danjones1

Quite a few people I have known have left for NZ for a 6 month trip and ended up liking it and finding work, then getting work permit and then applying for residence.

I'd quite like to join them and leave chavtastic Britain.

Is this still possible? A friend of mine even managed it working just as a PA so are they fussy about the skill level of a job?

TeamEmbo

Looking for work on a visitors visit is not permitted. If you have job interviews in NZ lined up then you should apply for a business visitor visa. If you fit the criteria you can apply for a working holiday visa which is a one off (you can only apply for this once) and I think is valid for 12 months. If during this time you find permanent employment and you fulfill the criteria to apply for WTR/PR then you can.

You will still have to prove that you have the necesary skills/certificates, medical and police checks etc when applying for WTR or PR and the salary must meet or be above the NZIS threshold.

BEVS

Your first port of call should be the NZIS website.


Have a good read and enjoy.

Jan n Neil

Our experiences:

Agree with all of the above, although I did have a job interview on a tourist visa. My accredited employer told all the overseas candidates to come on a tourist visa, the immigration people at the border asked what we were doing in NZ, I told them about the interview, they rang employer to check, checked that we had not done an EOI - we hadn't as I didn't even know what one was at that stage!!! - and let us in.


And the immigration officer at the airport wished me luck in the interview


My employer is a regular employer of overseas skilled staff so I was guided by them. I had no reason to think they were telling me to do something illegal. I wsa only there for 6 days and did no work whilst there.

Persephone

I looked for work, went for interviews and got a job on a visitors permit. I assumed that it was not illegal unless I actually did work. Though I wasn't planning on telling the border guards that! I had been approved in principle for PR at that point but had not paid the migrant levy or got the stickers. I had no time and was coming back to the UK anyway so planned to do it when I got back.

I'm sure they know at Immigration what you're doing anyway. I was very surprised to log onto NZIS whilst in NZ at that time and find that my visitors visa was on there along with the date it expired and underneath was my PR approved in principle immigration stuff. Big brother So I'd assume your details are accessible to the officers at the NZ border if you are already in the system.