nooshka85

Hey, i asked this question in the working abroad forum but was told to also ask it here. I'm an electrician in the Uk and have been qualified for over 10 years. I've grown pretty disillusioned with life over here and was weighing up my options to see how easy it would be to transfer my qualifications to New Zealand and how easy it is for me to get an original holiday working visa to see if its something i do actually want to spend my life doing, I'm currently 32 but will probably be coming over when I'm 33. Any help would be much appreciated.

escapedtonz

At the moment WHV's can be granted for 18-35 year olds and there's an unlimited number of them available. They are only for the individual so if you have a partner or kids then they'd also need their own visas.
You can either go for a 12 month or a 23 month visa, but don't bother with the 12 month one. Give yourself the extra time from the start. With either visa you can ONLY work for a total of 12 months and the job cannot be a permanent position.
If you like what you find and an employer is willing to make you a more permanent written job offer when you are here then great, you can use that to apply for a temporary work visa, like an Essential Skills Visa or a Work To Residence Visa etc. That may then lead to a permanent visa.

As for being an electrician there's heaps of work. I've heard of sparky's in Auckland offering work to anyone they come across on a building site to become apprentices and then work towards their registration...and I'm not talking just young lads, but middle aged men, plumbers, gas fitters etc.
To work as a spark you have to be registered with the EWRB. Check out their website. You'll need to send them all your qualification history and work experience and they'll assess your docs and report back with what you have to do in order to become Limited Registration and then fully registered in NZ. You cannot work alone as a spark in NZ without the registration. You can work as a spark without the registration but you must be personally supervised by someone who is fully registered. If you have a limited license you can work alone but your work must be checked by a person who is fully registered. Obviously your registration level will determine your salary.

So, it should be easy to get the visa.
Transferring the qualifications and the registration will be the difficult and costly part. Make sure you are up to date on CPR/First Aid training as I know that is a mandatory requirement, or at least it was when I got in touch with them years ago.

nooshka85

Thanks for the reply thats certainly put a smile on my face, how long does it take to get all this sorted?

escapedtonz

Unable to say. Every application is individual. All depends on the qualifications you have, work experience and any other conditions you may need to meet.

old.sparkles

thanks escapedtonz- I pointed OP in this direction as I don't know enough about NZ visas to help in electricians section, and not everyone passes by that way.

nooshka85

Ok fair enough, thanks. I've read on another forum though that it is only 35 for Canadian citizens and not ones form the UK, is this right? The New Zealand immigration page also looks like it is 30 for UK citizens.

BEVS

NZIS WHV is for 30 yr olds.

I believe BUNAC allows for 35 yr olds. if you have the funds, that would get you here for a while.


Also , you could choose to come on a visitors visa for 6 months to look for work. If you found that you would uplift a temp work permit and apply for an EWRB restricted license --- yes Escaped I know the terminology is not right but I need to cook the tea.

escapedtonz

Hi,
Sorry. Been away for a few days with very limited Internet.

WHV for UK citizens is strictly 18-30 year olds and you can apply for either a 12 month or 23 month WHV. If you go for the 12 month you can extend this in NZ up to 23 months. You can only work for a total of 12 months.

So you appear to be too old. That sucks!

Looks like you gonna need a job offer so you can apply for a temporary work visa or risk it on a visitor visa which is max 6 months from the UK as it's a visa waiver country. You gonna need lots of funds for 6 months living here as you cannot work on a visitor visa. You can apply for a variation to extend this to 9 months but there must be an approved reason for this which is entirely at the discretion of immigration...wanting more time to explore work options wouldn't cut it. Having a job offer and awaiting temporary work visa processing could work.

Foureyedgirl

Give these guys a call - <snip>. Stumbled across them at a trade show. Think they are quite construction focused

christmasoompa

Not sure it's all that surprising that you 'stumbled across them at a trade show' given that you work for them.

Please re-read Site Rule 9, thx.