[CJ22]

I seem to vaguely recall that when we arrive in NZ, we are supposed to inform the British Consulate of our address. Is this true? Is it compulsory, or just 'custom and practice'? Also, can we do it by email as I've filled in enough paper documents recently to last me a lifetime!

Also, I know that at some point, in order to qualify for Section 18 and have the PR visa confirmed, we have to let NZIS know our whereabouts. Do we have to do this straight away, or can it wait till the 3 working months are up?

The only reason I ask is because we're only at our current adress for a couple of months, then we have to find somewhere more permanent. If I let people know our address now, we'll have to tell them all over again when we move!

[Leccy-Lee]

Oops, i have never done it?
Maybe i should...

[NikT]

I registered with the FO on this site:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/Locate/

And I told NZIS of our address.:yes

Sod everyone else.:D

Nick.:cheers

[Carey]

Also, I know that at some point, in order to qualify for Section 18 and have the PR visa confirmed, we have to let NZIS know our whereabouts. Do we have to do this straight away, or can it wait till the 3 working months are up?

The only reason I ask is because we're only at our current adress for a couple of months, then we have to find somewhere more permanent. If I let people know our address now, we'll have to tell them all over again when we move!

I didn't inform NZIS of our first 3 addresses to save changing them later, (and it says nothing on the details about letting them know before the 3 months are up), but am shortly to inform them of our current address at the same time as I request a letter from my employer to say I've done the 3 months. Actually was about to ask anyone whether it is literally 3 months to the day; so if I started work on 15.09.08, my 3 months runs to 15.12.08? Can it be as exact as that?

[CJ22]

Great link Nick, ta. That's one job I can delete from my spreadsheet.

[CJ22]

Edit: Actually I gave up in the end. I've rarely seen such a badly designed and coded online form. Get this: if you make a mistake anywhere in it (like leaving a field that is required blank), which is very easy to do, then submit it, you have to fill in the entire form again - the info you put in is lost. Even hitting 'back' doesn't work, as the form remains blank (I'm no web-designer, but as I understand it, it takes EXTRA work to get it to do that!).

Secondly, the form doesn't seem to recognise the concept of 'not intending to return' - it only understands about 'trips'. It rejected my submission once because I didn't put a 'return' date in!

Thirdly, when I clicked on the 'Contact' button to let them know how crappy their form was, I got a blank page :laugh

The hell with 'em. Apart from my tax claim, I'm done with British beaurocrats until further notice!

[Jo Jo]

Edit: Actually I gave up in the end. I've rarely seen such a badly designed and coded online form. Get this: if you make a mistake anywhere in it (like leaving a field that is required blank), which is very easy to do, then submit it, you have to fill in the entire form again - the info you put in is lost. Even hitting 'back' doesn't work, as the form remains blank

Phew, I'm glad I'm not the only one who found that. I thought I was being really incompetent.

[NikT]

I've rarely seen such a badly designed and coded online form.

The hell with 'em. Apart from my tax claim, I'm done with British beaurocrats until further notice!

It is a badly designed form to put details into, but I got there in the end.
I used to build Websites as a sideline a few years ago, even I could do better.

I agree about bureaucrats. :roll
Before we moved here, I went to the Department of Work + Pensions to ask who we needed to inform that we were leaving permanently.
After a lot of whispering, someone came back and gave me a leaflet on How to Claim Benefits Abroad.!
:eek: :exit

Nick.:cheers

[cappuccino]

ditto all of CJ22's comments - I gave up too cos it gave me the option of putting in from and to dates but when I put in the furthest possible 'to' date, it declined the form and all went blank. Too much bother to do this every year.

My feeling is that if somebody from the UK needs to find us, they will be able to fairly easily and if we need to contact the consulate/embassy from here or anywhere else in the world that should be fairly easy to do too!

[NikT]

FCO site for NZ:

http://ukinnewzealand.fco.gov.uk/en/

Contact details, useful links etc.:)

Nick.:cheers