Leva47

MrsFychan

well done on your first step, so now you have to show Immigration that the job offer and your skills fit the criteria.
As for mortgages, all you need to show is 3 months worth of wage slips and have a decent deposit, saying that I would recommend not rushing in to buy and rent in a few areas before hand as it may cost you a fair bit if you get the wrong house/area. getting a house here is a lot different to the UK and the contract is bias to the seller, you cannot just pull out once you have had an offer agreed so you need to make sure your conditions do not leave you open to the deposit being kept if the sale does not go through

Leva47

escapedtonz

I'd agree.
Do not rush in to purchasing any property here until you have some experience of the place in person.
Maybe do a short term rent for a couple of months to give you the time to check everywhere out and then either get a more permanent rental or look to buy.
Shouldn't be any issues with going for a mortgage even on a temporary visa but you may have to pay a increased mortgage rate or other fees to quantify the additional risk taken by the lender. You will need to show a potential lender your bank account and explain all your incomings and outgoings and a decision is based on how much of a debt you can comfortably service.
I know Hamilton pretty well. I live over the hill in Tauranga but work in Hamilton and spend quite a bit of time there.
Where to live all depends what you want - everyone is different, e.g. rural, semi-rural, suburbia or inner city living ? Kids ? How close do you wanna be to where your job is based ? Do you wanna live in the community that you will service ? Do you wanna be nearer to the coast, or mountains/bush etc ?

Leva47

escapedtonz

Yup. Good idea. Just don't get ripped off as some Air B&B prices are plain ridiculous.
You have two options when considering living near the coast. Tauranga where I live but too far for you at around 110km / 1hr 20 mins or Raglan in the opposite direction 45km / 45 mins.
Not really sure you'd be comfortable with any area in between Hamilton outskirts and Raglan as it's pretty much very rural. All built predominantly around farming and old farming communities that have grown a little - called small towns nowadays but in all honesty theyre not very big. I believe Whatawhata is fine although only ever driven through. Pirongia is a nice area to be - tiny village, racecourse, golf course, mountain for walks and views. Rural / semi-rural but only 20 mins to Hamilton and 30 mins to Raglan. A few of my colleagues live that way and I spend time there in between shifts for golf or a walk occasionally.
A really popular place to settle yourself is Cambridge or Leamington which is right next door. Easy commute to the Tron and you can have suburbia, in town, rural or semi-rural living. Only downside is its an hour to the sea in either direction but it is on the mighty Waikato river.

Leva47

escapedtonz

Cool.
You're never too far from a golf course in Hamilton. There's a few knocking around and ones you wouldn't even know they are there with an honesty box for your green fees.
We originally lived in Wellington but wanted a good beach lifestyle and decided Tauranga was the place to be - more specifically Mt. Maunganui which is just gorgeous and only 15 mins drive from home. It is a long commute but I work shifts so rarely see any major traffic, i don't work every day and the commute is nice not stuck in 3 lanes of uk motorway. It's majority rural A roads with great views and relaxing. I got a transfer to our Hamilton office and the commute is a small price to pay for the lifestyle we have.

Leva47

escapedtonz

No worries. Only too happy to help. Done it many times in the past as I remember how difficult the move was for us.

The decision of which visa to apply for once you have the job offer in writing is based on your circumstances, your employer and timing. Basically there's two options - temporary work visa (takes a matter of weeks) or permanent class visa (takes several months).

If you go the temporary work visa route (which may be the one your employer wants you to go for so you get here asap) it takes a matter of weeks depending on how ready you are and how fast you can provide the necessary evidences and have things done. One type is Essential Skills, another is Work To Residence....there's a few. Temporary work visa applications are dependent on the job offer and depending on the job offer, salary etc you could then uplift visas for your partner and dependents via the family stream and the partnership category. Your partner would go for Partner of a Work Visa Holder Visa and your children would go for Dependent of a Work Visa Holder Visa or if not school age a Visitor Visa based on your Work Visa. It is advisable to send in all these applications together as it'll speed up the process for the Case Officer.
It is a bit more difficult to secure family member visas via this route these days as Immigration have clamped down on the eligibility criteria.
You will need extensive evidence of your partnership with the Mrs if of course you are bringing a partner. Being married and having kids isn't sufficient proof alone. You need other evidence like photos on holiday and at events, proof you live under the same roof for at least 12 months etc.
Yes if you are staying 12 months or more you will need medicals and chest x-rays. Those are mandatory to make sure you are not going to be too much of a burden on the New Zealand health system and that you are of an acceptable standard of health.

If you go the permanent class visa route this would be Resident Visa Via the Skilled Migrant Category. You can do this online and one application covers the Principal applicant, a partner and dependents but takes much longer as they have to consider you all being here for a lifetime instead of only 1 - 5 years. I'd say go this route so long as you have enough points with the job offer (you will need minimum 160 to be selected) and your employer is happy to wait up to several months ?
You can also apply for this visa at the same time as the Temporary Work Visas so you get the temporary visas first allowing you to travel to NZ quickly and then the Resident Visa application just ticks away in the background and once approved your temporary visas just become void.

Cheers

Leva47