Luuke91

Hi all,
So I'm planning to move to NZ early next year for a couple of years after the sale of my house completes. I'll plan to do a bit of travelling for a month or so then settle somewhere to find some work. I don't have a trade as such but a lot of office experience especially in financial services but I'm happy to have a go at anything.
I'm posting this to really get any advice that I can take with me when I do finally go over, best place to base myself, will it be easy to find some accommodation and hopefully to make a few friends on here I'm a 26 year old guy from the UK, I've spent some time in Asia a few years ago so I'm used to living abroad but I'm a little nervous about chucking myself at the deep end in a country where I don't know anybody.? Any advice will be appreciated Thanks guys
Luke X

garethwm

Hi. A lot of young people on working holiday visas go fruit picking, particularly during the summer months. You can then experience living in a beautiful seaside area like Bay of Plenty or Hawkes Bay or top of South Island and go to the beach or have a look around on days off. Plus always plenty of work for 3 or 4 months. Or in the cities a lot do bar or restaurant work. Maybe base yourself in Auckland initially as this will be easiest to find work, then plan to move to other areas once you get the lay of the land and after talking to people and making contacts.

MrsFychan

On the WHV you can stay for 23months but you can only actually work 12months of those 23.

Without a skill that NZ needs I doubt you would be able to uplift a work visa that would allow you to work or stay any longer.
You will need to check out the Immigration website after the 14th August for the new updates to Immigration entry.

bassking

I did pretty much the same thing except I decided to stay here permanently. Auckland has a reasonable financial services sector with temporary roles available. Not sure if you plan to go straight into work or to travel the country for a bit, but worth looking on Seek.co.nz and making contact with a few agencies for roles related to your experience. If you think you might want to remain beyond your visa, some employers can sponsor you for various types of visa for full time positions.

MrsFychan

Can I please point out when bassking says a Company can sponsor you that is technically not true. A Company can be accredited which means that they have gone through lots of loop holes with Immigration themselves and have got accreditation which allows them to hire from outside the country. The other option for a company, that is not accredited, is to show that they have exhausted all avenues in filling the position within the whole of NZ itself and cannot. So as I said previously unless you have a skill that is a requirement within NZ please do not expect that you will be able to uplift a more permanent visa. Don't want to be giving you false hope.

Kotare

Have a look at 'Helpx' and 'Workaway' but that is 20 hrs/wk unpaid for bed and food.

simonsi

Personally I'd be nervous about selling out of the UK property market if you even might want to return - and you don't seem to have a rock solid visa route to anything other than a NZ holiday.

Heed Mrs F's advice and don't rely on being able to obtain any longer-term work visa.

BEVS

I agree with both the above.

At 26 you are young & should absolutely be travelling the world whenever and wherever you can.

I'm sure you will be able to pick up some working holiday visa type of work for a part of your time here and make friends along the way.

Are you managerial level?

Pom_Chch

Hi Luke,

Check out Backpackers Board for jobs too: Backpacking New Zealand Travel Guide, Backpacker Hostels, Jobs, Tours, Working Holiday

If you've spent time in Asia, NZ will be a doddle! Come over, explore and have the time of your life. NZ is a fantastic place to travel around