[Taylor's Dad]

Hi anyone!!
First post..here we go.
It feels as though I have missed something.
Wife, daughter and I are landing on the 1st December (visitors visa).
The idea is to get a job offer and then use those points to bolster the EOI. My wifes occupation (principle applicant) is on the Immediate skills shortage list. Job oppertunities seem very good (thanx to Seek) All prelim paperwork (medical, police clearance, NZQA checks etc have/will be done before arriving.
Am I OK so far? Is it as simple as that (considering all the if's)- Get there, throw a dart according to where the jobs are, get a job offer, send EOI, score 165 by all accounts and go forth.....???

My 18 month old "Taylor" does a mean rendition of the Haka which involves a lot of tongue wagging and drool. If this was a requirement for residency she would have her very own place.

[SarahEDH]

hi Taylor's dad, and welcome to the forum. Your little one sounds like a cutie!

Re: your general plan, it's worked for many who have come to NZ and you may have a very good chance of success. Regarding whether you've overlooked anything, if you've done a lot of research (on daily life/costs/the culture/being homesick/etc.), you should be prepared for most things. You might find this helpful, if you haven't done so already -- try a search on this forum with the keyword "checklist", to find some very good threads on what to do to get ready. And, for balance, it doesn't hurt to read the threads on why people choose not to remain in NZ, to see if any of their issues might be relevant for you and your family as well.

Best wishes for your upcoming adventure :nice1

Sarah

[renew]

It may be worth checking how long some of your documents would be valid to ensure that the work you put in prior to arrival is not wasted. Medicals have a very short validity (~3 months) so you may be better off doing them their. You may also find that they are cheaper also.

Also it might be worth looking at sumbitting your EOI now if your wife is on the LTSSL. Then you could sumbit the ITA prior to leaving and it would then be hurried up once you had a job. Although the automatic pass point is 140 recent draws from the EOI pool have been lower for people with bonus points for work experience and/or qualifications. You would probably need to do your NZQA first though.

good luck with the plan

[KerryS]

The major flaw I would see in your plan is arriving in December. Companies all tend to wind down over the summer and as a result job hubting during this period can take an age.
What field is your wife in? There may be someone who could offer advice in relation to this.

[zardell]

The major flaw I would see in your plan is arriving in December. Companies all tend to wind down over the summer and as a result job hubting during this period can take an age.
What field is your wife in? There may be someone who could offer advice in relation to this.



This is an excellent point and the Christmas/summer holidays certainly wasn't something that we took into consideration.

We found at that time of the year, people just weren't interested.

Fortunately we were in no hurry to find work, but in early December,my hubby was offered (and took) an interview for mid January and although he was offered the position, the job didn't start until February.

Julie

xx

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Yes indeed, the plan is as sound as any other in principle, but be prepared for potentially long wait for a job. The whole HR/Recruitment system here works at a pretty slow speed. If you will have enough cash to see you through for a reasonable time until employment comes along then great, enjoy exploring NZ in the meantime. If this could be an issue then December is probably not an ideal time to arrive.

It's taken me eight weeks to secure employment in IT, and until only a few days ago it looked like it might easily take another eight or more. Having said that we have chosen a place to live (Hamilton, Waikato) where there are significantly fewer opportunities in my chosen field than in, say Welly or Auckland. This was a conscious decision so we were prepared for it.

For the same reason I will be earning a lower wage than if we'd moved to a major city, so that needs to be taken into account in your plans too.

For us location and lifestyle were of far greater priority than available opportunities or salary expectations (although those considerations also came into play) and everyone is different, so my advice would be think carefully about what is important for you and your family and make your choices based around those priorities as a whole.

Consider alternatives as well. What is you hate the place you choose to live, but love the job, or vice versa. If you want or need to relocate, retrain, change employer what are the options. Could you and your family cope with a second relocation upheaval if you do need to move on etc etc etc.

Obviously you will be hoping that your first choice scenario will be great and everything will go pretty smoothly and here's hoping it does. But it doesn't always work out that way for many and, usually, unexpected reasons (plenty of evidence on this forum to review on that front) so the more prepared you are the more likely you will be to find a succesful life here.

Sorry to ramble on, but as the old addage goes failing to prepare is preparing to fail. If you don't know what you want to achieve out of life, then how will you know when you've achieved it?

Anyway, good luck and best wishes.

Sam

[Taylor's Dad]

I love the time difference, write a message...go to bed...wake up with all these wonderfull replies and words of advice. Thanx to all that replied.
Sarah, yes research is the key and I have been fortunate enough to have access to internet and found in general that NZ info sites go beyond expectation. I also read the NZHerald online daily and utilise Seek's jobmail which is unbelieveably effective. SA is way behind when it comes to utilising the web for these purposes I feel.
Renew (validity of documents) Good plan. I figured on doing the medical 1 month prior to flying but have found costs to be hellishly expensive. Is there a list of panel doctors in NZ do you think?
KerryS & Julie..about December, both my wife & I are in the hospitality industry which should busy up over December. If this assumption is incorrect we have budgeted for a few months of rent, food and transport but would ideally love to be employed by January. I anticipate a few delays with nailing a work visa during December though.
Sam in Hamilton. We will be staying with friends in Hamilton throughout December and have considered looking at the possibility of making Ham our home. Perhaps we could get together and chat.
I come from a rural farming area myself and like the look of it. Mind you, isn't NZ just one big farm??? Just kidding.
The job offers will dictate where we settle and we are prepared for most options. Location and lifestyle is key for us too...I suspect most South Africans feel the same, just want a bit of peace, safety & quite. The hospitality jobs tend either to be corporate city or idillic rural. Both have their merits.
A big thank you to all for the advice. Perhaps once we are settled and have effected our plans we can extend an invite to anyone who passes by to come in and have a beer. (I am involved with the "highest brewery in Africa" and planning to relocate the the business to NZ once settled)
Thanx again
Watch this space.....
& meet the Fockers on this link :cheers www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3491&l=b34c9&id=601021114

[eternalkiwi]

In NZ any GP can complete the required medicals checks for immigration and it could possibly be cheaper in NZ.

Shawn

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Sam in Hamilton. We will be staying with friends in Hamilton throughout December and have considered looking at the possibility of making Ham our home. Perhaps we could get together and chat.


There's quite a few of us in and around the Hamilton and Waikato area on this forum. We're a friendly bunch and now that there are so many I think we'll be looking to arganise lots of meets. You'll be more than welcome to join us or, equally, we'd be more than happy to meet up on an ad-hoc basis as well.

We got and are still good friends with the owners of the motel we originally stayed in here on first arrival. Those guys reckon that Christmas/December is the only time of year they are NOT busy, but that's probably a reflection on Hamilton as a place to work and live as opposed to a place to holiday, so the locals shut down and go elsewhere in NZ over that period. I would guess in, say, Nelson or Hawkes Bay, for example, the opposite would be the case. In Hamilton nthey do extremely well looking aftre the business travelling community for most of the year. The hotel/motel trade is on the up in Hamilton at present, so we're led to believe.

Good luck anyway, sounds like you have got your head pretty well sorted around planning your move, so good luck with it, and now you've found this forum we're all happy to help or advise if you need us.

Sam

[Nienke]

In NZ any GP can complete the required medicals checks for immigration and it could possibly be cheaper in NZ.

Shawn

160 dollars per person, at a medical centre in Henderson, Auckland!