Work Visa to Skilled Migrant
 

Hi all,

Im currently in NZ on a 12 month working visa and wanted to know if I could still apply for the Skilled Migrant visa?

The visa Im on at the moment is only for 12 months and cannot be extended so I need another visa that will allow me to live and work in NZ for a longer period.

I work in IT and have recently started a job with a big IT company here in Auckland and my skills do come under the list of skills in demand on the immigration website.

Has anyone done this? I can imagine that it could be a pain getting all the paperwork from the UK to here.

Thanks,
Mani

Re: Work Visa to Skilled Migrant
 

husband did it but his was a bit different as we had the EOI in the pool without a job offer. he then got a job offer but had to start immediately so had to get a 12 mth temp work visa and just updated his EOI to unclude the job offer.

Husband found the local NZ Immigration office very helpful so I would say have a chat with them and see what they advise and what additional paperwork you may need from the 12mth visa you already have

Re: Work Visa to Skilled Migrant
 

Thank you for your reply, I will go an speak to the immigration department.

Quick question, how long did the process take for your husband?

Thanks.

Re: Work Visa to Skilled Migrant
 

just over 3mths, EOI had been lodged in UK before husband came over and as myself and the children were still in the UK we dealt with it from there until we came over. once we had the agreement that we could get PR, we were living in NZ, we had the file transferred to Wellington office

Re: Work Visa to Skilled Migrant
 

We thought about it but since we're able to apply for residency in October, we've decided not to proceed

If you satisfy the requirements, then you should get in without any problems

When we were going through the process, I was going to apply via the skilled migrant but then I would be rejected because I don't have an IT degree. Strange as I would have still got enough points to be considered without the qualification. But hey ho, i'm no immigration expert

You'll have to do a police check again by the way, don't think medicals are required

If all fails, check to see if your company is on the accredited employer list. There's always a WTR visa available

I must ask why can't you renew your work visa? Seems odd as we have an individual here who's been on a work visa for 5 years now and has had no problems in renewing every time the expiry date approached

Re: Work Visa to Skilled Migrant
 

my husband didn't have an IT degree either, did have another degree from a authorised university so just claimed points for that. SOmehting the useless Immigration Advisor told us we couldn't do but we could and we got the points