[Wooba]

Hello All,

Been reading the forum for a while, figured I'd better join and get involved :-)

Does anyone know exactly how the process goes for Canadians. According to the NZIS my application would go through Washington DC. If I was lucky enough to get past the EOI stage, would I have to go to DC to be interviewed by an immigration official? Or does the consulate in Ottawa take over for that?

Thanks...
Darren

[Pezhk]

Hi Wooba,
sory I cannot help you with your problem. But I am interested in why someone in Canada would want to emigrate to New Zealand. Aren't they similar......rural ecconomies?.........accept that Canada has better transport links..........mind you I guess NZ doesn't get so cold.
I only ask cos I have been considering both, and would be interested in your point of view.
Best Regards.
Perry. :nice1

[leslie]

i will answer that - born in toronto to brit parents, lived there again from 1997-2001 before coming back to london. to sum it up briefly - over-rated and could do better. climate grim too.

in the 60-70s canada was open, geared toward equal opportunity, clean, safe, had goals and ambitions and people were thoughtful. compare to scandinavia and nz now. these days the cost of living is comparatively high for the return. excessive professional wages are crippling the infrastructure. highly qualified, experrienced professional immigrants usually end up in low-paid crappy labour jobs because the cost of re-qualifying isn't manageable. poverty a major issue - housing understock a constant crisis. the place is awash with unemployed graduates and graduates earning less than is required to live never mind repay uni debt. i went back to take a degree and on completion the official document was in latin - 100%, even the uni name on the logo was in latin (am having that translated now). oh, and pretty much everyone is asleep, in some nirvana torpor. then there is the bureaucracy, probably linked to the sleep factor...

we all complain about nzis being slow - it is taking the canadian gov't 150+ days to process my criminal records check, involving finger printing at scotland yard etc. am paying through the nose for a document that says i was a good, law-abiding citizen. this parallels my experience as a business owner there - too slow for the modern world, too unrealistic for the future. interesting experience for a couple of years...

[petersmit]

Darren

We came over in October this year from Toronto area. I went the work visa route as I had a confirmed job offer. We submitted our visa applications to the NZ High Commission in Ottawa. This took less than 2 weeks after submitting our applications.

I have started the PR process once here and have just been selected from the pool.

Peter

[Wooba]

Thanks Peter,

To be honest, I'm not really interested in taking that route. If I'm going to make such a radical change in my life, which would include selling my home then I want some guarantees. I want PR before I'm willing to burn my bridges so to speak.

To Pezhk / Leslie

I can sum it up in one word. Climate. The winter is long and depressing. Once summer comes you have precious few days that are NICE, until the brutally hot and humid weather comes in. That wouldn't be so bad but the pollution is so bad that we're frequently told not to go outside because the air is too bad to breath. It sucks any way you look at it. NZ offers the things I love about Canada with cleaner air and nicer weather. I'm originally from England and my parents want to move back (again due to weather) but I have zero interest in going back there, so I figure now is a great time to take a risk. I could head to Vancouver, but housing there is just as expensive as Toronto and I have no idea how much demand there is for electricians. At least I know NZ needs them badly. There are a few other minor reasons that I'd like to go, most of them similar to reasons UK residents give. Climate is by far reason #1.

I think that Leslie is being a little harsh but I understand what she's saying. There is a problem of graduates without good jobs, but a lot of that is their own fault. Ask any person going to university why they are going and they most likely won't know why, only that they should. Absolutely no planning involved, just gain a degree no matter what useless subject you use. With the exception of the teachers, not one person I know that went to university gained anything practical from it.

I don't buy the poverty issue either. This is a very materialistic society where people perceive wants as needs. You'll hear many people complain that after the bills are all paid, there's nothing left to spend. In many cases this is their own doing. Sure people want all the toys but they don't want to wait, they must have it now. So credit card debt seems to be a fairly large problem. I can't count the number of times people ask me what the rate of interest is on my credit card only to shock them when I respond "no idea, I pay my bills in full every month". A great example of reckless spending I can think of is DVDs. I see people all the time pick up a DVD and throw it in their carts like it's another essential part of the weekly groceries. To them it's no big deal, but $25-$30 once or twice a month soon mounts up! Also most people contribute to a retirement plan called an RRSP, which again cuts into their monthly earnings but down the road will make them much better off.

From the limited research I've done comparing Canada to NZ is seems to me that the cost of many goods/services are comparable with Canada having a greater selection and for the most part is a little bit cheaper (with a very notable exception of car insurance - it's so much cheaper in NZ that it's absolutely mind boggling). The cost of housing seems quite high when considering salaries are a fair bit less in NZ. As an electrician I'd take a fairly substantial cut in pay to work there, but money doesn't mean all that much to me, as long as I can live comfortably I’ll be happy.

Perhaps Peter can shed some light for me with a rough cost comparison of day to day life with NZ/Canada? Almost everything I find compares the UK and it’s been a long time since I lived there.

Thanks.. Darren

[Pezhk]

Hi Pete and Leslie,
interesting replies.
As for the credit card thing that seems to be aproblem the World over, can't help thinking its all going to get nasty if house prices in the UK do fall.
Anyway I should be taking part in a Outrigger canoe competition in Canada in July, so at least I'll get chance to look around.
Can't blame you for looking at New Zealand, I spend 9 mths there working on farms, and the people are fantastic.
Thanks,
Perry. :clap [/quote]

[Laurie]

Hi Peter

Good to hear from you. How was the whole move down? Is it what you were hoping it would be.

Just curious as your choice to go with the work visa because you had a job offer...why still not go with the EOI while you were still in Canada? Did you feel that it would be faster the work visa route? Two weeks seem like a very short time compared to the time frame that people seem to be waiting for the EOI process.

Laurie

[petersmit]

Perhaps Peter can shed some light for me with a rough cost comparison of day to day life with NZ/Canada? Almost everything I find compares the UK and it’s been a long time since I lived there.


We have only moved into a rental 2 weeks ago after staying in a hotel for 8 weeks so I do not have a good feel yet. What we have found is that there are very few grumpy people...it may be different in Auckland. People are generally very friendly and much more easy going...less materialistic. Some food is cheaper (meat, cheese) and some is more expensive (some fresh veggies and fruit). Trading hours are 9-5 with a few big stores open later. Auckland is moving to longer trading hours.

How was the whole move down? Is it what you were hoping it would be.

Just curious as your choice to go with the work visa because you had a job offer...why still not go with the EOI while you were still in Canada? Did you feel that it would be faster the work visa route? Two weeks seem like a very short time compared to the time frame that people seem to be waiting for the EOI process.


Our move was quite smooth...but then our relocation and temporary accommodation in the hotel was paid for by the NZ company I am working for. I had a firm job offer here before we started the application for work visas. I went this route primarily because of time. Getting everything together, medicals, police clearance etc took some time. We only had a year left on our passports so we first renewed our passports. They will not issue a work visa past the expiry date of your passport.

...Peter

[Wooba]

Perry,

I just got back from the supermarket that's just across the street from me. It's 4pm, the sun is out and the temperature is -17 celcius with a wind chill of -30. Even being outside for just a few minutes, I wanted to cry. THAT is why I would want to leave Canada :-)

Thanks for the details Peter..

Darren