Nikkilaw

Hi Everyone,

Please help me as I feel like I am going insane thinking about the same queries on immigration over and over again and getting nowhere in-between work and childcare and trying to figure this out.

Basically my husband and I are intent on emigrating to NZ (Wellington in particular) and are very much hoping to do this by the end of 2016 with our two young children (3 yrs and almost 1).

I have been trying to get a transfer with my job as I am an accountant at a multi national firm but this is unlikely to take off with the timescales we have in mind so I have begun to look outside of my current employer.

Initially when looking at Visa's I thought the Skilled migrant residence one would be the best option with me being the main applicant and adding my family and kids onto this. On the points system I would have more than 140 if I had a job offer in place.

I have contacted a couple of finance recruitment agents in NZ who have said they cannot help me with a job search unless I have a valid Visa in place to work in NZ or are over there. I'm quite confused with this as I cannot apply for this visa unless I have a job offer and I cannot get a finance agent helping me unless I have a Visa! Does this sound right?

Also, I am nervous that my own job search is going slower than I expected and so timing wise with trying to get the residence Visa and hence needing to line up medicals, qualifications assessed and police checks, my hope of being there in 2016 seems to be unrealistic as I cannot do these things until I do the EOI form and cannot do that until I have enough points which I wont have unless I have a job offer....

Feel like I am going round in circles and don't know where to start.

Lastly, looking at other types of Visa, the work to residence/ work from residence (not sure what the difference is on these two) seem perhaps more achievable in timescales but I have read that for these you also need a job offer so please can anyone explain why you would get one of these rather than a skilled migrant residence visa?

In an ideal world my family and I would come to NZ and I would look for a job whilst over there so things were much easier. We do have the money to come and support ourselves for a while as we have sold an investment property we had ready for our big move but it doesn't seem we are allowed to do this and instead have to get a job first. Feeling very beaten down by this all

Sorry for long winded explanation!

Bo-Jangles

It is a vicious cycle and unless you are really specialized in something unique I doubt you would get an accounting role whilst outside of the country. There's not any shortage of home grown candidates to fill roles and in reality we rarely hear of many people other than some IT specialists and some medical professions on these boards having been successful in securing such a job offer.

NZ employers are compelled to have advertised widely and exhausted all possibilities of recruiting anyone suitable from NZ before offering a job to a non-Kiwi (employers have to be accredited to search out candidates from overseas and this is usually due to some extreme shortages in local talent)

LittleGreyCat

I think employers are looking for a certain level of commitment.

It is very easy to get fed up with your job in the UK and apply for a job in NZ with minimal thought, and little intention of carrying anything through.

So they like people to make the effort and come to NZ (even for a short while) to show a commitment - including a realisation of how expensive it all can be.

I would be nervous of employing someone who had never even made the effort to come and see the country.

So it seems there is a Catch22; you can't get an interview unless you are in NZ and you can't get a work visa without a job interview and offer.

One way is to come over on a tourist visa with the aim of applying for jobs and interviewing.

Some people do this with the intention of converting from tourist to work visa and staying on, others may go back home and use the job offer to obtain a work visa.

Nothing happens quickly - how long do you think it might take to get a transfer within your firm?

I assume you are planning to move before the kids start school to minimise disruption for them. Or is there another driver for you to move by the end of 2016?

MrsFychan

Accountant is seen as a skilled job in NZ but it is not in shortage. You would have to gain a job offer from an accredited firm to be able to uplift a visa. that visa would be the work to residency visa. this enables you to work in NZ for two years (with the same employer or you will have to inform immigration of change) then apply for residency near the 2 year mark. As the WTR visa is seen as a temp visa the paper work takes less time to process

BEVS

Insane is not good but you do join our club for we are all barking.


This would be your best bet from what I can briefly see. Adjusting timescales in the grand plan of life is not so bad if you hope to make NZ your forever home.

& therein lies the difficulty for many hopeful migrants. They are unable to gain enough points for a guaranteed pull from the pool and a quality application.

Yup. Companies prefer boots on ground and NZ experience.
If you gained a job offer from an accredited employer you would go for Work To Residency because you can. It's quicker and it means you get to be here and working.

There would be nothing to stop you applying for residency via the skilled migrant category once here and working if you wished to spend the money on added fees. Otherwise it is a two year wait whereby things can change.

You start by looking hard at the timeline you have set yourself and whether you will adjust this to gain a new life in New Zealand.

If you are guaranteed a job transfer with your current company then this seems the best bet.


I know. So many of us have had to compromise on our ideal in order to get here.

Nikkilaw

Thanks everyone for your comments, this is very useful indeed!

Yes my timescale in mind is driven by not wanting to put my eldest child in school here in the UK and then up-root him to the other side of the world and straight into a new school. I would prefer to move over and have a few months to settle before he then has to start school.

I really like my job so doing this move with my current employer would be perfect but the transfer is not guaranteed and I started discussing it with them almost 1 1/2 years ago so it's just really me thinking how long can I wait and will it actually every happen, no one can guarantee anything. I am still very much trying to pursue this option though.

I completely understand the point of putting your money where your mouth is and going over to NZ to try to gain a job. I have been before and feel in love with the place which is where this has all come from. However to get a tourist visa I am under the impression that I would have to prove that I was coming for a holiday and not a job search and hence will need to book return tickets home and have hotel bookings for my time in NZ. This wouldn't be bad if it were just me but for a family of four and then once I have a job having to incur this expense again, we are talking several thousand pounds.

Is it ok to use a tourist visa for a job search?

LittleGreyCat

People have done this - come on a tourist visa to interview.
I did it in the 1980s but that was a long time ago!!

You do need an onward ticket (not sure if it has to be a return ticket) to come in as a tourist. There is, of course, the risk that you may not get an acceptable job offer so a return ticket might be wise.

It might be worth making outline plans, then contacting prospective employers in NZ and telling them that you will be in the country at such a date and would like to meet and discuss employment. Or if you find jobs, apply making it clear that you will be available for interview.

We have been to NZ as tourists and there was no requirement to show that you had accommodation booked. Which was just as well as we booked more or less by the day.

MrsFychan

the other option, what MrF did and I have seen a few others do, is for you to come over for a couple of weeks and attend interviews.