sol133

Hi Guys
Can anyone shed any light on what job offers are acceptable when applying for a skilled visa? My experience and qualifications relate to a previous job and I have two other areas of work I could look in for employment (both of which would probably pay better.) Would you be expected to turn down a job offer if it was in a different category or profession? What happens if you get an offer but hate the place when you get there – are you stuck there? Or can you look for a better job? I can’t get a straight answer so any advice or experiences would be useful!
Cheers!

happynz

If you are on a work permit you will be tied to your sponsoring employer. If that isn't working out for you you could find another job. However, you'd have to have the new employer provide evidence that no local qualified Kiwi could be found and that you have the necessary special skills to do the job. If all goes well there NZIS may well put a new work permit in your passport.
If you have PR without any restrictions you can do what you damn well please.

HTH

Good luck

lardyl

The only restriction is if you have a job offer for PR *and claim for it* (you might want to in order to get enough points or to jump the queue on processiong time) - if you do so then you will have to take up the offer and work for 3 months under the same conditions after PR is granted (even if that happens when you are in NZ and have already started work - MrsL had to work F/T for another month as we had "tied" work permits on arrival, pending the PR being granted, which it was a month into our stay!). Good luck.

sol133

Hi, thanks for that. Can I just clarify though, as I'm still in the UK and need the additional points - I get an offer and then NZIS grant a work permit visa with PR granted after three months in that job? I'm wondering whether I'd be better just going and hoping for the best, although I'm still not sure what sort of visa / permit I'd need for job hunting. I though I'd more or less got it sorted but now everything seems to be getting complicated!

happynz

Well, you can't legally work without some sort of work permit, whether it is a temporary work permit, work holiday visa, work-to-residency permit or permanent residency.
Am I understanding that you will have a restriction in working for a certain employer for three months then you'll be granted PR? If so, and if you want the PR I think you ought to just suck it up for a few months then get the resident's permit in your passport then you will be free to look for more suitable employment.

sol133

Yes, I'm presuming that I have to work for three months before I'll get PR. Unless they give you that straight away??? My understanding is that you can't use the offer to get your visa then go over and look for something else?
I'm also fretting about what's a 'suitable' job offer (and how to get one!)

lardyl

Eactly - also remember PR offers more benefits (health & education) and more job opportunities (some employers require PR/citizenship for certain posts). And three months is not that long..............

sol133

Yeah, spose...but it depends which end of it you're at!

lardyl

If you are worried that you have to stay in employment for 3 months to get PR then I'd think long and hard about emigrating to the other side of the world - that was almost the least of our worries, there are many many other issues that will pile up on you and going through three months of hard work or unfulfilling/low paid work is nothing compared to the separation and culture shock. You can get PR that is not conditional on a particular job - we could have, but the lag between puting in your ITA application (the final one with medicals, police checks, etc) and the PR being granted was too long for our circumstances so we had to go with a job offer (as you get fast-tracked) and in the end that was not fast enough so we got work permits, etc still linked to a particular job.
As far as getting a "suitable" job offer - remember it must be full-time and in the correct role for which you are "cashing in" experience/qualifications.

sol133

You're right, it's just that my head's spinning and I want to get over there and settled asap. Mentally, I've been at the airport for quite some time waiting for my flight to be called. I'm just panicking that all my plans will shrivel and die because I make some stupid mistake or misunderstand what I have to do. I'm going on my own and don't know anyone out there other that friends of friends, but I'm pretty solitary by nature and don't see a problem. Main difficulty is getting the right info so I can make sensible decisions - at least there's only myself to consider if I screw up.
Thanks for your posts, it helps to hear from someone who's got it sorted.

BEVS

Are you looking to emigrate here permanently?

If you need a job offer to gain enough points to submit an application to become a permanent resident , and that application is successful , then you would be tied to the NZ employer that offered you the job for three months. After that you would be free to persue any job offer you wished.

If you apply for PR and gain that without a job offer then you are not tied to any NZ employer for 3 months.

If you are applying for a temporary work visa , then you must have a job offer first and your visa would tie you to that NZ employer.If you wished to change employers you would need to inform NZIS and re-apply for a new visa/permit.

If you have no job offer, but need one, then you could come to NZ on a visitors visa and look for work. You could then apply for a work visa once you have a job.

sol133

Why can't they just say it like that on the NZIS website?
Thanks, that's what I wanted to know.