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Fiji · Relocation guide

Moving to Fiji: work, residence and practical setup

Choose between employer-sponsored work, a qualifying investment, family or study basis, and residence supported by overseas resources. The decisive question is what you will do in Fiji: visitor entry or overseas income alone is not a general permission to work.

Content updated 12 September 2026. Individual source-check dates are listed below.

Choose work or residence before arriving

Fiji Immigration requires a sponsored work application with the mandatory employment and supporting documents. Its current instructions say a person holding a visitor permit must leave Fiji before applying for a work permit. Do not book a one-way move on the assumption that a holiday visit can be converted while you stay.

Residence on assured income is a different route for qualifying applicants with resources outside Fiji; the current new-application page sets a minimum age of 45. Investment, study and family residence have their own evidence and conditions. Select a route for every household member rather than extending the main applicant’s work rights to everyone.

Check the employment and document package

Ask for a signed contract that explains the work, employer, location, salary, accommodation and return-travel responsibility in language you understand. Fiji’s employer instructions require the employment contract and address the employer’s repatriation responsibility. Ask who files and pays for the permit, professional recognition and any dependant applications.

Prepare the passport for the intended permit duration, qualification evidence, medical forms and translations required by the current checklist. Keep the decision and document copies yourself. Do not rely on the employer’s proposed start date as proof that immigration approval has been issued.

Test the place you will actually live

Compare the proposed home with your workplace, school and treatment needs, not just its beach access. Suva-based work and a role in the west of Viti Levu can mean different daily travel and service choices. Test internet and transport at the address before committing to a long lease.

Ask for a written inventory, utility and water arrangements, repair contacts, notice terms and the treatment of the deposit. These are practical safeguards, not a promise of standard tenant protections. Include cyclone preparation and how you would reach safer accommodation if local travel is disrupted.

Arrange cover before closing your previous healthcare

FCDO describes limited healthcare availability and the possibility of evacuation abroad for serious treatment. It also notes that UK visitors have no reciprocal healthcare agreement and hospitals commonly request immediate payment. Do not infer free treatment from a residence or work permit.

Confirm a policy that covers your residence, job, existing conditions and evacuation. Ask a clinician about necessary medicine and treatment continuity. Keep an accessible reserve alongside insurance and establish where each family member can receive care near the planned home.

Obtain the right tax identity and banking evidence

The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service provides individual Taxpayer Identification Number registration. Its instructions cover residents and people with financial or business interests in Fiji. Use an existing TIN if already registered; do not create another identity because you are returning or changing work.

Coordinate the TIN with payroll, then ask the bank for its specific passport, permit, address and source-of-funds evidence. Keep records of days, overseas income and the date your circumstances changed for tax advice. Immigration residence and a TIN are administrative facts, not a complete tax-residence conclusion.

Make the household and transport plan explicit

Get written school-place and support-needs confirmation before shipping the family’s belongings. Ask Immigration what evidence and conditions apply to each dependant. For driving, confirm the resident licensing branch for your issuing country with the authority and insurer before buying a car.

Obtain current destination import conditions before shipping pets or household goods. Keep essential documents and medicine with you rather than inside a container. Budget separately for transport, temporary accommodation and a delayed first salary; these are personal estimates, not government-set costs.

Plan renewals and employer changes early

A different job needs Immigration approval; the work-permit instructions also direct change-of-employment applications from outside Fiji. Ask the authority which sequence applies before resigning or starting with another employer, and do not treat the remaining permit validity as an open work right.

Record the permit, passport and insurance dates separately. For an assured-income application or renewal, preserve the actual resources evidence required for that route. A bank balance or property interest alone does not establish permanent residence or citizenship.

Your moving checklist

Tick off the tasks that apply to you. The timing is a planning order, not a substitute for the deadlines on your permission or an official instruction.

0 of 12 tasks completed

Before you move
On arrival
Your first month
Later and before renewal

Sources and checks

The linked authorities set the rules. VisaAtlas explains how the steps fit together; planning suggestions are not a decision on your immigration status, tax residence or entitlement to services.

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