CharlesB

Hi Everyone,

Thank-you for taking the time to read this thread. I will try to outline the situation as simply as possible and any forthcoming advice would be much appreciated.

• My family consists of me, my wife and my two children (aged 3 & 5). I am 38 years of age and my wife 37.
• We are both UK residents and hold full passports and driving licences. I have a diploma, degree and masters in the Project Management area. I have completed several IT courses and have worked in the ICT industry for the past 15 years as a specialist Services Manager. I have worked for very high profile companies and managed over 200 people at anyone time with annual budgets of over 5m.
• Out of the last 5 years I have spent 3 working for one of the major Telecommunications companies in the UK and the last 2 working for a private consultancy company travelling back and forward to Spain. I am also fluent in Spanish.
• My wife is a fully qualified midwife and has been practising in the UK for over 6 years.
• We also have family living and working in New Zealand.

Both jobs are high on the skilled shortage lists and having looked on websites and contacted various organisations we don't suspect that Employment will be a problem.
I have completed the EOI points scoring test and have over 180 points.

The way I understand it so far is that as UK citizens we have a 6 month tourist visa. I've checked the various websites and there are long drawn out forms to complete to apply for working visas.

My question is simple....

Is there a problem with simply travelling to New Zealand as tourists. Finding jobs and getting the employers to help us apply for work visa's as it's primarily in their interests that we stay. Surely this will take some of the pressure of us and while we are in New Zealand we will get all the help we need first hand rather than relying on third parties based here in the UK and immigration advisor's who are charging ridiculous amounts of money?

If anybody has every moved to New Zealand using this method please let me know. My wife has already spoken to various nursing bodies and with have her paperwork completed prior to travelling with reference to being registered with the New Zealand midwifery Council.

Please let me know of any pitfalls i might encounter.

Thank you for all your help.

Charles

MrsFychan

technically you are not allowed to enter NZ on a vistor's visa and actively seek work.
I've read of people who have carried CV's with them in paper form being denied entry on a visitors visa, so if it is your intention and loads do it and the governing bodies are aware that people do it, you need to be careful that you don't get a rather stroppy Immigration Officer at the airport.

I would suggest submitting your EOI, wait to get pulled then start compiling your ITA. Have all paperwork accessible via the internet , sorting out your business in the UK, contact some agencies over here for work and see how you get on. It may be that you will have difficulty obtaining work being in the UK which then leaves you no option but to come over to seek work.
If you can afford to submit for a working visa as well as the ITA some employers are more likely to employ if you are "legally" allowed to work here before they interview you.

If you did come over what area are you thinking of?

chippy64

From another expat site

quote 'The immigration department is aware of these issues and one senior official once explained to me that the INZ had no problem with people entering the country with the intention of finding work (as long as they didn't intend to actually work without first obtaining the right Visa) as this was a necessary part of the process. The problem was, he explained, that Customs didn't understand this.

It is clear that the majority of people do have to travel this route. Official immigration statistics confirm that over the past four years an average of 77 percent of all applicants granted a Work Visa were already in New Zealand, most likely on a Visitor's Visa.

Being in New Zealand on one status to apply for another is an unavoidable part of the process - 90 percent of the people approved for Residency in 2010/11 claimed points for a New Zealand job or job offer which would almost always only be available to people who had attended interviews.' end quote.

They have written to the minister
quote ' Immigration Minister, Nathan Guy, on 9th January 2012 asking him the following.
"There seems to be a lot of confusion for prospective migrants regarding coming to NZ on a visitor’s visa to look for work, attend interviews and apply for a work visa.

"I would like you to clarify if a prospective migrant is allowed to enter NZ on a visitor’s visa to apply for jobs, attend interviews and lodge a relevant application for a visa before any intention of starting employment." end quote

So, the legal position may be clarified but when, who knows!

Persephone

You can do that and others on here have done the same though I wouldn't advertise it at entry. If you come over here without a visa you would also need to have evidence of onward travel out of NZ-this will be requested before you are allowed onto the plane to NZ.

As >140 points is an automatic draw from the pool you could gain residency before arrival, the process will take longer without a job offer but you would arrive in NZ with [probably] residency in place. It depends on how soon you are planning on moving out here.
If you came over and applied for work visas then you would need a job offer first, residency under SMC is really the only way to get a visa without a job offer [partnership is not relevant in your case].

As for immigration advisors, why bother?. A lot of money for something you can do yourself. You appear to have a good chance of success so give it a go or at least look at the forms and see what it entails. Most of us on here have done it ourselves, it is easy but is a little time consuming. In reality all an advisor can do is fill out the forms and tell you what documents are needed and when, a little bit of research is all that is needed. It also means you have a good understanding of the system and what you need to do in future. This is assuming you have no peculiarities that may make your application more problematic, of course.

scrubbedexpat094

When are you thinking of coming over? I would be inclined for your wife to start the registration process with the NZ Midwifery Council, as this can be time consuming getting all the information together (proving competencies, getting transcripts from her course etc.). Not sure how long it all takes these days but when I did it in 2004/5 it took ages.
At that time the Council was in its infancy having split from the Nursing Council & frankly, didn't seem to know what they wanted. Sure things are much better now.

There's a rumour going around that Midwife is coming off the LTSSL, as NZ has all the midwives it needs. I have heard this from a couple of people now.

BEVS

If you don't see finding employment as a problem then why not simply go straight for a Residency visa? You have more than enough points to achieve this.

You and your family then enter NZ as NZ residents . Employers would prefer this anyway to someone who has to uplift a temp work visa before starting employment.

lisamct

I went through the registration process 2 years ago and it took ages then too. Probably 5-6 months to get it all sorted.

Cant comment on ICT work but I doubt midwifery employers will help in any way with sorting out your visa. DHB's pretty much expect you to have it fully sorted before they'll make a job offer, there's enough applicants for most posts (unless you plan to go real rural) that they don't have to do any extra to get the jobs filled.

Catchafire

I am not sure that really rings true to me. Why would customs be concerned regarding a immigration issue? We all have to get through passport control, which as far as I am aware is run buy immigration.

chippy64

Reply received - quote
'Office of Nathan Guy, Minister for Immigration

27 January 2012

Dear .......

Thank you for your email of 9th January 2011 (he means 2012 ;0) regarding people coming to New Zealand on a Visitor’s Visa with the intention to secure employment an apply for work visas.

Visitors entering New Zealand must be bona fide applicants and have a lawful purpose. This generally means they are here for the purpose of holidaying, sightseeing, family or social visits, amateur sports, business consultation, medical treatment or are a guest of the government.

There are no Instructions that prevent visitors to New Zealand from applying for jobs or attending interviews, however, they must declare the purpose for their visit in their visitor visa application, for example to sightsee and attend interviews. The decision to grant the visitor visa is made on a case by case basis.

Applications from Visa Free countries must also declare their purpose of their visit on their arrival card at the border. Some immigration advisors encourage applicants from visa waiver countries to apply for a visitor visa when travelling to New Zealand for the purpose of a job interview. This enables the assessment of the application to be completed offshore which is preferable to being assessed at the Border and may prevent a wasted journey.

It is important to note that applicants must not undertake employment until a work visa or visa with conditions that allow work is granted. Employment means any activity undertaken for gain or reward and it is an offence to employ a person who is not entitled to work in New Zealand.

Your Sincerely

Hon Nathan Guy
Minister of Immigration' end quote

BEVS

There is very similar somewhere within the NZIS website. I wasn't able to locate it although I know I've seen it.