iopyud

So is there any difference between these two?

More importantly, I can't find anything that says you can apply for permanent residency after you're working using Graduate Work Experience visa.

Is it possible to apply for a PR after Graduate Work Exp. visa?

Thanks.

Persephone

The graduate job search visa is an 'open' work visa granted after gaining a qualification in NZ. It is to allow you to live in NZ and look for work. Once you have a suitable job you apply for a longer visa.

The WTR visa is a work visa granted for 30m, after working for two years you can convert to residency. There are certain categories of WTR visa and basically only those with jobs on the LTSSL or who have offers from an accredited employer can apply for this visa. There are other conditions that must be fulfilled as well.
You have to have a permanent job offer in place before you can apply!

If you have a job offer and/or enough points you can apply for residency at any time whatever visa you are on.
This would be either via the WTR visa or the Skilled Migrant Category


Oops, realised you mentioned the Graduate Work Experience Visa, not the Jobsearch visa
You would need a job offer to apply for this one but if your job fits into one of the WTR categories then I can't see any reason why you could not apply for one. The grad work experience visa is a work visa so no route to residency. You'd then have to apply for residency via the WTR visa or the SMC as mentioned above.

If you were wanting residency and you had a skilled job offer then your options would be:
SMC plus Grad Work Exp visa so you could start work immediately (SMC can take months), or
WTR and convert to residency in two years

iopyud

Ah thanks for clearing that up. The Grad Work Visa caught my attention because it seemed to be the logical choice after studying, however I can't find anything that says you can apply for PR after it.

So basically it's :

Student Visa -> Graduate Job Search Visa -> Work to Residence Visa -> Permanent Residency

IF I want to stay for good, is this correct?

Thanks for the reply.

Persephone

No
so you've studied and gained a qualification in NZ. If you have a job offer then you need either a WTR, residency or a work visa in order to work.
The work visa can be either a 'normal' work visa or a Graduate Work Exp Visa. Neither of these lead to residency. You need a separate application for this.
If you haven't got a job offer the the Grad Jobsearch visa allows you to remain in NZ to look for work.

Your options for residency are:
*WTR - job needed in order to apply for this, the grad job search visa allows you to remain in NZ in order to look for work. There is a WTR visa for those who qualify under the LTSSL or for those who work for an accredited employer. It depends on what profession you're in whether a WTR visa is actually possible. You can only convert this to residency once you've worked for 24 m

*SMC - this is an application for residency. It is based on points and you do not necessarily need a job offer to apply for this. If you apply with a job offer in place then it is most likely that you will be issued residency straight away. Some people need a job offer to gain sufficient points to be selected. This can take a few months to come through so if you have a job offer then you would probably need a work / grad work Exp visa just so you can start working. Most employers will not be willing to wait for a SMC application to go through...

You can apply for more than one visa at once if necessary. WTR is not the only route to residency. You can apply for residency anytime you want if you have enough points for a SMC application.

Hope this makes sense!
P

Persephone

What occupation are you planning on doing in NZ? I had it in mind that you were in IT for some reason

This may affect whether a WTR visa is possible. If not then it's a SMC application for residency

iopyud

Thank you very much! That was a very informative answer.

As for my line, this is exactly my problem, I finished Bachelor of Arts and am currently working as an employee at a condominium development company.

I have no "special"(IT, Engr, Accounting, etc.) qualifications or anything, just a Bachelors (Average office grunt).

I wanted to take a Post Grad Diploma in Psychology which actually falls under the LTSSL, not JUST to stay in NZ but to also get a definite field career-wise.

I've taken a look at the SMC, this is the Skilled Migrant Worker Category, correct?

I've used their calculator and I'm 85 pts, 15 more pts short to get a 100 but that's because I answered "no" to the first three questions which asked if I have an employment under their SMC List. When I answered yes to one of them I easily got a 155.

I have great interest in the field of Psychology but here at home, people who are in that field only get jobs in Human Resource/Personel Dep't.
I'm not so sure what type of jobs will be available for me in New Zealand.

Do you happen to have any insight as to what jobs are available for someone with a PGD in Psychology?
If I can get a job from that area, then I easily get over 100 pts.

So apparently, this boils down to whether or not I'm in their skilled worker list. The SMC list apparently links me to the same list the WTR uses...
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/46052.htm