What 1st job offer or permit?
 

Hello everyone,

Apologies if this has been asked before, I'm new to the site.

My fiance and I have been looking into emigration to NZ. However, we're not sure whether to get a Working permit/visa or try to get a job offer 1st. It seems that all jobs require a visa but that it is easier to get a visa with a job offer?

Any pointers on the best way to go about things and any sites that are useful for an electrical engineer to use when searching for employment?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers! :thumbsup:

David.

Re: What 1st job offer or permit?
 

:welcome:

Yes to enable to work here you will need a visa.
But you can get a job offer then a visa to enable you to take up that offer.

Have you looked at the Immigration website and filled out an EOI?
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/

I believe from previous posts that to take up employment on careers like Electrician's, gas fitters etc you would need to get NZ Registration.

Try and do an Advanced Search for electrician and see what information you can come up with.

But I'm sure someone will be along soon to give more information than I am able to.

Re: What 1st job offer or permit?
 

found one

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ht=electrician

Heathergirls and other comments seems to outline what you need to do

Re: What 1st job offer or permit?
 

Welcome!
Have a look at the links MrsFychan has given you. I can't help with the specific electrical engineer stuff but can give you some pointers for visas.
Are you planning on staying indefinitely or is this a temporary move? No point in applying for residency if you have no wish to stay longer than a year!
Guessing neither of you are NZers?;)
This is very brief but gives you an idea of what to look at in more detail, the main visa types available are :

Skilled Migrant Category [SMC] - this is an application for residency so for those who plan on staying indefinitely/ permanently. It is based on points. Try the Points Calculator :https://www.immigration.govt.nz/pointsindicator/ This will give you a idea. You do not need a job to apply for this visa if you accrue enough points. Also, having enough points and applying does not guarantee that you will be successful. Around the same no. of applications [called EOIs] are selected every fortnight on a sliding scale.

Work to Residence [WTR] - you are issued with a work visa and once you have worked for two years you can convert to residency. You can only apply once you have a job offer and certain conditions do apply

Work Visa - temporary only and no direct route to residency. You can only apply with a job offer in place. If your job is in demand then it is easier for you to obtain a work visa.

Working Holiday Visa [WHV] - if between 18 and 30 years old. The visa is for 12 or 23 months, again conditions apply. No job required

Your fiancé/ee will get a visa on the back of yours [apart from the WHV] Under the SMC you have to have lived together for 12m or more for her to also get residency on your application.

Forgive me, are you an electrical engineer or an electrician? Both appear on the Long Term Skill Shortage List which may give you extra points under the SMC but also means the WTR visa is available to you Essential Skills in Demand
I don't know how much you already know so have tried to keep it simple for now. Ask away if/when you need more help:)

As you can see, generally it is job first and then visa application. Even under the SMC you may need a job offer to gain enough points to be selected for this visa

Re: What 1st job offer or permit?
 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the replies.

MrsFachyan - Thanks for the help. Unfortunately I'm an electrical engineer and not an electrician. They do get confused allot due to the way engineer is used in the UK now. Funnily enough I did consider a career as an electrician at one point, as have many in my industry, so it is easy to see why it happens. But thanks again for the pointers. It's good to know that an advanced search function exists on the site. I must of missed it last night.

Persephone - Thanks to you too. The plan is to stay indefinitely and to eventually have a family there. Neither of us are from NZ we are both British. I had a look at the SMC and have done the quick Points Indicator test which gives a score of 145 for me.

It looks like I may need to double check my qualifications by getting them mapped though. Not entirely sure whether to use NZQA or IENZ (Institute of Engineers). Have you had any experience of mapping qualifications? I'm curious which sits best with those assessing a visa application.

It does seem to be a chicken and egg situation with regards to jobs and visas. So far every job I've looked at requires a visa before accepting an application. So I'm thinking it might be best to hopefully get selected from the pool for SMC and then apply based on that 1st.

Again thank you both for our help. It is very daunting looking at all the intricacies for applying. Looks like I'll need to stump up $758 for the qualifications mapping!

Cheers! :thumbup:

David.

Re: What 1st job offer or permit?
 

If your points score is correct and you do have 145 then that is an automatic selection, ALL EOIs with 140pts or over are selected first at every draw.
You will not need a job offer as you have enough points:) This means you can apply under the SMC and will probably get residency before you even arrive in NZ. It will take longer for your application to run through as you have no job offer but it usually isn't years!. Not sure how long they are taking at the moment, It took me 7 months to get residency with no job offer but that was 2008 so quite a whole ago...
Also it sounds like employers are not up to speed with how immigration works [on reading threads on here] so often do not realise that it is often job offer first and then visa application.

As for your qualifications. Have you checked here List of recognised qualifications?

Also have a look at what is needed to claim bonus points for being on the LTSSL: I can't help specifically with the questions on assessment of your qualifications and as to what is best. If your qualification is on the list of recognised qualifications then it should not need assessing but I don't know the situation with IPENZ. Engineers aren't on the list of those requiring registration.
I suggest you start a new thread, possibly in the main forum [so more will see it] and ask about engineer qualifications and job hunting. Also do a search in the NZ forum for this as I'm sure I've seen threads about engineering
P:)

Re: What 1st job offer or permit?
 

Thanks Persephone. I had a look at the List of recognised qualifications and while the university is on there it has specific dates. This is whats leading me to believe I may need the mapping done on them. If anything I suppose it will remove 1 more perceived obstacle from my path.

Thanks again for all the help. It is appreciated. Just talking with someone about the process makes it seem less of an uphill battle. I'll do as you suggest with a new forum for engineering.

Cheers!

David :teeth_smile:

Re: What 1st job offer or permit?
 

Glad all that waffle helped! Getting a visa all looks a bit daunting until you break down the process, then it's actually fairly simple:unsure:

From the above it does sound like you will need to get it assessed but yes asking more specific questions may alert some engineers:fingerscrossed: I just can't think of anyone on here that is one atm
P:)
Just seen-you have!