Learning the ropes
 

I have been to NZ 3 times and have family there. My wife is a Teacher and we have been told we have enough points. We have just appointed an Emigration specialist, mega expensive, can anyone give me feedback on using an emigration specialist. Don't mind absolute honesty I am strong enough to take it.

Re: Learning the ropes
 

save your money and do it yourself, you have to provide all the paperwork and basically they just shuffle them into the correct order. Plus they are a middle man so you get to hear things second hand which prolongs the process. Unless you are going to have a problem with the application then you would need a specialist anyway.
Teacher is not on the skills list and there is a glut of home grown teachers looking for full time work, she may be lucky and get offered a position in a place no home grown wants to go to but there in lies the problem, home grown don't want to go there.

check out the immigration sticky in the Immigration section above and check out the points calculator yourself. things changed in August this year

Re: Learning the ropes
 

Don't use one.

You can check up your points online yourself and carry out ALL the necessary activities. Unless you get pushback on something (medical or criminal history), just save the fees in case you actually need an immigration lawyer.

Ask away on here, we've done the process and happy to help point you to the right place on the Immigration NZ site to find the right info.

Re: Learning the ropes
 

Hi there and welcome to are friendly NZ forum.

My suggestion would be that you hold your horses a bit & do not pay for an immigration agent or consultant until you know a bit about the immigration visas and policies . If you know there may be an issue over health or character requirements then yes, there may be a need.

When you say you have enough points would that be with our without a job offer please?

If you haven't looked at points yourself yet, have a go with the official NZ immigration points calculator and indicator.
Click this link & come back to us with what you find.

Any queries or questions get back to us.

Re: Learning the ropes
 

Completely agree with this x a complete waste of money it isnt a difficult process and a few phone calls to immigration NZ wont cost you anywhere near as much as paying someone to do paperwork which is straight forward...

Re: Learning the ropes
 

If you can fill out forms then you don't need to pay someone else to do it for £1000's.

Re: Learning the ropes
 

What is "mega expensive?"

I am usually in favour of appointing an agent, especially if one is unsure of the visa process or (as BEVS noted) there may be some curveballs in the applicant's file.

Moving to New Zealand will be one of the most expensive things you ever undertake. Aside from the visa fees once you get there almost everything you own will need to be re-purchased, you will need a large reserve of start-up funds, and it may be a while before you get jobs and have income coming in. People's eyes often pop out of their heads when they see the cost of an agent, but that is just a tiny fraction of what this move overall is going to cost (UNLESS "mega expensive" is "mega expensive" for an agent).