[benhila]

A huge set-back: is that IT???

Having received a job offer from the Ministry of Health in Wellington over the phone, we felt invincible; we filled-in electronically our EOI in mid-December, were selected immediately and received the ITA by the forth of Jan. Submitted all the paper-work by hand to NZ House, fulfilled our case-officer requests for further documentation. Meanwhile we sold our car, arranged for shipping, spent oodles of money on our flat which is to be rented out, found our prospective renters and bought a one-way ticket to Wellington for the 8th of May….. To cut a very long story somewhat shorter, we were notified today that due to “background checks” the duration of which can’t be determined in advance, there is NO WAY that we receive our PR on time to take that 8th of May flight. We suspect that the checks are due to the fact that we are originally from Israel, although we have lived in the UK for the last 20 years. Anyway, we were advised that the only way to fulfil our work-contract (starting date 12th of May) is to apply for a temporary working visa. I know that there are numerous threads on this subject but I feel too demoralised to start looking. Can people who went the PR route and then had to switch mid-way to working visa due to time-constraints advise on how painful the procedure is and whether it is possible to use the documents currently ‘residing’ in the PR tray for the WV application? Also, does applying for a temp working visa cancels the PR process, or do both progress simultaneously? I feel so disheartened, I could cry!

[dusk]

From the sounds of it what your case officer is saying is apply for a temporary work visa while your PR continues to be processed, it certainly doesn't sound like the PR process is cancelled in any way.

I'm sorry I don't know anything about the work visa proces, but I would think if it requires medicals/other documentation that you have already supplied for your ITA you should be able to use those, might be a question of finding out what you do need from the NZIS website and getting in touch with your case officer again?

[BkyMonster]

From what I understand a work visa is a relatively quick process for the most part.
I think it usually takes a couple weeks at most to turn around. I also think plenty of people have gotten work visas while waiting for PR to come through. No worries! It doesn't cancel the process and you aren't really switching as much as getting a visa that allows you to work while your PR application is being worked on.

[benhila]

Thanks, BkyMonster, for your encouraging reply. Apart from being taken aback by this unexpected hurdle (we naively thought that NZ will embrace us and unroll the red carpet) we are unsure how to proceed about my (Hila) visa. In the PR application Ben was the main applicant and I only added 20 points to the score. I don’t see how I can apply for a work visa, having a few ‘useless’ degrees but no relevant work experience to speak of. One possibility is for Ben to fly over alone and for me to join him once the PR ‘kicks-in’ but we are unwilling to split. So, the dream may remain a dream after all….

[BkyMonster]

If your partner is granted a work visa you can also be granted a work visa (or student visa if a child) under the Family Stream program.
So if you can get Ben a work visa you can also get one for the same length of time :nice1
I think the Family Stream is even on the same application as a general work visa/permit. You should be able to find it on the NZIS website and could probably get it processed in less than a week seeing as you have a job offer.
If you get a work visa of 1 year+ then you can bring over your goods GST(tax) free.

You are so close! Don't lose hope. Just a little hump to get over.

[BkyMonster]

Here is information on the Family Stream process:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/worktemporarily/howdoiapply/familystream/

Here is the work permit application:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/EC9A6BEF-1152-482F-B39F-B782EE7688FA/0/1015.pdf

I hope that helps!
Don't despair. :)

[benhila]

Thanks Becky, you have just pulled me out of the dump. We will visit NZ House first thing Monday morning (luckily it is only 20 minutes away by tube). I am feeling a bit more positive already!

Hila

[BlueDevil]

My job started before my PR came through, I believe its actually quite common. With the job offer, they will process the work visa in a few days (at least my experience in the USA).

The main question is that if you apply for a long-term work visa (2 years) you essentially get almost all the benefits of PR; but I believe you have to supply more paperwork (copies of the health forms et al). It might be easier to apply for a shorter work permit and then await the PR.

Good luck.

[hammadkkhan]

Hello There,

Exactly the same happened to me. I got a job offer in August 2007 and applied for my General work visa and PR-EOI on the same day. Got my Work visa in a couple of weeks and flew over to Welly to take the job. ITA came here and was submitted and am expecting my PR sometime this month.

So the answer is a definite YES, You can apply for a work visa, catch May flight and just notify NZIS about the change of your address so that they can send all the future correspondence to you here in NZ. Once your ITA is atarted to be processed, you don't normally get a lot (or any) phone calls, emails from the case officer anyways. They expect you to chase them may be on fortnightly basis, normally via an email.

Hope this helps and Welcome to Wellington. We are having the best summer in some 14 years..........:yes

[marshanite]

Don't worry Hila - it will all fall into place; its just so stressful until it does.

We have been in NZ for 3 weeks and were advised by the employers to arrive on visitors visa & apply for work permit over here. Which is what we did. The visa came through in a matter of days.

We did lose a much needed £500 on changing the tickets to changeable dates, but thats another story!

See you over here on the other side!

Best Wishes, Fi.

[marshanite]

Don't worry Hila - it will all fall into place; its just so stressful until it does.

We have been in NZ for 3 weeks and were advised by the employers to arrive on visitors visa & apply for work permit over here. Which is what we did. The visa came through in a matter of days.

We did lose a much needed £500 on changing the tickets to changeable dates, but thats another story!

See you over here on the other side!

Best Wishes, Fi.

[benhila]

Thank you all. We were on the verge of giving it all up :wah but following your replies, have decided to give it another go. Providing that we can avoid paying GST and that I will be able to seek (and hopefully find) work (in other words, I do not want to go as a tourist) we will apply for working visas. NZ House, here we come again! :nice1

Hila and Ben