Homeschooling in Auckland and Doing Business in Auckland, New Zealand

Homeschooling in Auckland is perfectly legal, and currently over 6000 students study outside of formal schools and institutions. In order to homeschool your son (if he's between the age of 6 and 16), you'll need to get a "Certificate of Exemption" from the NZ Ministry of Education (MOE). This document essentially proves that you're covering all the subjects that the government believes should be covered, though, you don't need to adhere to the NZ curriculum. 

Call the MOE and ask them for a homeschool information pack. Then answer the questions and submit with a completed application form. Processing time is usually around three weeks, and you can expect that a visitor from the Education Review Office will come out to your house after a couple of months to ask your student a bunch of questions about their education. 

If you have any questions, I would recommend you get in contact with the Home Education Foundation (though they're a Christian body) they can still answer any questions you would likely have even about a secular style of education. 

Otherwise, I don't see why there would be any problem with continuing your business, but I would suggest consulting a lawyer who specialises in expat tax, so you can figure out if you can avoid taxation for profit you make in both NZ and your home country. 

Average: Select ratingCancel ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome

Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)

Yes, as Stephanie said, there are quite a number of people who opt to home-school their kids. For some people it's just a preference but for some it's a necessity as they are working and living on remote farms where the nearest school may be a days travel away! For this reason, I think the MOE has tried to make the process relatively simple. And what a cool experience to spend a year overseas as a kid! I would write some geology into the lesson plan as New Zealand is somewhat of a geologist's Mecca. Weather patterns and agriculture would also be lessons for which you would find ample teachable moments!

I'm sorry I don't know much about doing business in New Zealand. Maybe contacting New Zealand's IRD (Inland Revenue Department) would be a starting point?

All the best
Johanna

Average: Select ratingCancel ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome

Your rating: None