KiwiSaver on a Work, Resident or Working Holiday Visa: Migrant Eligibility

Whether you can join KiwiSaver as a migrant depends on your visa, not on your job or your tax status. New Zealand citizens and people entitled to live here indefinitely can join; people on temporary visas, including work and working holiday visas, cannot. This page covers who is eligible on which visa, what happens if you’re enrolled by mistake, and where to find the rules for leaving New Zealand.

Who Is Eligible for KiwiSaver?

Inland Revenue’s rule has two parts. You can join KiwiSaver if you’re both:

a New Zealand citizen, or entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely, and
living, or normally living, in New Zealand.

It also says, in as many words: “You cannot join KiwiSaver if you have a temporary, visitor, work or student visa.” There is no upper age limit for joining: IRD describes KiwiSaver as open to “New Zealand residents, of any age, whether they are working or not” (IRD: Joining KiwiSaver).

Eligibility by visa type

Status or visa	Can join KiwiSaver?
New Zealand citizen living in NZ	Yes
Resident visa or permanent resident visa, living in NZ	Yes
Australian citizen or permanent resident on an Australian Resident Visa, living in NZ	Yes (the visa lets you stay in New Zealand indefinitely)
Work visa (any temporary category, including post-study work)	No
Working holiday visa	No
Student visa	No
Visitor visa	No

Immigration New Zealand says “An Australian Resident Visa lets you stay in New Zealand indefinitely” (Immigration NZ: Australian Resident Visa), which is why Australians who live here meet the first part of the test.

Temporary visas are excluded, however long they last

The length of a work visa doesn’t change the answer. A two- or three-year work visa, a post-study work visa and a working holiday visa are all temporary visas, so holding one means you can’t join KiwiSaver, even if you pay PAYE and have an IRD number. What changes your eligibility is being granted residence: from then on, if you live in New Zealand, you can join.

Joining Once You Have Residence

If you hold a resident or permanent resident visa and start a new job, your employer will automatically enrol you if you meet IRD’s conditions (for example, you’re aged 18 to 65 and not already a member), and you can opt out between the end of week 2 and week 8 (“on or after day 14, and on or before day 56”, per IRD’s opt-out page). If you’re already in a job when residence is granted, or you’re not working, you can join directly with a provider; the step-by-step guide to how to join KiwiSaver covers both routes.

Once you’re a member, the usual rules apply regardless of how you came to New Zealand:

Your contributions: 3.5%, 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% of gross pay, plus any voluntary lump sums.
Employer contributions: If you're aged 16 or over and under 65, in KiwiSaver and contributing from your pay, your employer must contribute at least 3.5% of your gross pay (unless you're on a temporary rate reduction or in a defined benefit scheme), less employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT).
Government contribution: if you contribute $1,042.86 in a year from 1 July to 30 June, the government adds up to $260.72. The age, income and residence conditions are on the KiwiSaver government contribution page.

See KiwiSaver contribution rates for the full breakdown.

Trade-offs for migrants who may not stay

Staying in KiwiSaver means receiving the employer contribution and, if you qualify, the government contribution. The trade-off is access: savings are generally locked until 65 or a first-home withdrawal, so money you contribute while planning to move on can’t be spent in the meantime, and how you get it out later depends on where you go (see below). The KiwiSaver withdrawal rules list every way to access it early, and is KiwiSaver worth it sets out the wider costs and benefits.

If You’re Enrolled by Mistake on a Temporary Visa

Employers sometimes enrol a new employee on a work or working holiday visa without checking eligibility. If that happens, tell your employer and Inland Revenue. IRD may accept a late opt-out, after the week 2 to week 8 window and up to 3 months after it receives your first contribution, where “you should not have been automatically enrolled” (IRD: Opting out of KiwiSaver). The KiwiSaver opt-out guide walks through the process.

What Happens to Your KiwiSaver When You Leave NZ?

If you leave New Zealand permanently for a country other than Australia, you can apply to withdraw most of your savings once you’ve been gone at least a year, though the government contributions aren’t paid out to you. The rules, evidence and timing are on the KiwiSaver withdrawal when leaving NZ permanently page.

Moving permanently to Australia works differently: your balance can be moved to an Australian super fund rather than cashed out, and Australian super can also be brought into KiwiSaver if you move here. Both directions are covered in KiwiSaver and Australian super transfers.

If you leave temporarily (an OE or an overseas posting), your account stays open and invested while you’re away.

First Home Withdrawals and Tax on Returns

The first-home withdrawal has its own conditions, including the 3-year membership rule; check first home withdrawal eligibility before relying on it.

Your KiwiSaver returns are taxed at your prescribed investor rate (PIR), based on your taxable income over the previous 2 years (transitional residents include their worldwide income when working it out). KiwiSaver PIR rate explained shows the rates and how to tell your provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m on a 3-year work visa. Can I join KiwiSaver? No. A work visa is a temporary visa whatever its length, and IRD says you can’t join on one. You become eligible once you’re granted residence and live in New Zealand.

I’m on a working holiday visa. Can my employer put me in KiwiSaver? No: you’re not eligible, so you shouldn’t be enrolled. If it happens, tell your employer and Inland Revenue; a wrongful automatic enrolment is one of the grounds IRD lists for accepting a late opt-out.

I’ve just been granted residence. What changes? You can now join. If you start a new job you’ll be automatically enrolled if you meet IRD’s conditions (for example, you’re aged 18 to 65 and not already a member); otherwise you can join directly through a provider.

Can I move my NZ KiwiSaver to my home country’s pension scheme? The trans-Tasman arrangement covers Australia only. For other countries, see the leaving NZ withdrawal rules.