working in NZ until work permit is sorted
 

Hi,

I heard that you can stay in NZ while applying for a work permit/permanent residency.

I assume you can work during this time? is that right?

How long does it typically take to get the work permit/permanent residency?

If you have a NZ work permit can you work in Australia too? How easy is it to do this?

Is there an NHS equivalent there or is it all private care (and if so how much is this typically?)

I am going to NZ on holiday in December, do you need to tell the authorities beforehand that you plan to stay until you get a work permit, or can you just go for a holiday and then tell them once you are there?

Thanks,

Dave C.

Incorrect - you can only work in NZ with a work permit or after you have been granted PR and have the PR permit in your passport.

It typically takes 3-6 months to get PR except for New Delhi applications which have a long backlog at the moment. Getting a work permit is quicker.

You can't work in Aus with a NZ work permit (but NZ citizens can work in Aus).

There is a NZ version of the NHS.

If you go to NZ on a visitor visa, you must not go with the intention of finding work - if you state this at immigration you will likely be sent back where you came from.

thanks
 

Thanks for you help.

Long long, typically does it take to get a work permit? Also can you apply for both work permit and PR?

Thanks,

Dave C.

mistake
 

I mean how long?

London? A few days provided paperwork is in order. (Working Holiday Visa, which is also a work permit, available over the counter.)

Yes, you can apply for work visa and PR at the same time but should make it clear to your PR case officer what you are doing. For London applications this dual application is mostly unnecessary (unless the job offer will lapse) because if you have the right job offer (ie which gives you the points needed for PR), there's no point applying for a work visa when you can get PR instead; if not, it's a waste of money applying for PR.

Thanks , that is very helpful.

I've been offered a job in NZ but my current work visa expires at the end of November.

Since there's a 6 week backlog in work permit applications at my local Immigration Service office, Auckland, at the moment, it seems I could be required to return to the UK and wait until the permit is issued before I can return to NZ and resume working for the company which has offered me a job.

However, the company tells me that I can stay in NZ and keep working for them unless told otherwise by the Immigration Service. This seems crazy to me, as I have been moving around and there's no way the Service would know where I am now to contact me. On the other hand, it seems even crazier to have to go back to the UK and wait while the bureaucrats pull their finger out and issue the permit.

Should I just stay here and keep working?

Is the immigration service designed to deter migrants, or am I getting paranoid???

Thanks,

Ben

I think you need to do a bit of telephoning around. Other posters have confirmed that Auckland NZIS office is very busy right now but that elsewhere, eg NZIS Hamilton, Christchurch, you can get a work permit on the same day as you apply provided the paperwork is correct. Why not telephone and ask? You may be right about being allowed to stay in NZ if you already had a work permit and are applying for a second once the old one expires. I heard this in similar circumstances, ie that a 6 month 'job seek' work permit holder can stay in NZ (and work) if their 6 month visa expires but they found a job and are waiting for PR application to be approved. Ask NZIS.

> I think you need to do a bit of telephoning around...

Thanks for the advice, but I think you're supposed to apply to the Immigration office nearest the location of the employment. Will ask at others anyway.

The Immigration Service position seems to be that when your Work Visa expires you have to leave the country, and if your Work Permit expires then you cannot work.

They also said that normally only one Work Permit is issued, and therefore the permit I was issued with to seek work as part of my application for PR should be the only one I am allowed, although they suggested some flexibility might be possible there. Even then, they need lots of info. about the job being offered, and from the employer detailing their unsuccessful efforts to recruit a local (NZ) applicant before recruiting a foreigner, before a permit will be granted.

Talk about making life difficult! If I have to leave NZ and return to the UK, then it's in no-one's interests; mine, the company's or the country's.

I'm inclined just to ignore the bureaucrats and keep working for the company offering me the job here until PR is approved, but I suppose this has all sorts of dire legal implications for me and/or the company...

Gaaaaahhhhh!!

Ben

Ben - are you in NZ on the 6 month 'job seek' work visa, having earlier applied for PR but failed to get the passmark points (but got within 5 points of the passmark)?

Yes, I am. I called Immigration again yesterday, and they told me that I would be allowed to remain in NZ AND continue working provided I have an application for a second work permit 'in the system', so it looks like the crisis is over :)

They also said that, in the event that issuing the work permit takes longer than is required for my PR to be approved, they would refund the $90 permit fee, which was suprisingly reasonable of them.

I start work on Monday. Wish me luck!!!

Ben

Best of luck (and thanks for clarifying that point, I guessed that was what NZIS would do but I wasn't sure.)