New selection criteria
 

Hello All,

Both myself & my partner are looking to move to NZ and have a couple of questions -
1. We are looking to use an agent, visa vi www.visabureau.com - anyone had good or bad experiences or recommend a reputable outfit?
2. They have advised us that the criteria for selection 'may change' within the next 6 months so want us to get moving - I guess there must be some truth in this considering the state of global issues, anyone heard same ?

best regards,

Re: New selection criteria
 

I don't know anything about visa bureau but we used an excellent visa specialist who are based in Hamilton, NZ. www.newlifenewzealand.com

They are doing another roadshow in the UK at the end of November and you can book a place on their website. We found them a fraction of the cost of most visa specialists and we found them exceedingly friendly and helpful. Two of their consultants are ex New Zealand immigration case officers and really know their stuff. They have an 0800 number from the UK so it won't cost you anything to talk to them.

If I can provide any further details, please let me know.

Re: New selection criteria
 

Sounds like sales talk to me("This is the last one, sir"). Pressuring you to make a decision.

Check on the government website. The bottom line is that NZ NEEDS migrants. Without them the countries population would actually decline!

When 911 hit there was a heap of kiwis moving back to NZ. They did tighten the selection criteria for a while after that - the points increased. But it came down again, eventually.

At the moment the Kiwi exodus is 33,000 to date. So....
Good luck!

Re: New selection criteria
 

Hi cr355. Most people on here will advise you to do it yourself, unless you are in a complicated situation.
We did it ourselves and yes, it's a pain getting stuff together but we did manage it.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Re: New selection criteria
 

Did they say what 'criteria' might be changing? What area are you skilled in ?:confused:

Re: New selection criteria
 

Hi

I'm not saying this company are correct (they may well be pressurising you to commit) and I would advise you to check them out further, I don't know them HOWEVER, I have read somewhere (I unfortunately can't remember where I read it) that immigration rules/criteria etc will tighten up when the next govt comes in.

Like I said, I wish I could remember where I read it - but maybe a bit more research is in order.

Re: New selection criteria
 

thanks all for the replies,,,,

I'm in the dreaded IT sector - Project Manager, (although by trade am a gas fitter/plumber !!) - I've been contracting in the uk for the past 15 years, my partner is a registered nurse, we've been advised she would be the better option as primary applicant unless I can secure an offer which I know is unlikely.

Re: New selection criteria
 

I think both of you will have no trouble getting a job. My OH is in IT and he had a job offer within 2 days of us getting here. Nurses are in demand and fitter/plumber I think are also needed.

Good luck :thumbsup:

Re: New selection criteria
 

In my opinion and it is only my opinion, if your partner is a fully qualified registered nurse, then you do not need to spend money on an agent. If you do wish to go with an agent , choose one from NZAMI and preferably one that ONLY specialises in emigration to New Zealand. You do not want to end up spending money for old rope and just to get a couple of forms filled in. Even with a consultant/agent , you will end up doing most all of the legwork yourself.

There are several nurses on this site who have been through the process and are now here and working. Perhaps start a new thread and ask them what they did and where they found their jobs.

Have you done the NZIS POINTS INDICATOR yet?

Yes - NZIS do revise & review their criteria and procedures twice a year.
I can't see Nurses being dropped from the shortages lists. Even if government does change criteria selection, a skilled nurse with a job offer is not going to have much problem coming to NZ.

There is a general election coming up here this month. A new government may well mean a change to current immigration policies & numbers. It may decide that , given recession, they will lower the figure set for the amount of migrants coming into the country during the year. This would cut across all categories. Less skilled jobs available may mean less need for skilled migrants. That would all depend on the labour market test for each skill. The NZ labour department monitors vacancies & possible available skilled NZ residents/citizens to decide where there are acute skilled labour shortages. I can quite see the shortages lists being amended. There again they are always amended a little each 6 months. The criteria for actual selection hasn't altered in quite a while. However, perhaps the government (whichever government one ends up with ) will place greater emphasis on those that have job offers in skilled shortage areas. They would do that by jigging the points system. At the present time a skilled person can, potentially, achieve PR without a job offer and come to NZ but not take up a job in that skill shortage area. They can take any job. Perhaps government would look to curtail this .

If you want to read a short precis of each political party's thoughts on immigration policy, please read this article

Re: New selection criteria
 

hi - thanks for your reply, we've had the agency telling us to submit the nurse registration first before the EOI and other info telling us to do the EOI first. Suffice to say I doubt we'll use the agency I mentioned, my partners points added to 110 without a job offer which the agency said wasn't an issue as my partners job (nurse) was on the skills shortage list. What we are trying avoid is one of us landing in NZ 6-9 months before the other - this would only be an issue if we haven't sold our house as we are finding property rental circa $500/week in NZ.