apotts86

Hi all,

First post on here, so much useful info to be found on this great site!

Me and my partner are planning a move to Christchurch from Aberdeen ASAP.
I'm a civil engineer and my partner works in oil and gas (but wants a change in career).

We are still in the early stages, I have spoken to a few recruitment agency's and had a skype chat/interview with one, my career prospects all sound very promising at the moment due to the rebuild going on.
Our house is going on the market straight after Christmas and as soon as its sold we are off (could take a while in the current market )

It would be great to hear from anyone on here in the construction trade that has made the move to Christchurch.

I have spoken with a few people/an immigration advisor and it has been suggested that a holiday working visa would be the easiest/quickest way to get across there and get working, then apply for a proper work visa if we like it, and eventually if all goes well PR.

I know to expect a 20% pay cut, but we are not going for money, me and my partner are very keen mountain bikers and snowboarders, the mountains and the outdoor lifestyle are the major draw for us.

Anyway, just thought I would say hi as this site has been invaluable in the past few months of internet research.

Hopefully I will be back soon with a more interesting update.

Woodlea

Hello and welcome to the forum. I did a similar move nine years ago, Turriff to Christchurch and love it here. I'm not in construction but work with a lot of civil engineers building the new subdivisions, there still seems to be plenty going on so good luck with your move

MrsFychan

holiday working visa does not allow you to work full time, dependant on whether you get the 12 or 23month but with the 23mth you can only work 12mths of that, not sure how much of the 12mth one you can work.

Your best bet is to look in the immigration site to see if either of your occupations can uplift a more permanent visa, civil engineer is on the list of skilled occupations, long term skills shortage list as well as the Canterbury skills shortage list (temp visa for the length of the contract).

The immigration advisor needs his sorry arse kicked, yes the WHV could be quickest but in the long run it would cost more, the 23mth visa requires a medical as well as police check, I find it pointless going this route if you can initially get a permanent visa from the off.

Please check out the immigration site and then come back with any questions with us on here, which costs nothing and if needs be call NZ Immigration in the UK direct as that also will cost less than an immigration advisor. for straight forward cases where the occupation is on lists immigration advisor's bring only extra money to pay and slow the process up as they are a middle man so in fact you will know less of what is going on than if you did the process yourself.

Pom_Chch

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure you can work full time on a WHV. The only thing you can't do is get a permanent job and work for more than 12 months on either visa. I know when I came in on a WHV originally I got a job as a receptionist on 40 hours per week from an agency. That was 3 years ago now though, but saying that I don't think the rules have changed. Quote from Immigration website:

When you are here
- You must not take up permanent employment (unless you apply for and are granted an ordinary work visa while you’re here).
- You must not work for a period exceeding 12 months.
- You can enrol in one or more courses of training or study of up to six months’ duration in total during your visit.

Nothing about not being able to take full time work?

MrsFychan

sorry when i said full time, i meant full time of the visit, not as in hours worked, sorry for the confusion

Pom_Chch

Ah got ya, makes sense now

apotts86

Thanks for the tips, I would prefer to get a proper working visa before setting off and I will go and investigate that route further. The immigration advisor I spoke to was just a free consultation, I have no intention of using one until it's time for the PR application (if at all).

The only thing that makes getting the work visa sorted while still in the UK a bit awkward is that I need a job offer, and from speaking to a couple of agency's, while it is possible in my role, employers don't tend to be willing to wait for very long for overseas applicants, and it would be difficult to coordinate it to tie in with selling our house.
I will go and do more research on the subject though

Timmy Chch

"yes the WHV could be quickest but in the long run it would cost more, the 23mth visa requires a medical as well as police check, I find it pointless going this route if you can initially get a permanent visa from the off"

Perhaps not, myself and others have done this route at no extra costs but with the benefit of being here to pick up a job sooooo much easier than other side of the world.

Yes, you need a medical but it lasts for 3 years so plenty of time to sort out a job and apply for residency. You don't need a police check as your not in the country for more than 2 years, only for when you go for the next visa.

Either option are good options but definitely a slow down going on in chch so I'd suggest getting here sooner rather than later. Rather be in engineering than say a painter right now!