Special10

Greetings!

Having a bit of a dilemma and wondering if anyone could provide me with some advice...

I arrived in New Zealand last month for 6 months of travelling and immediately fell in love with the place...

Quite by accident, I've found a job similar to what I was doing in the UK (and for slightly more than I got at home), it's not a professional job, but its quite hard to find people who have done it as long as I did here apparently, the company are very friendly and have said that they would sponsor me to stay long term if that was required.

So far, so toastie...

But I am just a wee bit confused..


1) If they did sponsor me, is my girlfriend allowed to stay as well?
2) How well could I live in Welly on $50k a year (renting a studio or one bed place)?
3) Have I lucked out (especially since I'm not a professional), or are opportunities for sponsorship pretty common?
4) Should I maybe wait a few months to see if I REALLY like New Zealand...If I don't, I've wasted my trip working in an office!)


Help me...I'm very confused!

Kiwiprincess

I can't help other than to say, if I understand this correctly and also possibly reading between the lines a bit

1. you aren't working currently (holiday)
2. You don't have a work tie to the UK
3. You like NZ at the moment
4. You seem open to moving if the job/place is right.


Seems to me that they are all positive things. If the company can help you why not go down that route? Nothing is forcing you to spend the rest of your life here.

It is a bit hard to say whether 50k would last you and if the income level is ok without knowing your job. With your income, plus your girlfriends you are likely to be on above the average household income.

Renting a property would be possible but i wonder if you are possibly reducing your options by getting your own place on 50k. Obviously easier to rent your own place if you are earning more. 50k is not a lot to be renting your own property but there are a number of share rentals at the slightly higher end of the market where the places are probably a bit too big/expensive for a person to rent on their own but they don't want to live in a large houseshare.


i have no idea about the immigration restrictions with your girlfriend though. Someone else will know far more about it than me. My thoughts were just on your general email.

My general response would be "why not".

BEVS

More details please.

The type of work.
Your quals/work exp to do this work
How long in the relationship.
What visa are you currently on.

Dustybin

ahh details details, stay what have you got to loose. 6 months time it doesn't work out go back. Simple.

Life, live it, worry about the other things later

Special10

Researcher
Degree (History)/3 years as a researcher back home.
Nearly 5 years (The good lady is here as well, and is keen to stay a while).
Working Holiday Visa valid until Sept '09.

My basic problem is - do I say no and hope that I can get something equally or almost as good in 6 months when I'm sure that I want to stay?

Or take it, realise I don't want to stay in NZ and waste 6 months when I could be doing something nice and chilled out in the beautiful NZ countryside.

eddie_nz

50 K a year

Fine when your single / live in GF

Falls on its arse when marrage kids and a bigger place comes allong.

Do you have funds you can move over from the UK??? If not your chances of buying a house in NZ are pretty much zero

Fooferfish

Do you belive in fate ??

Things like that dont come aorund that often and there will behindreds of poor souls in Uk struggling to get to NZ and you have just got the oppotunity of a life time, ask yourself, what in UK would you be doing for the next few years, and now look at what you can do in NZ, new country, new job, adventure to see NZ and if your employers are acreditted then maybe you can gain PRV, do as long as you like IMO opportunities like that are few and far between, do some more research on Welly, go see some rental firms, ask employer for assistance, if they realy want you they willpay some rent etc.

Life is not a rehersal and whilst we are on this earth we should dance .

We struggled to get to Nz, and when we call people back in UK they are still doing the same old same old, you now have the chance to live , do, see something different in your lives, go with the flow, its an awesome ride.

But at the end of the day, its all down to you its your life??

Good luck with your decision.


Nige, Dunedin May 05

newkiwi

1) have you and your girlfriend been living together long enough (i think its two years but maybe its one year??) and have details substantiating that. if you do then she qualifies as your de-facto partner and will get a work permit too if you get one. if not, and she is under 30 she can go back to the uk and apply for a working holiday visa which gives her a more limited visa to work and live in nz for either 12/24 months. going the defacto route if youre able to is the better option. the nz immigration website can give you some more details or you can go into the immigration office and see if you can tqalk this through with somebody there

2) look on the ird website, there is a calculator that tells you what your after tax salary will be on 50k. 50k does not go far if renting on your own, but if your good lady is staying and working obviously that will help

3) you do seem to have gotten a break, it is not unheard of but still lucky

4) why would you wait, if you go for it now it will still prob be 4-6 weeks before you have to start working anyway, so what is the upside in waiting as opposed to the downside of giving up this potential great opportunity.

just my opinion feel free to disagree

good luck

southerner

Nothing to add to above, except that if the employer is really that keen you may wish to negotiate with them that you can have, say, a good 6 week break over the summer (seeing as how you did come here to see the country). That way you can have your cake and eat it too.

Special10

Thanks for all the replies.

Took the job, start Monday, now thrashing about in a panic trying to get bank accounts, IRD and everything else sorted (I've had the forms for a month and done nothing...Doh!)

Hello Wellington!

Fooferfish

Bloody awesome, grab life and go for it, Kiwi attitude already.

In the deep end ans swimming already ha ha i love it when people take life by the balls and go for it, wicked.

Good on ya , dont panic as Kiwi's dont, but hey well done for making the life changing decision and we hope you guys get to see some of NZ as ist an awesome place,, and when you get a chance come and see the real NZ the South Island.

Nige and family, Dunners