[NZ Hopeful]

It looks like this is the route we are going to be taking for sure now but I am a bit worried about the children (aged 8 & 6) obviously they are aware we are moving to NZ but are they going to get us into trouble at the airport?! :eek:

Has anyone been quizzed on arrival by immigration and what did you do to keep your kids quiet?! :uhoh

[JandM]

You could maybe have preliminary lectures about how all the people at airports are very, very busy, so they must leave Mummy and Daddy to talk to them so as not to waste their time. It might work! :confused:

We were coming back into the UK from summer holidays camping in France years ago, going through the Green Channel, and the customs man did the usual, 'Nothing to declare? No wine, spirits, cigarettes? Animals?' and 4-year-old piped up from the back of the car, 'My rabbit.' Of course it was a furry toy rabbit he took to bed, but even though we quickly produced it from out of the bundle with the sleeping bags, we still had to empty the whole back of the estate car all over the tarmac.:roll

[victoria24]

we are going the same route once our house sells!
whats the worst that could happen?

[shakyle2906]

I know what you mean and can imagine you'd be on pins!

I guess you would have to say something to them, as my 5.5yr old would give the game away too............

I am sure that someone on the forum will have been in the same position as you and hope you get some help.

Good luck and keep us posted

Sharon
xx

[ourquest]

What we did was make very sure our boys understood that we were essentially arriving in NZ for a holiday...after all, on visitor's permits that is the only true answer anyway. They (the boys) knew we wanted to stay, but understood the uncertainty of it all. They are 6, 8 and 10 years old. I was also concerned that immigration would question us about schooling but firstly they didn't, and if they had we had an entire homeschool curriculum with us which we are following until the boys go into school in a week or two. Hope that helps a bit.

[Carey]

Was wondering where you'd got to, Ourquest? How's it all going?

[ourquest]

Was wondering where you'd got to, Ourquest? How's it all going?

Settling quickly, thanks Carey. If an innocent bystander was reading this forum I wouldn't particularly recommend the "living in limbo" bit (!:no), but all things considered it's been smooth enough, mostly because it has worked out well for us in the end. :nice1

[victoria24]

can you elaborate a bit more on your jorney ourquest?
did you just go then apply for pr once in new zealand?
cheers
neil

[ourquest]

can you elaborate a bit more on your jorney ourquest?
did you just go then apply for pr once in new zealand?
cheers
neil
Hey Neil,
No, we had applied for residence beforehand (without job offers) and arrived on visitor's visas fairly confident that if OH landed work our PR would be fast-tracked and if not then we were likely to get PR anyway. This added a new stress at Immigration at the airport because we knew that they would pick up that we had a residence application lodged. This wasn't a problem but within an hour we had an email form our case officer in London asking us what our plans in NZ were as they had noted that we had arrived (until then we didn't even know we had a CO).

What took us by surprise is that, because we were applying for PR without jobs and therefore would need settlement interviews, we only found out after arriving that those interviews could not happen in NZ and that we would have to return to our "home" country or the UK to attend them. This was a blow but didn't come to anything as OH was offered a contract position and PR was decided on this. NZIS did not require any further info from us, approved PR in London and then electronically sent the file to Wellington for the issuing of the permits. In the end they really bent over backwards to get them done in time for OH's start date, and I have to say that the whole process was so well described on their website from the start that apart from that one oversight we felt completely in control of the process.

There are so many details that I won't go any further here as I have already unintentionally hijacked the thread. But please do ask if there is any other way our own experience can answer any concerns.

Take care.

[JandM]

Good news that it all went smoothly.:nice1 Very good luck for all of the settling in process.

[migratory birds]

No, no interrogations by customs. They were fine with what we declared carrying with us. No questions asked (other than "You have the same names??" - in my bleary, sleep deprived state, I'd written the same name on both declaration forms!)

[Nick88]

We came in on visitors visas, but I wouldn't have done it with kids in tow. I agree with Ourquest on that point.

[NZ Hopeful]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

They don't usually chat to random strangers so hopefully unless they are asked a direct question they won't say anything. :uhoh

[NZ Hopeful]

We came in on visitors visas, but I wouldn't have done it with kids in tow. I agree with Ourquest on that point.

Nick can I ask why? Is it down to the uncertainty of just taking the chance with kids in tow or would it be because of possible problems on arrival at the airport?

Thanks

[Nick88]

It would definitely be the uncertainty. There are no guarantees that PR will be issued, and this could mean another big move. We have first hand experience of this in Aus, so it has made me a bit wary of trying to second guess bureaucracy.

[NZ Hopeful]

It would definitely be the uncertainty. There are no guarantees that PR will be issued, and this could mean another big move. We have first hand experience of this in Aus, so it has made me a bit wary of trying to second guess bureaucracy.

Thanks (I think!).:D

We have weighed up the pros and cons of doing it this way and feel there is a pretty good chance everything would be ok. I do enjoy a white knuckle ride too! :eek:

[Chaz]

Hey Neil,
No, we had applied for residence beforehand (without job offers) and arrived on visitor's visas fairly confident that if OH landed work our PR would be fast-tracked and if not then we were likely to get PR anyway. This added a new stress at Immigration at the airport because we knew that they would pick up that we had a residence application lodged. This wasn't a problem but within an hour we had an email form our case officer in London asking us what our plans in NZ were as they had noted that we had arrived (until then we didn't even know we had a CO).

What took us by surprise is that, because we were applying for PR without jobs and therefore would need settlement interviews, we only found out after arriving that those interviews could not happen in NZ and that we would have to return to our "home" country or the UK to attend them. This was a blow but didn't come to anything as OH was offered a contract position and PR was decided on this. NZIS did not require any further info from us, approved PR in London and then electronically sent the file to Wellington for the issuing of the permits. In the end they really bent over backwards to get them done in time for OH's start date, and I have to say that the whole process was so well described on their website from the start that apart from that one oversight we felt completely in control of the process.

There are so many details that I won't go any further here as I have already unintentionally hijacked the thread. But please do ask if there is any other way our own experience can answer any concerns.

Take care.

Can I ask, in our case (and apologies for the hijack), where we have a job offer and the process is going through, if we submit the ITA before we fly and we arrive in NZ on visitors' visas - do we carry any risk?

We should not need interviews - so perhaps no issue?

I dont know if the ITA would move from submitted to approved or approved in principle before we fly - presuming we submit the ITA around the 1st of July, is it reasonable to fly on the 22nd of July for an 4 August work start date?

[Chaz]

Another issue that might crop up is that our NZQA stuff might take too long - this will put us in an odd spot. Assume that we can only submit the ITA later - can we take the same risk or consider submitting it once we get to NZ and then legally remain as visitors hoping that we can either start in August or wait 1 month to remain legal? I dont know if my prospective employer will allow this later start - hopefully something can be done.

[ourquest]

Can I ask, in our case (and apologies for the hijack), where we have a job offer and the process is going through, if we submit the ITA before we fly and we arrive in NZ on visitors' visas - do we carry any risk?

We should not need interviews - so perhaps no issue?

I dont know if the ITA would move from submitted to approved or approved in principle before we fly - presuming we submit the ITA around the 1st of July, is it reasonable to fly on the 22nd of July for an 4 August work start date?

I wouldn't think that there is any big risk, other than that you haven't got PR until you've got PR, and all you can really do is make sure you have provided all the necessary paperwork and then trust the process to happen. I certainly don't believe that there should be any problems with immigration at the airport. What I cannot answer is the timeframe you suggest; I presume you are hoping that PR will be granted in time for start date but anticipating that it won't be before leaving the UK. London and New Zealand offices (and OfficeRs) do seem to work very separately so it isn't as simple to transfer visas and files from one to the other as we'd think. This will always create delays and in our own case I think we might have been lucky with our timeframe. One option you'll be provided with is to courier your passports back to London to have the visas issued but bear in mind it takes effectively two and a half days either way even with DHL (at up to about $130 each way).

Either way you need to be in NZ for 4 August, and nothing stops you applying for a work permit once you are here (even with a residence application lodged), and those seem to be quite quick to get (within the week, AFAIK). One more thing, be careful of the Customs smallprint if you are bringing household items here at some stage. If you arrive at the airport as visitors you will be charged import duty and GST on your stuff when it arrives irrespective of whether you've gained PR in between. If you arrive with PR already in place no customs charges will apply to your future consignment of clutter. Waiting a bit could save thousands of dollars. At least we knew about this and it's in the budget. Hope this helps.

[Chaz]

I wouldn't think that there is any big risk, other than that you haven't got PR until you've got PR, and all you can really do is make sure you have provided all the necessary paperwork and then trust the process to happen. I certainly don't believe that there should be any problems with immigration at the airport. What I cannot answer is the timeframe you suggest; I presume you are hoping that PR will be granted in time for start date but anticipating that it won't be before leaving the UK. London and New Zealand offices (and OfficeRs) do seem to work very separately so it isn't as simple to transfer visas and files from one to the other as we'd think. This will always create delays and in our own case I think we might have been lucky with our timeframe. One option you'll be provided with is to courier your passports back to London to have the visas issued but bear in mind it takes effectively two and a half days either way even with DHL (at up to about $130 each way).

Either way you need to be in NZ for 4 August, and nothing stops you applying for a work permit once you are here (even with a residence application lodged), and those seem to be quite quick to get (within the week, AFAIK). One more thing, be careful of the Customs smallprint if you are bringing household items here at some stage. If you arrive at the airport as visitors you will be charged import duty and GST on your stuff when it arrives irrespective of whether you've gained PR in between. If you arrive with PR already in place no customs charges will apply to your future consignment of clutter. Waiting a bit could save thousands of dollars. At least we knew about this and it's in the budget. Hope this helps.

Thanks, pretty much my own thoughts in general. Suppose we need to look at the options and go from there.

[marshanite]

We arrived on a visitors visa with 2 talkative 4 yr old girls! We went for a wee before going through immigration and I finally broached the subject (having worried about it) with the girls, saying: remember that we are just coming to have a look at NZ; lets just let daddy do the talking when the man or lady talks to us & looks at our passports. We had to wait behind someone, so I got out magazines to involve them in something & bless the little dears - when she asked them a direct question (something like, what are your names) they looked at me before answering, after I told them it was ok!

It worked for us! I would also advise thinking about where you would like to travel in NZ as she asked us about our plans, but more in a conversational friendly way than a grilling.

Remember that your kids will be tired & disorientated & probably quite happy for you to take control. I agree with J&M that pointing out how busy the people at customs are would also help.

All the best, Fi.

[NZ Hopeful]

We arrived on a visitors visa with 2 talkative 4 yr old girls! We went for a wee before going through immigration and I finally broached the subject (having worried about it) with the girls, saying: remember that we are just coming to have a look at NZ; lets just let daddy do the talking when the man or lady talks to us & looks at our passports. We had to wait behind someone, so I got out magazines to involve them in something & bless the little dears - when she asked them a direct question (something like, what are your names) they looked at me before answering, after I told them it was ok!

It worked for us! I would also advise thinking about where you would like to travel in NZ as she asked us about our plans, but more in a conversational friendly way than a grilling.

Remember that your kids will be tired & disorientated & probably quite happy for you to take control. I agree with J&M that pointing out how busy the people at customs are would also help.

All the best, Fi.

Thanks Fi, great advice.

Telling them at the airport sounds like a plan! My eldest is a bit of a worrier and if I mentioned anything beforehand it would really bother her all the way there and she would probably blurt out our plans if someone just asked her name!! :laugh