DanSolihull

Hi all, well to sum up my current situation - I currently live and work in Melbourne (I'm in Aus on a 457 and have been here under 2 years). A couple of weeks ago I had an offer from Malaysia and I have now just had an offer from Auckland. I'm edging towards Auckland. The Company who have offered me a role is an accredited employer and they have recommended a work to residency visa, they don't have an immigration specialist so have left it for me to sort out. Is this usual or should I be requesting they arrange for the visa / outsource it?

Also I need to get an ACRO police certificate from the UK but as I have been in Aus under two years I don't know anyone who can verify my photo. I have also lost touch with anyone who could have done in the UK (if I sent them my photo and the page) so I don't know what to do about this

One final thing, the salary offered seems in the range offered on Seek for the same positions, they've also offered $5k to cover flight from Melbourne to Auckland, 4 weeks accommodation when I get there and shipping. Is $5k a good allowance for this? When I looked at accommodation alone in a reasonable location and of a reasonable standard it came close to the $5k.

Hebe

We are in the process of moving to Auckland from Melbourne. House sold and I am here as I type on a reccie. Shipping - depends how much you have. We are sending ours next week at $8k. Flights - OH flies in and out at the mo and paid for by company. Short term accommodation - 3 months at The Viaduct. Rental - just signed up for one in mission bay

All our relocation expenses are being met by the company including shipping of dogs and use of a relocation agent until we are settled. Not sure if this is normal - others may clarify

Pom_Chch

Hi,

My partner came into NZ on a work to residency visa. He had to sort it all out himself, the company only helped with supplying letters to prove he had a job offer. I seem to remember the application process wasn't too bad once you have all the necessary paperwork. His visa came through within one or two weeks.

As for the police report we were in the same situation! When it came to changing our WTR visa into permanent residency we needed to get another police report from the UK as they only last for 6 months. We ended up having to send the forms back to some friends in the UK, they then signed the photos and paperwork, posted it to ACRO, ACRO then posted it back to our friends and then they posted it to NZ. It delayed the process by about one month.

The company offering relocation costs sounds good. It doesn't sound like a huge amount but from what I gather companies don't tend to do this very much any more. Hopefully someone else can chime in and shed more light on that one but when we moved over we were offered no financial help with moving and the same goes for our expat friends.

Good luck with all, NZ is a great wee part of the world

DanSolihull

Good luck with your move, I hope it all works out. I won't be shipping a lot so I hope it's nowhere neat $8k! Ha. I've got a fully furnished apartment at the moment so it's just some extra stuff I've got really, nothing more than a few boxes.

DanSolihull

Hi,

Yes that's exactly what they have given me. The letter to say that they're accredited and then all the letters to me with the required info. I've got loads of forms to fill in, need the police cert and then need some medicals and x-rays etc. It's the police certificate that is going to be the stumbling block though :-(

Thanks for the best wishes

marooned5

Having lived in AKL and KL, I would choose Malaysia! A lot more to see and do, fantastic travel opportunities, and a much cheaper cost of living...

Tom1983

When did you leave the UK?

If you've been away for more than 24 months, you could just get someone in Australia to do it and then send it off. You would be very unlucky if someone from ACPO contacted your guarantor.

I know quite a few people that have done this without any issue.

DanSolihull

My head is all over the place at the moment, I am now edging towards Malaysia!

gazmac

Malaysia is one of my favourite places, Really love KL but Penang is where my heart is.

When I moved to Auckland the my employerB paid for our accommodation and it came to just over 1k per week, with flights and shipping 5k might not cover all the costs.

DanSolihull

Really, can you give me a bit of an insight into Penang off the beaten path of what my Google research has told me

gazmac

Penang, I found was a really friendly place with a lot of different influences, Brittish, Malay, Chinease and Indian mostly.

Weve been there a few times and always seem to be drawn back to it, used it as a base between India and S.E. Aisa when we were travelling and generally feel its a place where we can feel comfortable

It has a city feel without being to overbearing, All your amenities are close by, public transport is decent , much better now than when I was first there.

It has a National park with the opportunity for short day walks and nice beaches.

Batu Ferrenghi - where a lot of the large tourist hotels are is also nice for a short trip to the beach.

I loved that you could have a masala dosa for breakfast, coffee and a cheesecake for lunch and yum char for dinner- the food is brilliant.

Its connected to the mainland via a brigde so you are not isolated, butterworth train station is just over the water for trip to KL or Thailand.

I didnt find it off the beaten track, in fact the opposite I thought most people would have Penang on their list of places to go to when travelling in Malaysia.

bakedbean

There are plenty of cheap flights from Penang international airport to KL, Singapore, Langkawi, Phuket and other places. Not sure that the train journeys are that great..pretty tatty I hear.

Also the Penang 2nd bridge is complete and will be opening very soon.

But, hey, pop over to the Malaysia section if you want to pick some brains