deb_steve

Could someone in as few words as possible let me know which visa to go as OH has just had a job offer with an accredited company.

Have been on NZIS immigration web site and confused does not even come near it. We are on the verge of signing up with Visa Bureau who says the fee will be £500 + VAT but after reading some of the other comments are unsure what to do.

I think my head is going to explode.

BEVS

All our heads exploded at least once along the road to New Zealand.

Now then.

His job offer is $65k+ with an accredited employer.

Is his occupation also on the long term shortage list do you know? This makes a difference to what you can go for.
If you don;t know, let us know what it is and we will check for you and show you where to look.

With Work To Residence, you apply to become Permanent Residents in New Zealand but it can take two years to happen. During that time , you remain on the Work To Residence work visa. You wouldn't be able to claim family credit or anything like that.

With the Skilled Migrant category. This works on a point system. The more points the better. A job offer = better still. For this you need the occupation to be on the long term shortage list.
If it is and you have a lot of points - say around 140 - plus the job offer, then you should consider this route as it leads straight to Permanent Residency.

If you are not sure about your points, let us know. I'll show you where the points indicator is for you to check it out.

My feeling from what I read of timelines here is that a WTR visa might be quicker in coming through.
Certainly, if your occupation is not on the long term shortage list, then the WTR visa is the way to go.

If the occupation is on the long term shortage list, then you could consider going straight for PR but apply for a temporary work visa to get you here and working.

I seem to remember that even with a WTR visa it may be possible to go for PR earlier than the two year period. Maybe someone else can advise on that.

The basic difference between the two policies is how long it takes to be a Permanent Resident in New Zealand. With WTR it is mostly two years. With the Skilled Migrant Category, provided you pass all the criteria, you get PR at the end of a successful application.

You will still need police checks and medicals for both. You still need to show you are qualified and suitable for the job offer you are taking up.

Medicals.

Yes, you should let the panel doctor know the details of your thyroid medication. Perhaps have your GP write a letter from your notes to give to the panel doctor.

Thyroxine here in NZ is $3 per prescription. There would be a cost for the repeat prescriptions and also payment for the regular blood tests. As you pay for this, I can't see this as posing a significant cost to New Zealand although NZIS might want to double check that you are not due for corrective surgery any time soon ( as in having the thyroid removed). Perhaps have your GP highlight that your condition is stable and unlikely to change. It certainly shouldn't stop a successful application.

I hope this helps a bit for starters. We've all been there with feeling in a bit of a muddle with information overload.

newkiwi

It depends on when the company expects him to start. Work to residence visas usually come through quicker.

What we did was apply for the work to residence visa, had that approved, then once in new zealand applied for permanent residency as a seperate application. it did mean paying for another set of medicals (our police clearances were still valid) and paying for a seperate visa application. But there was no stress on waiting for the Permanent Residency to be approved while we were working in NZ.

Certainly if he already has a job offer with an accredited company and there is nothing complicated in your submission, I would not waste money on a visa agent. Note that the government have now licensed agents, and only accept applications from licensed agents (the majority of agents havent bothered to get licensed and now their clients are stuck because they have paid fees but cant lodge their applications!!)

So i would say you have two choices on the face of it, a quicker, simpler route through Work to Residency, or a slightly longer more complicated route through Permanent Residency.

Why does your OH not ask the company, they often have people dealing with visas for new recruits if it is a big company esp.

(PS I think the NZIS website is designed in a way to ensure only the best and brightest applicants get to the right pages, sort of survival-of-the-fittest.... if your smart enought to find the right page on the website you must be smart enough to make a contribution to NZ!!)

deb_steve

OH is a QA & H&S Manager with a welding back ground, which I believe is on the list of skills required, we have had check done and believe we have 150 points. He is being employed with a view to becoming a Welding Inspector.

OH has asked the employer if they could help with the visa but they have as much as said we are on our own. What joy!!

We look a the immigration web and think ah thats the visa we need, then read or are told no you need this vise. I only hope these headaches are going to be worth it & NZ has all we are hoping for in our new life.

I want this so much that I am convinced it will not happen.(if u know what I mean)

BEVS

With 150 points you would get an automatic pick from the SMC pool so you are in a great position to go straight for PR . You start that by submitting an EOI.

I've also read that a WTR gets processed quicker.

Thing is though that you could always apply for a temp work visa to patch the gap between PR and starting work.

Has the employer indicated how long they will wait.

It helps if the Nz employer indicates a start date on any job offer paperwork. NZIS will try their best to work to this.

kazmac72

Does your line of work have to be on the LTSSL to go the SMC route?? I thought that as long as your line of work was on the list of skilled occupations it sufficed, and that if you were on the LTSSL you simply got bonus points??

Because if it has to be on the LTSSL then we haven't got a cat in wotsits chance

irnbru14

WTR is the quickest route, had my yes reply within 3 days of posting the stuff off!!! Also the cheapest way initially, also lets you move here and experience it for a few years before deciding to go for residency so minimal initial outlay (other than visa processing fee, medicals and police checks) - only issue is that it is tied into work so if your hubby ends up out of work and cant find an equivelant job you have to leave!

Seems to be pretty quick transfering WTR to Residency after the two years too

BEVS

No , it doesn't have to be on the LTSSL to apply under the skilled migrant category. Your occupation just has to be skiled per the NZIS listing of skilled occupations. .

Sorry to confuse. My reply was specific to deb_steve query as they are choosing between two options. They have been offered a job with an accredited employer.

kazmac72

Phew!!!!!!!!!!!

sukilou78

does the job offer under SMC have to be from an accredited employer as well as being skilled or just skilled?

x

BEVS

Just skilled

sukilou78

Thanks for that BEVS

You need a degree to even enter the immigration website lol!