Sending Money from Japan to New Zealand: Wise, Revolut, Wire Compared

JPY→NZD is a clean, well-supported corridor. Wise works, the rates are competitive, and most New Zealand bank accounts receive international transfers without friction. The mechanics of sending money home take about ten minutes to set up.

What tends to catch New Zealanders in Japan off guard is everything running in the background. Whether IRD still considers you a NZ tax resident. What is actually happening inside your KiwiSaver — and the withdrawal option almost nobody uses. How years in Japan count (or do not count) toward your eventual NZ Superannuation entitlement.

This guide covers the transfer side and the NZ-specific context behind it.

Service Comparison

Wise

Wise uses the mid-market rate — the same rate shown on Google — and charges a transparent fee upfront.

Typical fees for JPY→NZD (as of early 2026 — verify before transferring):

Approximately 0.4–0.7% of the transfer amount, no hidden spread

On a ¥300,000 transfer (roughly NZD 3,000 at current rates), that is ¥1,200–¥2,100 in fees. NZD is well-supported — delivery to New Zealand bank accounts is typically same-day or next business day.

Best for: Regular monthly transfers of any size. The default choice for most New Zealanders in Japan.

Revolut

Competitive with Wise on weekday transfers. Two things to watch:

Weekend markup: Revolut applies a 1% markup on weekend currency conversions. On a ¥300,000 transfer, that is an extra ¥3,000 on top of regular fees. Schedule large transfers on weekdays.

Plan limits: The free Standard plan includes fee-free exchange up to ¥300,000/month on weekdays. Above that, 0.5% applies. Premium and Metal plans raise or remove the cap.

Best for: Existing paid-plan users making weekday transfers.

Bank Wire (PRESTIA, MUFG, Japan Post Bank)

A SWIFT wire from a Japanese bank to your NZ bank account. Fees typically run ¥3,000–¥5,000 per transfer plus a spread above mid-market. Your NZ bank may also charge an incoming wire fee.

SMBC Trust Bank’s PRESTIA is the best option in this category: English-language service, formal Overseas Remittance Records downloadable online, explicitly designed for documentation needs.

Best for: Large one-off transfers, formal documentation, property transactions.

Rate Comparison at a Glance

Service	Effective cost on ¥300,000	Speed	Best for
Wise	~¥1,200–¥2,100 (0.4–0.7%)	Same day / next day	Regular transfers
Revolut (weekday)	~¥1,200–¥1,800	Hours	Paid-plan users, weekdays
Bank wire	¥3,000–¥5,000 + spread	2–3 business days	Large one-off, formal docs

Illustrative ranges. Verify current rates before transferring.

New Zealand Tax Residency — Two Tests, Not One

Here is the question most New Zealanders in Japan have never formally resolved: does IRD still consider you a New Zealand tax resident?

New Zealand tax residency is determined by two independent tests. You only need to satisfy one to be a tax resident — but you need to clear both to stop being one.

Test 1 — the 183-day rule: If you are present in New Zealand for more than 183 days in any 12-month period, you become a NZ tax resident from the first of those days. Fairly straightforward.

Test 2 — permanent place of abode: If you have a permanent place of abode in New Zealand, you are a NZ tax resident — regardless of how few days you spend there. IRD defines this as somewhere in New Zealand where you habitually reside from time to time. It looks at family, economic, and social ties, as well as your connection to a specific property.

To cease NZ tax residency, both of the following must be true:

You are absent from New Zealand for more than 325 days in any 12-month period
You have no permanent place of abode in New Zealand

A New Zealander who moved to Tokyo but kept a flat in Auckland, maintained a New Zealand bank account, and visits home every year has probably not ceased NZ tax residency — regardless of time spent in Japan.

Why this matters for your Japanese salary:

Non-resident for NZ tax: IRD taxes only NZ-sourced income (rental income, NZ dividends). Your Japanese salary is outside NZ tax.
Still a NZ tax resident: IRD taxes worldwide income including your Japanese salary. The New Zealand-Japan Double Tax Agreement (in effect since 2014) prevents double taxation — Japanese income tax paid offsets your NZ liability on the same income.

Sending money from Japan to your NZ bank account does not create this liability. Your tax position was determined by your residential ties when you left — not by whether you move money home.

Your KiwiSaver While You Are in Japan

KiwiSaver works differently from Australian super or Canadian registered accounts in one key way: you can keep contributing voluntarily from overseas, and the fund stays fully open.

Voluntary contributions from Japan

Unlike Australian super — where the Super Guarantee does not apply to Japanese employers — KiwiSaver does not require employer involvement to stay active. You can make direct voluntary contributions to your KiwiSaver provider from a Japanese bank account at any time.

Whether this makes sense financially depends on your situation. The main benefits of KiwiSaver contributions (employer match, government contribution, first-home withdrawal) all require you to be employed and living in New Zealand. From Japan:

No employer contributions — your Japanese employer has no KiwiSaver obligation
No government contribution — IRD’s annual government contribution (NZD 260.72 maximum, as of 2025/26) requires you to be a NZ tax resident living mainly in New Zealand. From Japan, you generally do not qualify.
No automatic death or income protection insurance — unlike some Australian super funds, KiwiSaver does not include standard bundled life or disability cover. There is nothing to check or maintain on that front.

What you do retain: your balance keeps growing (or shrinking) with the market, fees continue to be charged, and the fund remains open for contributions. If you have a long time horizon and want to keep adding to your retirement balance, voluntary contributions are possible — just with no matching incentive while abroad.

The withdrawal option most people don’t know about

Here is the part that surprises many New Zealanders in Japan: after you have been living overseas for at least 12 months, you may be able to withdraw most of your KiwiSaver balance as a permanent emigration withdrawal — if you have left New Zealand permanently (not Australia, which has different rules and requires transfer to an Australian complying super scheme instead).

The conditions:

At least 12 months have passed since you permanently left New Zealand
You can provide evidence of permanent emigration (employment, address, bank statements)
You must complete a statutory declaration, signed by a notary public or equivalent

What you can withdraw: Most of your balance. Government contributions are excluded — they are returned to the government.

This is not an automatic withdrawal and not necessarily the right choice for everyone. But for New Zealanders who have spent several years in Japan with no intention of returning to New Zealand in the near term, it is an option worth knowing exists.

NZ Superannuation and Your Years in Japan

NZ Superannuation (NZS) is New Zealand’s government pension, paid from age 65. It is residency-based — not contribution-based — which makes the years you spend in Japan more consequential than they might appear.

The residency requirement is getting longer. From 1 July 2024, the minimum years of NZ residence required to qualify for NZS began increasing in stages from 10 years to 20 years by 2042. The requirement depends on your date of birth:

Born before 1 July 1964: no change — 10 years required
Born 1 July 1964 to 30 June 1978: transitional — requirement increases progressively
Born on or after 1 July 1978: eventual 20-year requirement applies

In all cases, at least 5 of those years must have been spent in New Zealand after age 50.

Years in Japan do not count toward NZS. Japan and New Zealand do not have a Social Security Agreement. Unlike the Australian pension (where years of Japanese kosei nenkin contributions can be totalized toward Australian Age Pension eligibility under the Japan-Australia SSA), there is no equivalent mechanism for NZS. Years working and living in Japan count only as years living abroad.

For New Zealanders who move to Japan in their 20s or 30s and spend a significant portion of their working life there, the qualifying years need to be built up through time in New Zealand before or after Japan — not during.

For Working Holiday Visa Holders

New Zealand citizens can enter Japan on a Working Holiday Visa, and since December 1, 2024, NZ nationals can use the Japan WHV twice — two non-consecutive one-year stays over a lifetime. The remittance setup is the same as anyone else — Wise is the cleanest option for regular JPY→NZD transfers.

One WHV-specific point almost nobody mentions:

The Japanese pension lump-sum refund

If you worked as an employee in Japan and contributed to the Japanese pension system (kosei nenkin) for at least 6 months, you may be eligible for a Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payment (脱退一時金, dattai ichiji-kin) when you leave Japan.

The conditions:

You are not a Japanese citizen
You no longer have an address registered in Japan
You apply within 2 years of losing your Japanese address
You have not reached pension-eligible age in Japan

The payment is a portion of your contributions — not the full amount paid in — and Japanese withholding tax applies (typically 20.42%). The payment is based on contribution months, capped at 60 months (5 years).

For New Zealanders, there is no SSA trade-off. Because Japan and New Zealand have no Social Security Agreement, claiming the lump sum does not cost you any NZS totalization credit — there is no totalization mechanism to preserve. Claiming the lump sum is straightforwardly the practical choice for most WHV holders.

Before You Return to New Zealand

If you are planning to move back in the next one to three years, these are worth sorting before you go.

Clarify your NZ tax residency for the return year. The tax year you return to New Zealand may involve a transitional residency period. IRD applies specific rules for individuals re-establishing residency — including a four-year transitional resident exemption for people who have been non-resident for at least ten years, which exempts most offshore passive income from NZ tax during that period. Whether you qualify depends on your specific residency history. An accountant familiar with returning expats handles this correctly.

Decide on the KiwiSaver permanent emigration withdrawal before you return. If you qualify and are considering withdrawing, do it before re-establishing NZ residency. Once you return to New Zealand, the permanent emigration pathway closes. You cannot go back and withdraw under permanent emigration rules after you have moved home.

Plan your KiwiSaver top-up on return. Once you re-establish NZ residency and employment, the full KiwiSaver mechanics resume — employer contributions, government contributions (if income-eligible), and first-home withdrawal eligibility if applicable. If you return with Japanese savings, lump-sum voluntary contributions to KiwiSaver are possible, though the annual contribution caps and government contribution structure mean the calculus is different from a one-time top-up.

If you own NZ property, check the bright-line rules. New Zealand’s bright-line test taxes gains on residential property sold within a specified period. The rules have changed over time — the applicable test period depends on when the property was purchased. If you have owned NZ property while living in Japan, get specific advice before any property transaction.

If you plan to move large savings back and invest soon after returning, coordinate the timing with your accountant. The transfer itself is not the tax event, but the later income on those funds can matter once you are back in the New Zealand tax system.

Claim the Japanese pension lump sum before the 2-year window closes. The clock starts from when you deregister your Japanese address. Start the application promptly after departure.

Recommended Setup

Regular monthly transfers → Wise. Best rate, fastest, no surprises.

Paid Revolut user on weekdays → Wise and Revolut are close — check the rate on the day.

Large pre-return transfer of savings → Wise for most amounts; bank wire via PRESTIA for formal documentation.

On a Working Holiday Visa → Wise for transfers home. Claim the Japanese pension lump sum within 2 years of leaving Japan — no SSA trade-off applies for NZ citizens.

Wondering about the KiwiSaver permanent emigration withdrawal → Check whether 12 months have passed since you left NZ permanently. If yes, the option is open — but close it before you move back.

Not sure about NZ tax residency → Start with the 325-day rule and the permanent place of abode test. IRD’s residency guidance covers both. Accountant second if it is not clear.

Worried about NZS qualifying years → Count your years of NZ residence after age 20 (and especially after age 50). Years in Japan do not count, and the minimum requirement is rising. It is worth knowing where you stand now.

If you want to try Wise, you can sign up with my link and get either a free card or zero fees on a transfer up to ¥75,000, depending on the offer Wise is showing at the time.

If you want to try Revolut, you can sign up free with my link. The free Standard plan currently gives you up to ¥25,000/month of ATM withdrawals with no Revolut fee, weekday FX up to ¥300,000/month with no extra fee, free virtual and single-use cards you can manage in-app, and access to cashback offers with selected online merchants in Revolut Shops.

Key sources: IRD on tax residency status for individuals, IRD on KiwiSaver overseas withdrawals, IRD on NZ tax for residents, IRD on the Japan-NZ Double Tax Agreement, Work and Income on NZ Super and Veteran’s Pension residency changes (2024), Work and Income on Social Security Agreements, Japan Pension Service on the Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payment, Japan Pension Service on Social Security Agreements, Embassy of Japan in New Zealand on Working Holiday Visa, PRESTIA on Overseas Remittance Records. Exchange rates and provider details change over time, so always verify the live rate and current requirements before transferring.