Suzelah

Hi all

I wonder if any of you lovely people have figured out how to get a permanent job on an open work visa?

We moved to Timaru in the South Island a little over a year and a half ago. My husband has a work to residence visa and I am on an open work visa.

Back in the UK I had an excellent job as an in-house travel copywriter which I loved. The best I have been able to do here is as a temp office assistant. I enjoyed it as it got me out of the house and I got to experience New Zealand work life. It was a filler role whilst they restructured although I was really doing the new role any way. When I got let go I cried. They were tears of frustation because no matter how hard I worked to prove myself it didn't matter because I don't yet have residency.

I have applied for loads of jobs and if I put down that I have a work visa I never hear back. When I do get an interview, as soon as they hear I don't have residency yet, they don't want to know. We can apply in a couple of months but who knows how long it will take to be processed given the current delays.

Has anyone else experienced this and found a way round it or is it just me?

(Apologies if this is the wrong thread to ask but it has really consumed my life and is a huge part of my experience here. It has really knocked my confidence and impacted my relationship)

Pom_Chch

That's a tricky situation, sorry you lost your job 😣

It's probably not super helpful but Timaru is a small place with a bit of a 'it's not what you know it's who you know' vibe when it comes to work. Perhaps you might have more luck in Christchurch if that's an option.
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The only other suggestion I have is to pimp yourself out on Facebook and offer to do odd jobs for people. This seems to be quite popular with people in-between jobs. Not ideal but it's an option as long as your visa allows it. Or you could think of a way to use your skills to find some form of self-employment or find some work online somehow?

Not much help but hopefully something to go on until you get a more permanent visa.

BEVS

Work to Residence is for 2 years and then apply AFAI remember. You've done the hard yards. Sit it out for the remainder if it is the residency thing that you feel is holding everything back.

As Pom writes, Timaru is a lovely wee place but there is bugger all there. In fact NZ isn't that large at all really for your type of work. I think you will have to think outside of the box or look to change.

Suzelah

Thanks for the advice both, you kind of confirmed what I already thought. The residency will take much longer now because of the delays processing applications. I have been told up to two years which means we will have to get another work to residence visa which will be honoured at the original threshold however, if the company doesn't seek reaccreditation then my husband will have to get a visa variation. So complicated and long winded. Where this leaves me is working from home so I guess I'll just have to try and make that work. We don't want to move again and unsettle the kids.

BEVS

He is not in the priority category?

Suzelah

No, hubby is a HGV driver so not even close as based on base rate, not overtime. It's ok, at least I get to spend more quality time with the kids which I could never do in the UK.

BEVS

Ah! Then that is a bit of a pooper all round.
Just glad then that your OH earns above the nearly $80K threshold for the WTR accredited employer visa.
I have been unable to find the processing delays you mention so once he has completed the next 6 months, just submit as you would have done

jarv5116

Yeah there is big delays Bev.
A load of lads at my work applied last March and are still waiting to be processed on WTR visas.
I think there is about 6 or 7 guys and none of there WTR have been processed within the 6 months time frame.
Even before the pandemic one of the lads was 8 months.

BEVS

Bad news. Is there a note anywhere on the INZ website about this please?
If not, there should be.

edit.... what has been done re their visas. I take it the employer simply renewed the contract and so pushed the end date onward.

It concerns me as we know a WTR is a bit of a gamble.

jarv5116

Yes Bev
the WTR processing info has changed from 6 months to 10 months. that only happened a few weeks ago. one of the lads at work showed me it on his phone. I think your prioritised if your earning over 50 dollars an hour thou.
Most of the lads are ok at the minute because of the Automatic 6 months extension last year. But they will need to go on to talented WV soon till there residence has been processed.
Yeah immigration and WTR is a bit crazy at the minute. I don't know why as there is no one coming into the country. When I come over 2 and half years ago. Lads I worked with were getting processed within 6 months. Since the lock down no one has been granted Residence. there is maybe half dozen lads been waiting since March April time last year.
Its bit strange to be honest.
I'm the same I'm on a work to residence visa now. my 30 months is up on the 5th of March. But because of the auto extension my visa now runs out in Sept. I had a baby in July and it has been a nightmare trying to get paperwork sorted for the baby honestly lol. trying to get passport pics for a baby on level 3 took about a month lol Then I had to send all my paper work to the British passport office along with all the grandparents paperwork. the passport took 3 months lol and only got my paperwork back a few weeks ago. Now my police checks have run out that I got done last July waiting on the passport. Now I got told I need a new birth certificate. Ive only got the short birth certificate.
it's turning into a nightmare lol.

Suzelah

Bev, INZ have said they will honour the original 50k or so threshold that we came over on which is good news. To recap .... We will have to apply for residency first in June, but there will be no extension for us so then when residency application is in, we will also have to apply for a new WTR visa (and partner of a worker work visa for me, student visa for our lad and visitor visa for our toddler) to tie us over until residency comes through. Will need new police checks from UK too. It is all added expense. And as I have been unable to secure any kind of work (I can also do admin, accounts and customer service too) the deposit for our house (which we of course can't buy) is slowly being eaten into. It could be worse. But it could be better. I do feel as if INZ are letting us down. We kept up our end of the bargain but now we are being fleeced. It is just frustrating. Apologies for the rant and thanks for your advice.

jarv5116

how comes your applying for a new WTR after you have applied for residence on a WTR visa?
Has your husband changed jobs?

jarv5116

I'm on the Brits in Auckland site on FB.
there is people on WTR visa that Applied 6 months ago for residence as non priority.
They have been told today by INZ that it could be another 22 months before there residence visa are processed.

Bo-Jangles

They extended visitors visas by another two months today also, so signalling still nothing much is getting looked at for a couple more months at least.

This article kinda sums up the scale of the problem - it's reasonable to expect that it's going to be many months before we see any movement and than where the heck to do they even start in terms of clearing the backlogs.

jarv5116

Yeah, My Visa got extended few weeks ago for 6 months. my WTR is now 36 months instead of 30.