[louisa.c]

hi everyone
found this forum couple of nights ago whilst researching NZ on net; been great reading some usefull info from people who have made the move or in the process,so first and foremost thank you x x

My problem is i dont know where to start!!! Me and OH have been talking on and off about making a new life outside uk for ourselves and two boys (aged 5 and 7) eversince I qualified as a nurse 2 years ago, after considering both australia and NZ ( my preference being NZ ) we have now decided enough talking and more action is needed !

we were considering using an agent but as funds are tight dont know if this would be a good use of resources or not? did people find it easy enough without agent? are there any nurses out there who could give some advice re do I look for a job in the public or private sector? what are the wages like and working conditions in comparison to uk? furthermore where would people recommend we relocate to our main objective being a better outdoor lifestyle and good education for our children.

sorry to bombard with questions on first introduction !!! just so keen to finally start making plans x x x :)

[Kerry and David]

Welcome and good luck with your process!

If you a do search there is some information that I remember reading about agents and also nurses salaries/jobs etc.

My personal experience and I guess it depends on individual circumstances is that there is so much information available if you can do it alone it will save you loads of money!

We did start with an agent but after he took £700 from us, visited us for an hour and we have never heard from him since - we decided to go it alone:nice1
Kerry x

[Belmont Babes]

Firstly welcome to you all.
Secondly do not use an agent (my opinion I know) but most people get through without one and you need all the £ for other stuff.
Do a search on nurses and gather all the info you need ie salaries etc. I know Clare (Ben & CLare) in SI is a nurse. They are really helpful and I'm sure will be along soon.

I remember this time last year thinking "How am I going to get through this?" I did and you will.

All the best
Nat

[peebles16]

Welcome from us too :D
Ditto on not using agent - save your money for New Zealand. This forum is a wealth of information and most, if not all, the queries we had were answered here.

Best of luck
Karen

[JandM]

Hello.:) I'm sure you're going to get huge amounts of help and hints. It's one heck of a steep learning curve, but have a good time with it.:nice1

[louisa.c]

thanks guys any info greatly appriciated x x

[SNK05]

Hi Louisa.c

Welcome to the forum and the rollercoaster! I was advised to get the nursing registration underway ASAP...it can take several months! It seems to be very dependent on getting all the required documents to them and things have been known to go AWOL!

This is the NZ Nursing Council website which should give you all the info you need to apply for reg, including application forms etc.

http://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz/

I was basically advised to get this underway before starting the EOI but I'm sure that others have done it the other way round.

As others have suggested, do a search on the forum for anything you need...pretty much all you can imagine has been covered and everyone on here is GREAT....wonderful site.

Good Luck with it all

Sue n Kev

[louisa.c]

thanks for that sue n kev have followed your link and requested registration forms straight away. .. . . . .
louisa

[IanW99]

hi everyone
found this forum couple of nights ago whilst researching NZ on net; been great reading some usefull info from people who have made the move or in the process,so first and foremost thank you x x

My problem is i dont know where to start!!! Me and OH have been talking on and off about making a new life outside uk for ourselves and two boys (aged 5 and 7) eversince I qualified as a nurse 2 years ago, after considering both australia and NZ ( my preference being NZ ) we have now decided enough talking and more action is needed !

we were considering using an agent but as funds are tight dont know if this would be a good use of resources or not? did people find it easy enough without agent? are there any nurses out there who could give some advice re do I look for a job in the public or private sector? what are the wages like and working conditions in comparison to uk? furthermore where would people recommend we relocate to our main objective being a better outdoor lifestyle and good education for our children.

sorry to bombard with questions on first introduction !!! just so keen to finally start making plans x x x :)

Hi and welcome to the forum.

If you are suggesting using and paying for an immigration agent then the advice is to not bother, better off saving your money in most cases.

If on the other hand you are talking about a recruitment agent that specializes in nursing such as Geneva Health or Tonix then would say use them. They don't charge you for their services and are very helpful in finding you work and making a smooth transition to NZ. Of course you don't need them either, you can just go to the relevant DHBs website for current jobs etc.

Ian

[SNK05]

You're more than welcome....I'm only a little further forward than you in the process but if I can help with anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck with everything...

Sue

[Red Devil]

Hi Louisa... welcome to the forum, you'll find everyone extremely helpful and knowledgeable.

My wife is also a nurse (Renal/Haemodialysis) and has approached Tonix Health Recruitment for work, her contact there is Annie O'Donnell and she's extremely helpful.

At the moment my wife is busy completing Tonix paperwork and more importantly the NZ Nursing Council paperwork, as she's heard there is a 3 to 4 month backlog :eek: So it's a case of checking and double checking that everything is in order before sending the completed paperwork off to them... to be honest we're holding back with sending off the paperwork and registration fee (not to mention the immigration side) as we have a 3 week 'recce' trip in April to see if NZ is the place for us.

Our little boy is also aged 5 and based on the way the UK is going (downhill, fast) we feel the time is right for a change of scene :)

Good luck with everything :nice1

[benandclare]

Welcome to the forum and as Nat predicted here we are , well one of us ,Clare is at work to earn the dollars to keep me in the manner to which I've become accustomed :p

This thread gives the latest salaries you can expect as a nurse in NZ and full credit for Nicky for finding it :nice1

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?p=183168#post183168

Got to dash now as making supper and off to do some gardening for my contribution.

There are quite a few nurses on here from all sectors so fire away with the questions.

Enjoy the ride :D

Ben

[snailandthewhale]

Welcome!
Like everyone says, you can do it all yourself, no need for agents.
We've been here over a year, much better working conditions than in the UK. Would never go back.
I applied for a job direct to the DHB, they were very helpful with the immigration and even paid a small amount towards the relocation, others here seem to have got on perfectly well with the nursing agencies, so the decision is yours.
Good Luck!
K

[holland]

Hi and welcome to the forum

J and G x

[Nick88]

what are the wages like and working conditions in comparison to uk?

More importantly how do they compare with Australia? You might be surprised.

[StevieD]

Welcome to the forum Louisa and family!!!

Good place to start, loads of advice on here, first piece from me, don't touch agencies, save your money. and second piece of advice, find one of the EXPO's as they are always looking for nurses.

Good luck, tell us a bit more about where you are from etc..

Steve

[nickydwuk]

Hi Louisa, I was in your situation this time last year. The first thing I did was contact a few of the nursing agencies - Tonix, Geneva & Accent. They sent me loads of info on nursing, settling & working in NZ etc... I never actually registered with one particular one at the time but did have an interview with Tonix and filled out their forms. You can apply directly to the DHB's - they all have websites so if you know the area you want it may be worth doing a search for them. I think if you apply direct to them you may get help with your relocation more than if you go through an agency. As you have been told, get your registration application sorted ASAP. I got a job through Geneva and they did telephone references on behalf of the DHB and arranged the phone interview and are a really helpful contact in NZ. They have even chased up the NZNC when they 'lost' one of my documents (unfortunately this does happen a lot with them, so be prepared).

As for the EOI & ITA process - I have found it straight forward when you finally sit down a nd look at things closely. At first it can seem like there is so much to do but this forum has been great and you should find answers to any queries on here. definitely not worth spending thousands on immigration agencies. Good luck. :)

[louisa.c]

thank to you all for your kind wishes and and good advice in just a couple of days we have gathered lots of info to get us started in our application and saved money by not having to go through an agent!! now that we have started i am relly keen to get things underway although i also know we have a long way to go as we havnt even put our house on the market yet!!

We are from a village close to an industrial town called middlesbrough in the North East of England if any body knows of it !! at every opportunity we love getting away to areas such as the Lake District camping with the children mainly to get the children outdoors and away from TV computers etc,
however are still comforted by the idea of living reasonably close to school, rest, shops etc so ideally we would like to have the best of both worlds when we do relocate if anybody can offer advice of places with a local hospital that fits this bil!!
louisa, mike, dan & shaun

[Hongi Hicker]

Hi,

Just joined, looking to make major changes, does anyone know what the job situation is like for architectural techicnicians.

Single, GSH, own home, nice car, and I know this sounds like I've signed in to a dating agency but thats what it feels like.:confused:

[nickydwuk]

We are from a village close to an industrial town called middlesbrough in the North East of England if any body knows of it !!
louisa, mike, dan & shaun

I lived in Middlesborough when I was 10 - quite a few years ago- in a suburb called Acklam. My parents moved back down south after 18 months - not quite sure why. As a kid I had no problems with it except that the people spoke 'funny' :laugh

[louisa.c]

registered with geneva health for further info re nursing jobs and they contacted me regarding possible job opportunities with mercy and ascot hospitals in auckland and wellington anybody work for these or any possible advice about suberbs within traveling distance of these hospitals?? thanks
louisa

[snailandthewhale]

I work at Auckland City Hospital and a few of the staff here are ex Mercy/Ascot. I certainly haven't heard any horror stories. I'll ask them on Monday!
I got the impression they moved to ACH as they just fancied working at a "proper" hospital (no offence meant!) instead of a private hospital.
Having looked at the vacancy page for Mercy/Ascot Auckland, I'd be interested in knowing if there is any advantage to applying through Geneva instead of direct to the hospital?
Re suburbs, I only realised recently that Mercy and Ascot are 2 different sites. I thought it was one hospital. Mercy is in Epsom, Ascot is in Greenlane.
If you're considering Auckland, I would recommend ACH, have a look at www.aucklandhealthcareers.co.nz/
If I get any more Mercy/Ascot info, I'll post.
Regards,
K

[louisa.c]

hi k
thanks for that link i checked it out and it def sounds like the sort of place i would enjoy working as i currently work in a busy public hospital and love my job (theatre nurse). other than obviously finding a job the main things that would dictate where we consider living is schooling and nice area to bring up out 2 boys and money!! so any advice will be greatly recieved x x

[Hippywench]

I'm a mental health nurse. I'm not very much further along than you, I haven't sent off for my nurse registration yet. I've had to apply for my full birth certificate first and won't get that for another couple of weeks. I'm undecided whether to go with an agency or apply directly. Some help with the relocation costs would be nice but I don't know who'd be more helpful - agencies or the health boards.
Going to an Expo is cheering, though. you realise just how much in demand we are!
We definitely aren't using an emigration agent though. We let one do an assessment of our likely points level and they came up with the same total I got when i tried it myself on the NZIS site. You still have to collect all your documentation yourself and sign everything yourself so what's the point? We were quoted £750. We're on a rather tight budget as well and there's plenty other things we could do with that money.