[cowtown#2]

Hi there,

I am still waiting for professional registration (pending english test grrr), but I'm debating what type of work permit I should apply for.

I am not sure if I want to settle permanently in NZ and the process is cheaper if you apply from WTR/work permit than aplying directly for PR from outside NZ (plus I don't think I have time to apply for PR to start working in march).

Can you apply for residence after having worked in NZ for 2 years on a regular skill shortage work visa? Is it easier if you apply for residence while on WTR? Is there a difference is the speed of processing WTR versus a work visa? I could get the work permit for at least 3 years, even 5 because I am pretty sure I fit into the ANZCO 1 category, and then you can also renew it, but the WTR is only valid 30 months. Are there any advantages of the WTR i am not seeing?

Another question is what are the requirements to keep PR? I can't find it on NZIS website, does anyone have a link? How easy would it be to take extended holidays or work abroad for a year or two and still keep residence (I'd like to stay fairly mobile but don't necessarily want to have to go through this whole process more times than I need to).

[IanW99]

...
I am not sure if I want to settle permanently in NZ and the process is cheaper if you apply from WTR/work permit than aplying directly for PR from outside NZ (plus I don't think I have time to apply for PR to start working in march).

Can you apply for residence after having worked in NZ for 2 years on a regular skill shortage work visa? Is it easier if you apply for residence while on WTR? Is there a difference is the speed of processing WTR versus a work visa? I could get the work permit for at least 3 years, even 5 because I am pretty sure I fit into the ANZCO 1 category, and then you can also renew it, but the WTR is only valid 30 months. Are there any advantages of the WTR i am not seeing?

Another question is what are the requirements to keep PR? I can't find it on NZIS website, does anyone have a link? How easy would it be to take extended holidays or work abroad for a year or two and still keep residence (I'd like to stay fairly mobile but don't necessarily want to have to go through this whole process more times than I need to).

My best advice for anyone who has enough points is to apply for your PR as soon as you can, in the long term it is the cheapest, simplest and safest option to take especially if you have a family. If you need to be in NZ by next March you still have enough time for this option.

If you apply for a general work visa or WTR then you do not have to wait for two years before applying for PR, if you have enough points you can apply at any time. You only need to wait if you are unable to get a PR due to lack of points.

If your visa is for two years or more then you are entitled for free health care but any visas less than this you should get health insurance.

General visas and WTRs are processed more quickly (normally) than a PR, it is also possible to re-use medicals and police certificates from a WTR application for a PR and vice-versa if the applications are done quickly enough.

After you have had your RRV for two years you can apply for an IRRV (Indefinite Returning Residents Visa) details of eligibility can be found in Indefinite Visa (http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/alreadyinnz/residents/returningresidents/canireturn/whatisrequired/amieligible-general/indefinitevisa.htm)

Once you have this, then you can come and go as you please for as long as you want to.

Ian

[cowtown#2]

I didn't realise that an indefinite returning visa was really indefinite.

In Canada, I believe you have to reside in the country for at least 3 years out of the previous 5 years to keep PR. I admit that being able to come and go as I please after 2 years in NZ is appealling but it sounds a bit too good to be true. Could I go to NZ for 2 years, get indefinite RRV, then come back to Canada, make the big salaries then go back to retire in NZ????

One of my problems is that I leave Calgary at the end of December, then travel a month and plan to arrive in NZ in february to visit before starting to work in March so I need the passport in December, hopefully with the visa in it!

The other problem is that I can't send application before mid october, as I need to do an English test for occupational registration. So even if I filled in my EOI and got ITA really quickly so that I could send the ITA as soon as I got registration, it wouldn't leave much time for processing my application.

How would you juggle simultaneous applications for PR and work permit to use the same medicals and police certs. The two applications would go to two different branches for me (Ottawa for work visa London for PR), would these branches share docs, or would they take certified copies?

[IanW99]

I didn't realise that an indefinite returning visa was really indefinite.

That is the way that I understand it.

In Canada, I believe you have to reside in the country for at least 3 years out of the previous 5 years to keep PR. I admit that being able to come and go as I please after 2 years in NZ is appealling but it sounds a bit too good to be true. Could I go to NZ for 2 years, get indefinite RRV, then come back to Canada, make the big salaries then go back to retire in NZ????

Again, yes this would be perfectly acceptable today, of course the rules may change in the future so you would need to keep an eye on this so you didn't lose your eligibility.

...
How would you juggle simultaneous applications for PR and work permit to use the same medicals and police certs. The two applications would go to two different branches for me (Ottawa for work visa London for PR), would these branches share docs, or would they take certified copies?

If you have already submitted these documents to one branch of NZIS then when you submit the second application then you just refer to the original application. NZIS will check what they have on record for you.

I should point out that although there are people on the forum who have gone through this without any problems. If you go with a WTR first and then PR in parallel, the time scales are very tight, so you have to be very organised and also have an element of luck with how long it takes NZIS to select your application from the pool and send you your ITA.

Ian