Registered nurse...which visa is best?
 

I am a registered nurse in uk, born and bred here. I am 4 years post qualified wanting to come out to nz for first time to live and work and experience nz life! With possibility if all goes well to make more permanent move. But looking for advice regarding visas as am considering working holiday visa or skilled migrant visa. Any nurses out there who have been through this??

Re: Registered nurse...which visa is best?
 

Are you degree qualified?

Re: Registered nurse...which visa is best?
 

it depends what field you nurse in. you would need to register with the Nursing Council and you will also have to gain at least a level 7 in International English Language Testing System (IELTS) before you can apply for a visa but you will may need a job offer to gain enough points to be able to apply. Others have advised previously that you contact the local DHB of area's you may wish to live in and discuss any opportunities they may have

Re: Registered nurse...which visa is best?
 

Yes I did it.

Your absolute priority is to get registered with the New Zealand Nursing council. The process itself is quite straightforward but getting all the paperwork together is like herding cats.

Once you are registered the easiest way to get a job is to go through an agency. You may want to work in one of the main centres however most of the small regional hospitals have near constant vacancies. It doesn't particularly matter what kind of nurse you are (I am mental health and not on the skills shortage list) for job offers or visas but if you are on the shortage list then your employer has less hoops to jump through to employ you.

I was under 30 when I came over so used a working holiday visa (if you do this be careful to specify the job offer should not be permanent as this would violate the conditions of that visa. If you are not under 30 then the nursing agency should be able to get you a job offer that you can use to uplift a work visa. Work visas are quicker and easier than Residency class visas, also cheaper but they give you far fewer rights in NZ and you would be tied to a specific employer.

I got a work visa for my second (and current) job which I later converted to a residency class visa. It worked well for me to do it the way I did but if I'd known my move would be permanent I might have forked out for the residency visa outright as after two years this visa grants you the right to reside in NZ for life no matter if you come and go.

Re: Registered nurse...which visa is best?
 

Hey. I'm a midwife and have just got my work to residence visa. It's only £191 compared to the £1400 (roughly! Can't remember the fee fully). If you get employed by an accredited employer (such as Auckland DHB and Counties Manukau) you can get this visa. It took 4 days for the visa to be issued! Plus the paperwork was pretty easy. You also don't have to do the ielts if you got your degree in English. I found the process so easy! Good Luck!

Re: Registered nurse...which visa is best?
 

You do have to do IELTS as part of your registration as a nurse (or did when I got mine).

Re: Registered nurse...which visa is best?
 

That's so annoying as the NZ midwifery Council are more relaxed and you don't have to sit it! Was thinking of going for my nursing reg (Dual trained and already have NZ midwifery reg). Thought it would be nice to keep my nursing registration but don't think I'll go for it now! Love this forum as it's such a wealth of knowledge!