Potential Visa Types
 

Hi all,

This is my first post on this section of the forum as I was previously focussed on Australia, but, it seems that it may be experiencing a "dip" on the economy front just now and I cant afford to head from one recession straight into another - particularly as its sooooo expensive to live there (in the event you cant find work/earning)

So, I began to explore the options in New Zealand and from what I can gather its in a better place for my chosen profession (electrician)

I had planned to go to Oz on a 457 sponsored visa which would be pretty fast, cheap and guarantees employment/income from day one - perfect

Does NZ have an equivalent to this type of visa - I have looked on the NZ immigration site and the closest thing I can see is the "Work to residence" visa which I should qualify for as my job is on the "Long Term Skill Shortage List" or LTSSL

So is the first step to find an employer who can/will sponsor and then apply for this Visa?

I also know I have to be licensed to work in NZ and as I understand it I supply my credentials (qualifications etc) to the necessary licensing body who issue me with a provisional and I then have 12 months to sit/pass the exam to have this upgraded to a full unrestricted license - is this correct?

Thanks in advance:thumbsup:

Re: Potential Visa Types
 

Welcome to NZ part of BE.

Your best bet is to see how many points you would get so fill in the online EOI points indicator. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/pointsindicator/

then have a look at the selection points indicator http://www.dol.govt.nz/immigration/k...base/item/5907 to see what your chances are before you start paying out for money.

In short it is much easier to be issued a visa with an offer of work from an accredited company. There are a few electricians on here that maybe able to guide you but I see that your reason for looking is here economic, unfortunately the whole world is going through issues and from what I understand from other peoples posts NZ is more expensive to live in and wages are lower than that of Oz.

God luck

Re: Potential Visa Types
 

Thanks for the reply

From doing the online points test it would appear I have 130 so the outlook is pretty good

I am surprised that NZ is more expensive to live than Australia - I was aware that the wages are lower but I expected that this would be offset by lower cost of living as Australia has got pretty expensive due to the "boom"

So what is more expensive? Housing? Food?

Cheers:cool:

Re: Potential Visa Types
 

No.
With New Zealand you look for a possible NZ employer and then you uplift a temporary work visa. You need to have provisional licensing in place first.

If you want to live here as a resident then you would apply for NZ residency under the skilled migrant category.

Depends on what points you get. Points mean prizes. The more points the better .
Applications with a job offer go to the top of the pile. You have over 140 points that is an automatic pull from the EOI pool.

Yes.
HERE


No. NZ is not a cheap place to live. It is quite expensive these days. Cost of living has gone up lots. Trade wages have remained the same for years. Husband is a plumber here.