Nomaddownunder

Hi all,

I had hoped to have a smooth migration to Australia with my Australian partner of almost 4 years. We met in London after a while we did a tour of New Zealand (I was on a working holiday visa) in 2001. Then we came to Australia and the plan was that she was going to sponsor me as my de-facto partner.

Now, having got the medical and got the police checks and got other evidence she has decided she does not want to do it (big aaah please). As much as I hate what has happened (really don't want to go into that here) I do not want to go back to the UK. Would much rather stay in Oz or preferably in NZ.

I'm in IT (10 years experience though not overly qualified), just past 32, have funds. At this point I just want to find work in NZ.

As a UK passport holder I can go there for up to 6 months as a visitor can't i? Is it possible to change that to a work visa while there?

Any suggestions, help would be really appreciated.

Richard

Don

You can do that but remember you are officially going as a tourist - if you say to Immigration at the airport that you'll look for work while in NZ they'll send you home. You can also easily extend your stay by 3 months when you're there.

If you are offered appropriate work while you are there (ie meets www.immgration.govt.nz criteria) then it's straightforward to get a work visa and this can often be converted to residence (PR, ie work to residence) after a couple of years.

Cheers - Don