If you’re an employer recruiting offshore, relocation costs will inevitably come up in conversations with international talent.
Moving to a new job in a new country will leave your new employee out of pocket, and they’ll want to explore how you can help.
Offering a relocation budget is almost a given in this highly competitive market if you want to successfully attract scarce international talent to your company.
How do you decide what’s a reasonable amount to fund?
At Mobile Relocation we work with Kiwi businesses and organisations hiring thousands of expats and migrants.
Our Annual Report on Relocation Costs and Budgets has just been released to our corporate clients.
In this article we share the latest trends in relocation costs.
Relocation budgets typically cover the following items:
Transporting personal effects to NZ (shipping)
Airfares
Temporary accommodation on arrival in NZ
If your business is considering a relocation budget for the first time, you’ll need to understand the actual costs.
If you already have a policy, it’s important to ensure your baseline costings are accurate, otherwise you may no longer be competitive.
Overall, relocation costs remain significantly higher than pre-COVID, and below we break down the trends for each item.
Shipping costs – prices have stabilised, but still significantly higher than pre-COVID
Overall, the rate of increase in shipping costs has stabilised going into 2023. The rampant price inflation caused by COVID-related supply chain disruption, container shortages and increased demand for shipping has eased.
Regionally, we are still seeing slight increases in shipping costs from Australia and the US, while pricing from South Africa, Asia and the UK is stable or has decreased slightly.
Travel costs – prices have increased, but coming down in 2023 as supply increases
In early 2023 airfares were significantly higher than in 2022 but we are continuing to see this ease as airlines increase capacity into New Zealand.
Temporary accommodation costs – price increases of around 10-12%
Inflation and significant increases in demand for temporary accommodation since the border opened have pushed up Airbnb, serviced apartment and hotel prices.
Total costs
Depending on the employee’s family size (single, couple or with children) and country of origin, total relocation costs currently range from NZ$16,000-55,000.
Our next blog will share our findings on the relocation policies typically offered by New Zealand employers.
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If you are a recruiter or HR Professional bringing international talent to NZ Mobile Relocation has a range of settlement support services to suit your candidates and your business - from baseline support to meet Immigration New Zealand’s AEWV Accreditation requirements through to personalised programmes to support your most valued international employees.
To book a demo of our AEWV Resettlement Portal, or to better understand how Mobile can help you to ensure you are offering the right resettlement services for your candidates and your business, contact our Principal Bridget Romanes.
Bridget is a New Zealander who has lived and worked as a diplomat in Singapore and India. After experiencing all facets of the relocation experience, she founded Mobile to work with private individuals moving to NZ and leading local and international businesses bringing in offshore talent.