jim1

Hi,

Me and my partner are hoping to move to New Zealand for 1-3 years and I'm just looking for a bit of info and advice. We're both in our 20s, she's in marketing, I'm a web developer and we currently live in Canada (I'm British, she's Canadian). We'd both like jobs that are related to our skills. My initial research leads me to believe we have 3 options:

• Working holiday visa - temporary work only. Canadians can only get 1 year, British can get 2.
• Silver fern visa - only 300 places, very hard to get. I've read you might as well just do the following option
• Travel as a tourist + look for company willing to apply for a work permit

Am I missing anything? A couple of questions regarding the above options:

1. Would there be any way to stay on after a working holiday visa? Can you obtain a regular work permit whilst on one?
2. Is option 3 even possible? How long are you allowed in the country as a tourist? What are the timescales for being approved a work permit following a job offer? Is it costly and how likely is it to be approved? For instance in Canada this option would not be viable as the company has to prove they cannot hire a Canadian and it takes 3 months.

Any advice/info much appreciated.

Cheers

MrsFychan

I would say the easiest route would be the working holiday visa, then see if you can get a job offer that then allows you a more permanent visa. As a visitor you are allowed 6mths but not sure if it can be tacked onto a holiday visa. there is another visa called the BUNAC visa which you may be entitled to after the working holiday visa but not sure again if it can be tacked on afterwards.

BEVS

MrsF is onto it.

Do not go the SFV . It's a bit rubbish in many ways TBH.

Yes. If you have a job offer and can provide a contract you canconvert from a WHV to a Temp Work Permit. It will cost.

jim1

Thanks for the advice.

So what is the deal with the temp work permits? As I explained in my previous post, the Canadian equivalent are very difficult to obtain. Is it just the case with NZ ones that if you have a job offer you can have one, or is there more to it?

MrsFychan

with ALL visa's you have to fit into certain criteria for each visa. no good getting a job offer in a supermarket as that's not going to gain you a permanent visa if that is what you require. You would have to read each visa option to see the requirements. If you do its fairly quick process for temp work visa in our experience

Catchafire

The easiest route, which has been mentioned, is a WHV. This will allow you to actively seek employment, get yourself a position, then apply for a work permit.

There are some pitfalls you need to bear in mind. A WHV is not designed to allow permanent employment. So technically you can not apply for a full time position, unless it is stipulated the position is only available for 12months or less.

Also if you do land a job, you still have to meet the criteria of gaining a work permit. Your employer has to have demonstrated they have taken reasonable means to make the position available to a New Zealander. The job itself has to be deemed as being skilled and you need to earn a certain amount to show the job is a serious one (more than $55k/year from memory).

BEVS

Web Developers are in long term shortage here in New Zealand. You need to have the relevant degree to meet the NZ standard plus relevant work exp to a position offered.

It means that an NZ employer is free to offer you, the overseas person, a job without having to prove there is no NZ citizen or resident that could take up that post.

The trick is in getting the NZ employer to understand it is a full time permanent job offer first and then a temporary work permit can be applied for.

Yes. You could apply for a temp work permit whilst still under the WHV.

Persephone

Just to add to what has been said:
I agree that the WHV is probably the best way to go, look for a permanent job on arrival and then change to a different visa.

Options are:
Work Visa-Probably the cheapest and simplest option if you are only wanting to stay 1-3 years. If your job offer is on any of the Skills Shortage Lists then no need for an employer to prove no NZers are available to do the job. Your partner could then apply for an 'open' work visa under partnership, this would be for the same length of time as your visa http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...tream.htm#work
You could do this the other way round ie your partner finds a job first and you apply under partnership. Less easy if her job is not on a SSL

Work to Residence Visa- the Talent [accredited employer] category is the only one that requires the $55K minimum salary. There is also a LTSSL category. You are both issued work visas that can be converted to residency after two years. Problem is that your residency would not last indefinitely if you leave NZ at this point. It's not worth working for two years and then applying for residency unless you were planning on staying for the further two years required to make that residency permanent. At that point you could leave NZ for any amount of years and still return as a resident. Could be worth going under this category if you're considering a possibility of staying permanently....it gives you the option.

Skilled Migrant Category: residency application. It is more expensive and only worth it if you definitely want residency. You still have to remain in NZ for two years to get a PRV which allows you to leave NZ for any amount of time and still return as a resident. Not for someone only staying for 1-3 years

You mentioned arriving as visitors:
Visitor visa waivers: UK passport holders get 6mth entry on arrival, Canadian passport holders only get 3mth.

Agree with BEVS on the SFV- too much hassle, very few places which go very quickly once the application opens, what if one gets it and the other doesn't? You have better options
P

jim1

Thank you all for your detailed and helpful replies.

I think from your posts and my research, the best option would possibly be going over there on working holiday visas, then looking for jobs which qualify for the work to residence scheme (me for a web developer position under the long term skills shortage and she can try and get a job with an accredited employer). Then if one of us fails to find a job we can apply for a partnership visa.

In terms of the partnership visa what are the conditions for that and how stringent are the checks? We've been living together for about 16 months but only my name is on the lease so we'd have a difficult time I'd guess. Also what generally are the processing times for that?

MrsFychan

you have to provide at least 12mths of evidence of you relationship. so joint bank accounts, bills, holidays taken, anything and everything that proves your lives are shared daily. not sure how long the process is but you could look up the timelines on the Immigration website

Persephone

If you are applying for residency then you have to have lived together for at least 12mth to include someone as a partner. You need documents that prove you both lived at the same address, as many as possible. They don't have to be in both names so things like individual bank statements are fine. Also proof that you are in a genuine and stable relationship.

The 12mth requirement is not as strict for a temporary partnership visa, I believe you just have to prove you are living together.
However they are reasonably strict-eg a marriage certificate on its own would not be enough proof [should you be thinking of going down that route...]

Have you checked whether you do qualify under the LTSSL? Some jobs require experience to qualify. Do a search here if you haven't: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...49337097935247

I take it you're planning on going via the WTR route just in case you decide to stay longer or want residency? Probably a good choice if you are thinking you may want to do that, just remember that that first residency visa can expire if you spend too much time outside of NZ.
My opinion would be to get one of you on a partnership visa anyway, unless you think you might split up. One finds a job either under LTSSL or Talent, the other then gets a work visa which allows them to do any job for any employer. The partner at least has more flexibility
You both apply for Residence from Work together after two years have passed.