I am moving back to New Zealand

If you're living, studying or working in New Zealand long-term, you're considered New Zealand-based. This means you're entitled to an interest-free student loan and your loan repayments are based on your income.

Working out when you become New Zealand-based

Working out exactly when you become New Zealand-based can get complex, especially if you're travelling a lot. You can use our 'Overseas travel calculator' to find out when your status will change based on your overseas travel. To get to the calculator in myIR, go to your student loan account and select 'More', then 'Travelling overseas'.

When you return to New Zealand, after 183 days, you'll:

• become New Zealand-based if you're back in New Zealand for at least 152 of those 183 days
• remain overseas-based if you're out of New Zealand for at least 32 of those 183 days.

If you're back for more than 152 days, but less than 183 days before leaving again, you may still be considered overseas-based. Contact us so we can discuss your situation.

If you become New Zealand-based, your student loan will be interest-free from the day you arrived back in New Zealand.

Travel details in myIR

The 'Travelling overseas' section in myIR makes it easier to keep track of how long you're away from New Zealand and calculate when interest is charged. You'll find this section under the 'I want to...' menu in your student loan account. 

You can also check the dates you travel to or from New Zealand. This only shows the date you travelled into or out of the country and does not include information about where you travelled.

Log in to myIR

Your repayments will be based on how much you earn each year

Your student loan repayments are based on your yearly income (before tax) when you become New Zealand-based.

Living in New Zealand with a student loan