Going overseas
If you get any payments from us, you may need to tell us about your travel plans before you leave New Zealand. It depends what payments you get from us. Going overseas may also affect your payments.
Getting NZ Super or Veteran's Pension
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Find out what happens to your payments when you travel overseas for 26 weeks or less
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Find out what happens to your payments when you travel overseas for more than 26 weeks.
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Find out what happens to your payments if you move overseas permanently.
Getting a main benefit
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Find out what happens to your benefit if you travel overseas temporarily.
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Find out what happens to your benefit if you move overseas permanently.
Getting other payments
If you're getting other payments from us, they may be able to continue. It depends if you're going overseas temporarily or going overseas to live.
Examples of other payments are:
- Unsupported Child's Benefit
- Orphan's Benefit
- Accommodation Supplement
- Disability Allowance
- Temporary Additional Support
- Winter Energy Payment
Going overseas temporarily
You may be able to continue to get these payments for up to 28 days while you're overseas.
You must continue to meet the criteria for the payment while you're overseas. This means your costs, e.g. accommodation or disability costs, must be continuing while you're overseas. If you don't continue to meet the criteria, your payment will stop when you leave New Zealand.
How to tell us
You can tell us online using MyMSD. You need to log in and select the 'Something has changed' option.
If you have a partner and they're travelling with you, they'll need to tell us using their own MyMSD.
You need to tell us the:
- date you're leaving New Zealand
- date you're expecting to arrive back in New Zealand
- reason for the travel - you have to provide proof of this.
Going overseas to live
If you're going overseas to live, your other payments will stop from the day after you leave New Zealand.