also open a bank account before coming to NZ. Just email the ANZ bank (website:
www.anz.co.nz) and ask them to open an account for you. You may not access the account though until you appear personally in NZ to activate the account.
You may carry cash to NZ and need not declare it at the airport as long as it does not exceed NZD 10,000. It is safer to travel with travellers checks though (and no need to declare at the NZ immigration) and banks here offer higher exchange rates for TCs than currencies such as USD. They have a blanket charge of NZD 5 for conversion of USD or TCs, regardless of the amount.
Good news! You may also use your bancnet, mastercard and cirrus-cards here. To withdraw money using cirrus cards, they say you have to pay NZD 7 for each transaction.
9. POST BOX
One of the urgent things that the NZIS advises migrants to do upon arrival is to set up a post box, the address of which you may use in applying for an
IRD number. You may use the backpacker’s address in the postbox application and be prepared to produce another form of identification with pix such as your Phil driver’s license, should they require you to do so.
A rental period for one year costs about NZD 135. To check the location of the nearest postshop, visit
www.nzpost.co.nz.
10. IRD NUMBER
After setting up a post box, you may apply for an
IRD number in the same post office, using your new post box address. You will receive your number in about 7 to 10 working days.
Good luck with the preparations!
