Tronik

Hi all. Completely new to this forum. Me and the mrs have decided its time to pack up and move away, to New Zealand, hopefully for good in the long run. Just looking for some info to help us along the way.

I believe the best visa to go for would be the working holiday visa, am i right? What position would that leave us in when that comes to an end, lets say we want to move to New Zealand permanently.

I am 25 and a qualified mortgage adviser (chartered insurance institute qualification) and my partner is 21 and will have a masters degree in english literature. Unfortunately i have an assault on my record from 2010, i only got 24 hours community service for it and a £300 fine. Never been to jail or anything like that.

I keep hearing about future growth areas and areas of need but cant seem to find whether our qualifications would fall into these categories.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks, Tronik & Partner

MrsFychan

your best bet would be to check out Immigration website.

look at the find a visa option http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/ to see what option would be best for you

come back and let us know what visa they have suggested

Tronik

Well for the skilled migrant visa you have to score up over 100 on a points system. We land at exactly 100, due to my partner not yet having a masters degree and no job offer from a company in NZ.

So a working holiday visa looks like the best bet for now. Going to NZ on holiday, looking at houses, jobs, schools etc before deciding on a place we would like to settle.

Has anybody on here ever done this before and can tell me what sort of costs are involved in getting this visa and whether or not my criminal record will hamper the possibility. Or is it just a case of trial and error?

Thanks.

Persephone

Hello and welcome,

I'll try and keep it simple!

If you want to stay long term then residency is your goal. The two ways you can get this [I am excluding partnership] is by the Skilled Migrant Category[SMC] and the Work to Residence visa[WTR]

SMC-at 100pts you are unlikely to be selected and hence it's probably not worth you applying now as you've already found out. If you get a skilled job offer then this will change. Either of you can be the principal candidate. To apply on the same EOI you must have lived together for >12m.

WTR-you must have a job offer and it must be either on the Long term skills shortage list or for an accredited employer. There are also salary conditions to this visa. You have to have worked in the job for two years before you can convert to residency. You go straight for residency with the SMC [which has advantages if you plan to leave NZ for a while and then return]

WHV is a good choice IMO as you'll have the visa and can live and work in NZ. You will be in the country so it will be easier to job hunt for a permanent position which will give you the chance to submit an EOI or go for WTR at a later date.

This is the link to the Essential Skills in Demand lists: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...ls.htm?level=2

Future growth areas are biotechnology, ICT and creative industries.

Check here to see whether your qualification is recognised:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...rq/default.htm

Good Character requirements for residency: http://glossary.immigration.govt.nz/...rresidence.htm
Good character requirements for temp visas:
http://glossary.immigration.govt.nz/Goodcharacter.htm
They appear to be the same and from what you'e written down you should be fine

If you apply for a WHV of 23 months duration then you will need a medical certificate. These stay in the NZIS system for 36 months so you can 'reuse' them if you subsequently apply under the SMC or for WTR.

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...idayscheme.htm

WHVs look like they cost 85 pounds. You will have to pay for the medicals and police checks on top of this.

P

Tronik

Thanks Persephone. Very useful information.

As neither of us have a job offer, and were not planning to look for jobs until we are in the country i think the working holiday visa is definitely our best bet. Once we have an offer then our points for the EOI should increase and we should have a better chance of getting accepted for the skilled migrant visa.

As for living together for 12 months, well, we have been together over 12 months but both still live with our parents. Would we have to apply separately via EOI?

Thanks.

Persephone

That sounds like a good plan.
It would be better for both of you to apply on the same EOI, that way you both get residency at the same time and it will be a lot cheaper. There's no risk that one will get it and the other won't. You do have to be living together though. You can of course apply separately but if you look at the relevant costs you'll see why not on cost terms. The cost of the WHV is extremely cheap and not an indication of SMC costs at all!!

Presumably you will both be living together whilst in NZ, that will count. Make sure you have bills etc in both names and collect as much relationship proof as you can [include prior to living together as it points to a longer stable relationship]

From the operational manual under residency: