DennisBergkamp

Hello,

I have been in NZ for a year now in Welly and despite it being difficult at the begining, things are better now.

I came here alone and met a fantastic Kiwi lady (who holds a UK passport) and we've been seeing each othr for 10 months now.

She want to have a stint in the UK, using her UK passport to experience working in the UK and travelling to Europe

I am all for that - BUT, i only have a 2 year visa til the end of 2012.

I enquired about PR and Immigration said they couldnt guarntee me being granted PR by the end of 2012 - so i havent applied

AND if we were to head to the UK, i wouldnt meet the requirements of the residence visa anyways

I am just thinking that, i have a permant job, maybe we should battle it out till i get PR - but then that would mean another 3 years!!! - we'd be 30 odd then and maybe the time for European travelling will have passed

But i am hoping that should i wish to return to NZ in the future - having 1 years plus Kiwi work experience will help (and fingers crossed being married to a kiwi should help with a visa application!)

But having visited Sydney and Melbourne i might be tempted to do 2-3 more years in the UK before trying for AUS, if that fails back to NZ

I am only 25 - but i have a good job here, which is permanent. Not a job i greatly enjoy, but its money and keeps me in NZ with my lady!

theghostofdustybin

i would like to point out that I was over 30 when i spend nearly 2 years wandering about the world.....

Just do what feels right, simple.

BEVS

Me and him were 40 odd when we decided to take a gap year.

Wiz'n'Ton

I'm with the 'do what's right' brigade. Why hang out another three years in a mediocre job, when you could be larging it around Europe with your missus. If all works out, you may well be back on a spouse visa with PR - who knows?! If not, you've got here once, it sounds like you're a pretty employable chap, and so you may well get here again. If not, there's always Aussie as a portal to NZ.

Otherwise, stay in NZ, and by 30 you'll find yourself with mortgage, sprog(s) and all of a sudden you're 40 going 'WTF!?!'. This is not a bad thing either.

There's no right or wrong answer chum, just Carpe Diem and all that. Good luck!

Catchafire

25yrs old! Your a kid! Go see the world with your lady. She's a Kiwi, if things work out, you can gain residence based on your relationship, just keep a track of where you been together.

NZ not the only place in the world to live either!

DennisBergkamp

i definitley aim to come back to Aus/NZ in the next few years.
Just that i came here on a 9 month temporary visa - now upgraded to a 2 year one on the Silver Fern scheme from last year

I cant go via this method any more - but i'll have over 100 points for EOI for the future having had more work experience and some Kiwi work experience - so i'm hoping things will work out in the future.

Also - i would prefer to live in Auckland then Welly if i was to return - Welly is nice, but a bit small and living at the bottom of the North Island means you feel stuck - like the only place you can head out on a daytrip is north- i've ben to kapiti, eastbourne, riversdale, castle point etc so many times now

At least there are plenty of options in Auckland - but fewer jobs in my line of work.

I might be back in the UK in June 2012 by the looks of it so thats 19 months work experience in NZ - then work and travel in the UK for a few years!