[shagen]

After reading here that some of you had reservations about bringing your CVs with you when going to NZ looking for jobs, I am getting a little worried.

Don't want to start our new life by getting into trouble with customs and immigration when we arrive!

I know this has been asked and answered before but how many of you had your bags searched by customs on arrival and did you bring your CV with you? Did they put of a fuss about what you brought with you, even if it was allowed?

Thanks
Shagen

[Moorf]

Shagen - we posted our CV's and documents ahead of us to a person who we then collected them from.. if you want my address you are welcome to post documents to me and I'll deliver them to you when you arrive.

[shagen]

Thanks for the offer Helen but I have an interview in Wellington on Monday morning and will only be arriving Christchurch on Wednesday.

Did they actually search your bags when you arrived?

Shagen

[Ram]

Hi,

When I came here in October , I went to Christchurch first

I had some frozen food so I had to declare it.

Then I went through red channel to get my bags checked :(

I opened it up and showed them exactly what I had.

Then I was asked to open my briefcase, which I did gladly.

He took a look.

The officer then said bye and enjoy your holiday
:nice1

Ram

P.S I had a set of my certs in a sealed envelope in my briefcase

Good Luck

[Moorf]

Shagen.. no they didn't search our bags :nice1

[shagen]

Hmmmm......

Maybe I could say I am attending to some business or a seminar after my holiday and hence my notebook and bits and pieces of paper in my briefcase. Will that work? :uhoh

HELP!! :wah

Shagen

[Moorf]

Shagen, please don't panic... :no

You will be fine, I don't really know what else to say except try not to have that "bunny in the headlights" look on your face as you go through immigration! :eek

[veronica]

I can't believe that they would kick up a fuss about interview papers when NZIS is virtually advising people to come over and get a job. Is there a place on the entry form to tick business, if so it might be best to tick that as it is business reasons you are visiting NZ and that would explain the papers. Ask the advise of your case officer and try and get it on an email so you can take it with you.

[Babette & Andy]

I / We didn't know there is a problem with taking CV's etc - must have missed an important thread.

When Andy went for his interviews / job hunting in October, he had lots of CV's and spreadsheets with him (all printed out). Were in a folder in his handluggage.

Nobody checked at immigration, also didn't look 'guilty' as didn't know he was doing anything 'wrong'.

Try not to worry too much Shagen, think Veronica's suggestion is a good one - there on Business.

Good luck :hopeso .

Babette

[leslie]

the one thing that seems to upset absolutely everyone is travelling with more than one passport. so what if you are an agoraphobic nerd who never leaves the house without a full briefcase containing your cv, 50,000 cash and the family jewels (hint hint).

after a particularly successful shopping excursion to the usa a grumpy canadian customs officer asked if i and my 3 friends had anything to declare. i took a deep breath, gave him a lovely smile and said 'i do declare we're lost', we both laughed and he waved us through without checking the boot. ahem. unheard of. if any customs people are reading this it was written by my 3rd personality - one of the 80% of brits who feels no responsibility for their babies diet, she hasn't tried it since, is a good law-abiding upstanding citizen and a credit to her nation and could be beneficial to yours.

[Diny]

If it's causing you too much worry, why not load your CV and other documents onto a disk. If you don't have enough time to post them ahead this could be an option. I can't imagine you'd have much of a problem getting them printed off once you've made your way through customs.

A couple of years ago a friend of ours flew his Kiwi girlfriend to the UK. She brought her CV with her along with various certificates and proof of qualifications. Her luggage was searched, they found the paperwork and she had a heck of a game on her hands. She was finally allowed to enter the country but couldn't get any extension to her stay. In the end the 2 of them went back to NZ.

I know we're talking NZ to UK here, but it's proof that problems can happen.
Diny

[Timbo]

I would second Dinys suggestion (it has been brought up in previous thread) about putting anything that may cause suspision onto disk. Put said disk in with some music cds and they wont be any the wiser.
As Veronica rightly says, NZIS are practically inviting people to go and look for work, so I dont think you will have any problems at all.

[sarahw]

Diny's suggestion is a good one but I wouldn't worry too much. Ian took all of his documents with him in his hand luggage - we didn't even think about that happening - we just said we were visiting friends and that was that.

[shagen]

Thanks guys for your suggestions... 5 and a half weeks to go!

Its nerve wrecking :eek yet exciting :nice1 all at the same time.

Will probably bring the papers on a CD and get it printed in Welly somewhere!

Shagen

[Moorf]

You can print stuff out at the Library!

:nice1

[Iris]

I just emailed my CV, scanned jpg of my degree and particulars - to myself at my hotmail account. That way I have them anytime I need them. Easy to print off at anywhere I go!

[sanjivgoomer]

Hi,
Another simple way of carrying lots of files / documents (upto 3 GB) is to upload them to your Yahoo Briefcase. You can download them anywhere anytime.
No fear of being querried about at any check point too ;)
Warm Regards
Sanjiv

[funkstar deluxe]

I was told it was ok to look for work as long as you didnt really push it.

I arrived with my entire portfolio, examples of work, list of people I'd worked for - an although I met with a snotty immgration guard asking what I was doing for 8 days in NZ, i didnt get asked to open a thing.

Email your CV to yourself, print out at cyber cafe ;)

[abdul]

Hi Shagen

Great suggestions here.

I travelled to NZ on a 1 month visitors visa.

Yes , my bags were checked at customs as I had to declare some food items that I had declared in the form.

I did have all kinds of docs, from qualifications, work references, police reports and pay slips. These were not searched as the main focus was on the food.

I have heard stories where people had trouble proving their intention of travelling to NZ on a holiday with a visit visa. But these are tradesmen who brought in their specialsist tools as well , as their intention was to seek a job and settle down.

Dont panic, as I understand that u had submitted an EOI and half way through the process. If this is the case, you may also bring in your letters from Immigration that refer to your EOI. That should be sound justification for having any printed CVs etc in your briefcase.
Bring the files on disk if it will help your nerves and get them re-printed.

All the best

Abdul