bill491

We attended a seminar recently for immigration to NZ and its opened up a can of worms for us.
Do we try the process ourselves or do we go with a company to get us our visas?
Someone mentioned there is help available from the NZ government if we wish to settle in the southlands, is this true and if so what benefits?
Do we strip away at our worldy goods and start afresh or do we do a container and move lock, stock and barrel?
My partner id the person with the required skill (pharmacy technician), I'm the also ran. What are the general employment levels like?
We also heard recently about high levels of homeless in NZ. again is this true or false?
Is the cost of living on par with the UK?
Any particular areas to avoid like the plague for what ever reason?

Sorry there are so many questions but at this stage we are full of them.
Absolutely any help will be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance
Bill n Debs

Justcol

Are there homeless people in the UK? Does it effect you? If not then why worry about it here ??

If you are eligible for enough points and meet the health requirements the process isnt too complicated. You just have to collect proof of everything and send it off. It can take a little time but an immigration agent isn't necessary and using one will not improve your chances. We have a new government who are suggesting changes to the immigration system. We don't know what they will be yet but I think its best to look into it sooner rather than later

I'll assume you mean the South Island which is a big place, and not Southland which is just the area at the very bottom of the South Island.
I think you can be eligible for extra points if you dont settle in Auckland (in the north island) but I don't think there's anything else on offer.

Possessions. If its in good condition bring it, NZ doesn't have the choice or cheap prices that the UK has on many goods

As with anywhere, the most jobs will be where the most people are

MrsFychan

Hi Bill n Debs, lets break this down a bit

ok so pharmacy technician is on 2 lists.
The Skill Level List, this means that you would be required to get a job offer over a certain salary to allow you to add anyone else to the application.

and the Immediate Skills Shortage which is only available for:
Region Auckland/Upper North Island, Wellington and this is a temporary visa for the length of the job offer and will not lead to permanent residency.

Pharmacy Technician Visa Options – Skill Shortage Lists, Immigration New Zealand

No, cost of living is not on a par with UK. Housing is also not on a par and choice of food/clothes/white goods etc is also restricted.
NZ is far away from lots of places and import costs means that sometimes things are just not worth importing meaning less choice and higher costs.

The qualifications will need to be accessed and that will cost even before you apply for a visa.

simonsi

But all that said, do it yourself and save the cost of paying ANY agent. They add very little value and have zero shortcuts but they cost $$$.

Unless you have a case requiring a specialist immigration lawyer then easy to do it yourself.

Littlefeet225

Hi Bill & Debs,

Firstly what I would say is, be prepared to shell out a small fortune.

We have just litrally obtained a 5 year skilled working visa for NZ. The process took about 5 weeks and we used < an immigration agent > to help us with the application and process, the cost I think was around £3k.

My husband flew out to NZ in August looking for a job with a couple of potential employers, this was arranged before he left and several Skype's took place to ensure interviews were lined up whilst being suitable for both parties.
While in NZ he was offered a job on the back of the job interview and they have supported our application to move to NZ, this sped up the process a great deal and < immigration agent > fantastic throughout.

We are moving all our goods via a 40ft shipping container, with removal, packing, insurance etc, there is little change out of £8k and takes 4 to 5 weeks to arrive at the other end.

Housing is definitely more expensive, avarage between 700 & 1100 dollars per week to rent and thats just outside of Auckland, a lot more in the city.

The cost of living is relative, my husband is on excellent wages however the cost of renting until we buy our new home, obtaining a car, food etc all adds up. If your looking to move to find a cheaper cost of living, my research so far doesn't suggest that. We will be pretty much on par with the UK until we buy our new home and own our new cards again, the cost of renting and leasing anything can be crazy.

If you have a nice car here, you can shift that in a 20ft container for £3k.

We have everything we need here, prices for good are expensive as we have far more choice in the UK, best to take what you have with you.

Hope this helps

Kelly

BEVS

If I may.

With a job offer under the belt this would have been a simple application that you could have done yourselves saving you a heap of money. Unless of course there were health or character ref concerns.

Having a job offer did not speed up the application timeline. It worked to the job offer contract start date.

To help, can you be a bit more specific about what visa you applied for and why?

Are you not intending to stay permanently then?

BEVS

The issue here will be obtaining a job offer. If you gain a job offer then go where that is. It is a golden egg.

As has been stated Pharmacy Technician is a skilled occupation , as you will know and is in Immediate Shortage. This means a prospective employer who is in Auckland/Upper North Island, Wellington is free to offer you , the overseas person, a job without having to prove there is no NZ resident or citizen that could take up that work. Southland is not an area where the occupation is needed.

It is an ANZSCO level 2 occupation so you could apply for an essential skills work visa for either 3 or 5 years depending on the hourly rate of pay.

Once here and working & if you have enough points you should really go for a skilled migrant residency visa if you are intending to stay long term or permanently. A quality application would be one with 160 points or over including a sound job offer.

To add to the mix , should you receive a job offer from what is called an 'accredited employer' then you could take up a work to residency visa.
The District Health Boards for instance are NZIS accredited employers & that includes Southland.

Maybe start by contact the health boards to see if they have a vacancy.

Also talk to the psnz about what may be required.

Bo-Jangles

Quite a lot of contradictions in here and some things don't add up:

4 to 5 weeks is a tad ambitious - who told you that?

So the cost of living is relative to what and what do you consider to be 'excellent' wages. How have you arrived at that conclusion?

Perhaps you might take that as a hint that your 'excellent' wages are simply not relative to cost of living if everything appears so expensive

Justcol

I think the rents you've quoted are a little out of sync with what the market professionals are saying.

https://www.barfoot.co.nz/market-rep.../suburb-report