[brightonbean]

Am having a bit of a wobble about our strategy. If anyone can shed any light, I'd be grateful.

Here's the deal. My husband has a job offer and is due to start in early March. We have just been selected from the pool of EOIs. We have medicals and police checks under way and are gathering other evidence ahead of our ITA. We have flights booked for mid-Feb and shippers scheduled as we're committed to going even if the job falls through and we have to begin PR again. We're lucky enough that if my husband doesn't work for a while it won't be the end of the world.

Some people have said that we'll be fast-tracked because of the job offer, but what if it's not all sorted by the time we go? Will they let us in, and can my hubba get a work visa while PR application is under way? I'm having a bit of a nightmare finding an answer to this and hope it's not going to be a problem.

Any thoughts or has anyone else done the same?

Anxious-bean

[M&J]

We did this. We submitted the ITA the day we left the UK and traveled on a one way ticket with a 9 month visa.

My advice would be to wait until 2-3 weeks before you leave and see our far you PR has progressed. If it is not going to to done in time you can apply for a work visa. You OH will apply as he has a job offer and at the same time you can apply as his partner. Our work visa came through in 3 days. If you apply for a visa over 12 months you need chest x-rays but if you have already had your medicals you can refer them to your PR application.

Jo

[brightonbean]

Thanks Jo, very sweet of you to reply. I thought it would work somehow, just suddenly got a bit twitchy that we'd overlooked something really crucial. I'm sure you must remember that feeling! That's really helpful info.

How're you finding things now on the sunnier side of the world and did you get your PR?

[lockstock]

We have done exactly what you have done. I'm due to start work 29th January and as yet still do not have the PR visas - although it will, I am told by my visa officer, be any day now. Nevertheless it has been a nerve wracking experience - and if the visas don't come through, quite simply, I will not be allowed to work. Neither will my OH. I asked my VO about that scenario a few weeks ago (after we'd made all the travelling arrangements) and she was quite clear on that.

Don't forget too that if you arrive on a visitors' visa you will have to pay GST on the stuff in your container and it's not refundable. We're in that situation now. The container has arrived but is still sealed. Our wonderful shipping guy is hanging on until the last possible minute in for our visas to come through. Even then, the official line is that you are charged on the basis of the visa you enter the country on (ie visitors for us). But since the new legislation only came in in November it's still all a bit chaotic and our shipping guy doesn't think it's fair that we've become tangled up in the confusion.

For us it was a risk worth taking. We had sold our property and didn't see the point of living out of suitcases any longer than necessary (two months was quite enough thank you!) We decided that there was no obvious reason why we wouldn't get visas - until last minute medical reports were asked for just before Christmas - and that we could turn it into a 6 month extended holiday if the worst happened.

So we've been here two weeks, the dogs have arrived too, the container's sitting on the quayside and we still have no visas and can't work. But we should have good news on Monday apparently.

I wouldn't try to warn anyone off what we have done but for goodness' sake keep it real. You need funds to keep going while you can't work. AS for the job offer speeding things up - my job offer seemed to coincide with the three/four month period of time it was supposed to take to get a Visa Officer without a job offer so I can't say I noticed much difference.

In a moment of panic we looked at getting a work visa here in Hamilton but they couldn't guarantee it would be through in time to start work anyway so we dropped the idea. London is still handling our PR - we sent the passports back yesterday for the visas - but you can transfer to an office over here if you don't mind the obvious delay it will cause.

But it's worth it. It is so worth it even if the whole process should have a health warning stamped on the bottom! You really shouldn't be of a nervous disposition to embark on this wonderful experience!

Good luck whatever you decide.

[brightonbean]

Very helpful, thank you. Your experience sounds very different to Jo, who only arrived a few months ago. Will try and get an answer out of the NZIS asap. So good to know we're not the only ones winging it a bit. We are planning to store our stuff here before shipping if we don't have visas in time, which is an annoying small extra cost, but seems better than being faced with paying GST on everything. Really hope you get away with it - sounds like your shipping guy's a bit of a hero. We're so excited, nothing could stop us coming frankly! Thanks for the positivity. I'm sure one day we'll all look back on this over our glasses of chilled pinot gris and laugh heartily.

We sold our house today (subject to all the usual toing and froing) so that's one step in the right direction.

[lockstock]

I can't wait to laugh heartily again - it's laughing hysterically at the moment!!!

[veronica]

I think you may be misinformed about the GST issue there, I understood that most times they just ask for a refundable bond. I'd check that direct with the customs people here if it were me as although it may be new legislation the govt are trying to encourage migrants not scare them away.

[IanW99]

Very helpful, thank you. Your experience sounds very different to Jo, who only arrived a few months ago. Will try and get an answer out of the NZIS asap. So good to know we're not the only ones winging it a bit. We are planning to store our stuff here before shipping if we don't have visas in time, which is an annoying small extra cost, but seems better than being faced with paying GST on everything. Really hope you get away with it - sounds like your shipping guy's a bit of a hero. We're so excited, nothing could stop us coming frankly! Thanks for the positivity. I'm sure one day we'll all look back on this over our glasses of chilled pinot gris and laugh heartily.

We sold our house today (subject to all the usual toing and froing) so that's one step in the right direction.

Storing your household effects in the UK until you get a PR is no longer sufficient to avoid paying customs charges.

The rules used to be:-
"you are coming to New Zealand with the intention and legal authority to take up or resume permanent residence"

But have now changed to:-
"you have arrived and on arrival hold a document authorising residence in New Zealand"

Which of course you won't unless you already have your PR prior to arrival.

So arriving on a visitor visa first is out of the question (I suspect that it always was meant to be) if you don't want to pay GST.

It would be worth checking with your CO that if you have to get a Work visa due to PR not done in time, that this will be sufficient for customs.

I would still like to read the legislation for this change though, so does anyone have a link to this?

Ian

[M&J]

How're you finding things now on the sunnier side of the world and did you get your PR?

Yep we thankfully got PR in August, 2 days before our container arrived!!!! Since then we have settled in bought our dream house and love it. All I can say is it is worth it, honest. The first weeks and months here are difficult especially arriving in winter as we did, but now summer is here and we love it.

Good luck.

[BkyMonster]

Storing your household effects in the UK until you get a PR is no longer sufficient to avoid paying customs charges.

That seems a bit extreme! I would think something like if they were shipped or arrived before you had PR, but not being able to bring them over GST free if you arrived on a non-residence visa which was then changed to a residence visa, wow.


The rules used to be:-
"you are coming to New Zealand with the intention and legal authority to take up or resume permanent residence"

But have now changed to:-
"you have arrived and on arrival hold a document authorising residence in New Zealand"

Which of course you won't unless you already have your PR prior to arrival.

So arriving on a visitor visa first is out of the question (I suspect that it always was meant to be) if you don't want to pay GST.



That's quite interesting and something additional to budget for I suppose.

I'd be curious to see how this is applied to the bringing over of goods in a reasonable time clause.
If you come over, gain residency you are allowed to bring over goods duty free within a certain (reasonable) amount of time---but not if you arrived first on a visitor visa?

Any idea what such documents authorizing residence are?

PR obviously and 2+ year working visas.
Student visas? Working Holiday Visas? Shorter term work visas? (I've been reading that 1 year work visas now allow the bringing over of goods without GST, so I'm guessing so.)

Do you have a link for this?

I'm quite curious now.
Thanks!

[lockstock]

Veronica, it used to be a bond which was refundable. That's what we were banking on. However, as you can see from the other postings, things have changed since the middle of November 2007 -half-way through our storage/shipping process. We only found out the changes through the forum. All the information has been confirmed by Auckland Customs.

[BkyMonster]

Ah, found the information.

http://www.customs.govt.nz/travellers/Household+Effects/When+No+Customs+Charges+Apply.htm

[brightonbean]

Thanks to everyone for your feedback.

Having read the Customs blurb and about work visas, it looks like our best bet may be to apply for a work visa now (£95 and a trip to the NZIS office in London) and let the PR application tick along in the background.

Our only concern is will they want to keep my OH's passport (if so, how long) or will it be a case of just taking it up with the application for them to check on the day?

As ever massively glad i found this forum... how did anyone manage in the dark days before the internet?

[M&J]

If you go to take you visa application to London they will photocopy OH passport and then let you know when it has all been processed. You can then send the passport to them and they add the visa to it. We did exactly this as OH worked in Germany. When we sent this passport in we had it back within a week.

Jo

[marshanite]

We too are arriving in NZ very soon (Auckland early march). I couldn't find this thread this morning, but now that I've found it; Ill paste my post in here!

Sorry, cant find the thread that I was reading last night (one of my 4 yr olds has dragged me out of bed at the crack of dawn!).Couldn't go to sleep thinking about it!

We have been advised by the agent who has found OH a job, to arrive on a visitors visa, then he would arrange a work permit while we wait for PR. He reckons that there isn't time to get the WP before we leave (OH has only just sent off all the documents for NZQA).

Having read the thread about the new rules since nov 2007, I am worried that we will have a huge GST bill. We will be sending the car over to Auckland stuffed with clothes, toys,other essentials & then hope to have our furniture shipped when the house sells (fingers crossed!)

How about a short trip to visit family in Oz once WP comes through - would that solve the problem?

This info has really scuppered my plans - but I am so grateful for all your experiences & advice (knowledge is power; & more power to us!)

Thanks, Fi (mrs Marshanite still squatting hubby's username cos I can't register with my hotmail address!)
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[lockstock]

We've though of that one too. Any ideas anyone? Or do we risk not being allowed back in at all!

[andrewandjane]

we had a job offer and they wanted me to start by end of feb last year, didnt have our PR. untill march I just phoned Immigration and faxed a letter to them reminding them I had Job offer and had submittesd all the relevant paper work. They processed it quite quick after that so it may be worth doing, Also if you get your employer to contact imigration (give them details of your ase officer) Then they can contact them too. In the end I phoned case officer to leave a message saying when we were due to start work and he sorted it all out.

having said all tha was a bit of a rollercoaster knwoing when i had to start the job and two weeks before still not having the paper work.

I was told they could sort a work permit out in a week though as medicals etc had all been done. ( I think this request goes to the same case officer and is more work for them than just finishing processing the PR as they did that instead when i asked!)

good luck with it all