Haskell, who has 40 caps for England and has played in two World Cups, will be first high-profile overseas-based player to turn out for a New Zealand franchise.
Currently playing for the Ricoh Black Rams in Tokyo, Haskell wrote in a blog overnight that he was looking forward to linking with Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph and high-profile players Hosea Gear, Andrew Hore and Jimmy Cowan.
He will also be reunited with former All Black Tamati Ellison, a clubmate at Ricoh who is returning to New Zealand to play for the Highlanders.
"The Highlanders are a really exciting team, who are chocked full of great players, along with some special new signings, like Hosea Gear and Andrew Hore,'' wrote 26-year-old Haskell.
"There is also a small coincidence that one of the people who has made me most welcome in Tokyo, Tamati Ellison, is also moving back to the Highlanders, which should make the transition a little easier for me. At least I will know one of my teammates, and will be able, I hope, to continue to rely on his super wife's cooking, that is already keeping me fuelled in Tokyo.
"One of the opportunities these last two overseas moves have afforded me is the chance to work in different environments with different players. Going to play for the Highlanders will be the same, I'm looking forward to playing with guys like Jimmy Cowan.
"I've always had the luxury of playing with really dangerous attacking 9s, and Jimmy is the same. He always seems to use his forwards in the game to great effect. Add to that the coaching of Jamie Joseph, who is someone I have wanted to work with for a while.
"Speaking to Tamati about his reasons for moving back, he felt that Highlanders are a rebuilding franchise that are only going in one direction, with a new coaching staff and new stadium. The World Cup was a great introduction to life in Dunedin for me and the quiet professional atmosphere is perfect to help me develop my game.
"Playing in New Zealand, will no doubt, be the toughest challenge of my career. But I got a reminder of the scale of the task in hand on Saturday when we lost to Yamaha in a very tiring and hard-fought affair. So I think I'll worry about Japan first before starting to think about the Highlanders.''
While Haskell writes that he is looking forward to returning to Dunedin, it will also be a somewhat controversial reappearance in the city for him.
Haskell is one of the three England players alleged to have made inappropriate comments to a staff member of the team's hotel during the recent World Cup, an incident which occurred in an embarrassing campaign for England who were knocked out in the quarter-finals by France following several off-field controversies.
"I have always dreamed of playing in the Super 15, but until last week I wasn't sure that I would be able to realise that ambition. Aside from Danny Cipriani this is relatively new territory for English players and things seemed to be going so slowly. So when I got the news I almost allowed myself a wry smile at those who questioned whether I would achieve my goal.''
He will hope to have a lower profile season than Cipriani's year with the Melbourne Rebels. Former England test player Cipriani, who will play for the Rebels next season, was stood down and fined by his club over several off-field incidents, including stealing a bottle of vodka from a Melbourne nightclub.
Haskell could be the first high-profile overseas-based player of many to play for a New Zealand Super Rugby franchise, although it's more likely that props will be higher on the priority list for coaches here. With Argentina joining New Zealand, Australia and South Africa in the Four Nations next year, the renowned scrummaging power of the Pumas' front rowers could be in demand, especially among franchises such as the Hurricanes and Chiefs who struggle for depth in this area.
