paul walters

hello
we are about to put the house on the market and go over to nz as soon as poss. I am searching for jobs in the hope that i can arrange interviews for when we arrive. the plan is for me to get a job offer within the 6 month visit period and apply via the work to residency and gain residency after 2 years.

my biggest worry is that the job i do is specialised and there may not be many opportunities. i have just seen an article in the emigrate nz mag about somebody failng to apply via skilled migrant and getting residency by buying a franchise and applying on a small business visa.

I haven't looked into this and would appreciate it if anybody can give some advice. is it possible for me to purchase a franchise while out there and apply for residency? if so this would be a good alternative if job offers are non existant.

thanks paul and family

happynz

Sounds like a great idea. Let us know how it works out if you go this route.

Lenmil

What is it you do? I did the work to residency thing. Took a while,4 years i think and now have our PR that is unactivated because of restictions placed in it. In my case i have to work for my employer for 3 months to remove the restrictions. But due to circumstances i have no job to go to. So it's a wait and see situation. Make sure you have all your options covered and a back up plan in case things go wrong. As they do and in so many unexpected ways. Good luck.

paul walters

I am currently employed by BT as a wideband planner (planning fibre optic networks) I am also trained as an installation and maintenance engineer (telecoms). Although planning would pay better, I'm prepared to go back on the tools if neccessary. We're all geared for selling and coming over, rather than face the long prospect of finding employment and applying for residency from the uk.

Lenmil

You could try Oz. You will get more money plus once you get residency you can move to NZ easily if you need too. It's not as easy the other way round. But NZ is a beautiful country and i am glad i lived there for a year. Good luck mate.