[Debs]

Hi there
I wonder if anyone can give us advise on the following.
We are in the UK (me,hubby and two children - all british passports).
Our ITA deadline for submission is 31st May, and we hear that it will then take a few months longer after that to get permanent residency through - unless hubby gets a job (IT software developer) - but seems fruitless from the UK - from the feedback we have got his skills are in huge demand but employers won't look at him till we're there.....
So, can we just go out there and hubby try to get job ? As we have another baby due in July we desperately want to be in NZ for the birth, so we would love to just pack up and go in May.

Can we do it ? We would look at submitting our completed ITA in May and then just flying out there in the hope hubby will land a job - which we are confident will happen quickly. Can the London office transfer our details out to NZ - is it that simple ?

ALSO - as I will be 6 weeks away from giving birth - am I entiltled to free midwifery care ???


Any help is much appreicated !

[wiki]

Wow - you'd be a lot braver than me if you went ahead with that plan!

I can't answer all your questions, but:

You'd only be entitled to free midwifery if you had a longer-than-two years work permit, or residency. They brought that rule in 2003 to discourage people coming to NZ just to give their babies NZ passports.

And to tighten up even more, from the start of 2006, even if your baby is born in NZ, they won't be entitled to NZ citizenship unless one it's parents has residency.

http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/0/891E868E4E3C6F72CC256AC0000298AA this should give more information.

Moving across the world is highly stressful - which is something you should be trying to avoid so close to giving birth I guess.

And you'd also need a doctor's letter to be allowed to fly so close to your due date - and be ware that some airlines won't let you fly over 32 weeks. If you have any problems with blood pressure or other complications, then most airlines won't fly you at all.

Is there any way your hubby can come out to secure work - pop back to UK for the baby - and then have you and the other kids join him when you're able to fly with your newborn?

[Debs]

Thanks for that info - anyone know how much it would cost us to have a baby in NZ ? - we would want a home birth,no drugs - just a midwife really
we're pretty chilled out about the birth - this is our third child and I have had two easy labours, both at home. So we don't worry about that - I think I can fly up to by 35th week of pregnancy, so again, no problem there.

it's mainly the actual going over there we need advise on - we will have submitted our ITA to the London office, so will it be straight forward to gain a work visa and if so, how long does it take to get one ?

[wiki]

One other thing I forgot to say earlier is that there's a shortage of midwives in some areas and a lot are booked up early.

As for the arriving and getting a work permit - if you have British passports you can travel to NZ without a visa, but you have to have onward flights within six months (to prove you're "on holiday")

I'm wondering what the customs officers are going to do if you turn up heavily pregnant with a return flight booked for some time after you'd be likely to give birth. It would probably look like you were coming to NZ just to give birth - and if you tell them you're coming to look for work then they get suspicious.

Most people who do come without a WP with the intention of finding a job and then applying tell the customs officers that the purpose of their visit is a "holiday" ... not so likely when you're heavily pregnant, nearing the flight safety cut-off and a long way from home.

This is Tia Maria's pregnancy thread which may be of help
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9491&highlight=pregnancy

Here's the thread on permit waiting times for the Auckland NZIS branch
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/branch/aucklandcentralhome/processingtimes/

the bit you want is probably this:

Work permit/visa
We will decide:
75% within 20 days
95% within 45 days
99% within 60 days

I imagine other areas of the country may be a little shorter as Auckland is a popular place - but it also has more staff, so perhaps it all balances out.

Good luck