[busylizzie]

Hi everyone

We (family of four, mum, dad & twins 16 now) left NZ in Aug 08 after 11months as OH was extremely homesick and it was starting to make him ill so after alot of talking, the decision was made and we returned to Scotland. I should add that our daughters and me didn't want to leave but if everyone wasn't happy the whole NZ move wouldn't have worked.

However................................. we hadn't been "home" for a week and we now want to return to NZ. Don't know why to be perfectly honest, houses are freezing in the winter, crawling with ants in the summer, choice when shopping is limited, wages are not all the great, tax is quite high. I don't believe I'm going to say this but I don't know what is about NZ but its captured our hearts.

Is there a point to this post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well the thing is we don't know how it will affect our visa(s). Can anyone help please..........

we entered NZ in Sept 07
returned to UK in Aug 08
:cheers

[Mrs Pony]

wow... I would KILL my OH!

If you have PR i don't think it would matter...

[TJH]

If you have PR you would have to return no later than the date you entered NZ the first time. You did not have enough time in country to obtain the IRRV.

You have to spend something like 180 days in each of the first two years after your PR is activated to obtain the IRRV.

[Ana&Steve]

I always find it interesting to hear about this scenario. Not everyone chooses to come back after leaving NZ, but a surprising amount do. Food for thought for sure. Thanks for sharing!:nice1

[Helsandfamily]

If you had PR you will have a returning residency visa in your passport which should be valid for 2 years. You can just return - no harm done. It may take you slightly longer to get the Indefinate returning residency visa.

I am not sure what the situation would be if yoiu were on a different type of visa though.

HTH

Hels

[IanW99]

As others have said as you were granted a RRV this would have been valid for 2 years, in which case you are free to re-enter NZ at any time whilst it is still valid - simply check in your passport.

Ignore the permit as this expires on leaving NZ and just check the visa i.e. the visa will allow you to get back to NZ and on arrival you will be granted a new residence permit.

As long as you are in NZ when your visas expire then you can just apply for a new visa again without any issues (you won't have to re-apply for PR, just a simple form and fee to pay). Normally at the end of two years, your visa would be changed to an IRRV assuming that you have shown commitment to NZ, but if not then you will be given a shorter visa until you are eligible again.

Ian

[busylizzie]

thanks all for your comments and yes, OH is still alive lol.

we really want to come back to NZ, the only thing is ................... we have spent that much money going to NZ and then coming back again and then obviously would need money to come back again which would take most of our savings which makes this move more scary as we wouldn't have a safety net (well not as much of a safety net). if OH can get a job offer though this would make the decision easier.

Once again, thanks for your support.

Billy & Liz

[Mrs Pony]

would he be able to get his old job back?

This is definitely a lesson to people that are thinking of leaving NZ! Visit first then if you want to go back to the UK or US or where ever... then decide which place is "home"...

[busylizzie]

:):)
would he be able to get his old job back?

This is definitely a lesson to people that are thinking of leaving NZ! Visit first then if you want to go back to the UK or US or where ever... then decide which place is "home"...


Unfortunately, OH unable to get his old job back, the company he was working for is on short time working, suppose credit crunch hitting everywhere........

We did visit first, but its the same old story, you don't know what you had till you don't have it anymore.:confused:

The thing is, plumbing is so different in NZ from what OH was used to which didn't help and really hindsight is a great thing. You've no idea how much we talked and talked and talked before taking the decision to come back to UK, it seemed right at the time and its not been a total loss because we now know that NZ is for us.

Good luck with the move in March and hope everything goes well for you.

Billy and Liz
:)

[Mrs Pony]

thanks!

Good luck to you guys as well!!!!

[tea drinker]

Hope that everything gets sorted for you all

[veronica]

if you have time do you think you could put in words why being back in the UK wasn't as you thought it would be. It may help others who are wavering about whether to leave NZ or return to the UK.
I've been over here on work related things for two months now and its left me feeling sure about being in NZ and with very mixed feelings about the uk I know there has in the past been posts about people still in the UK viewing NZ with rose tinted specs but it would be interesting to see if those feeling homesick (and homesick is a real ailment, believe me I've been there) are viewing the UK with similar coloured specs.

[spudulike]

would he be able to get his old job back?

This is definitely a lesson to people that are thinking of leaving NZ! Visit first then if you want to go back to the UK or US or where ever... then decide which place is "home"...

Wow, that's a tad condescending! I'm sure most people that choose to visit/not visit, make the move then leave again go through a huge amount of heartache before making a costly and emotionally draining decision to move 'home.' I think it is a little unfair to tell people to 'learn a lesson' and 'make a decision' particularly as you haven't even moved there yet and have no idea how you are going to feel.

I'm sorry to sound curt but I find it a little patronizing that's all...

L :)

[Mrs Pony]

Wow, that's a tad condescending! I'm sure most people that choose to visit/not visit, make the move then leave again go through a huge amount of heartache before making a costly and emotionally draining decision to move 'home.' I think it is a little unfair to tell people to 'learn a lesson' and 'make a decision' particularly as you haven't even moved there yet and have no idea how you are going to feel.

I'm sorry to sound curt but I find it a little patronizing that's all...

L :)

It just boggles my mind that people only give a few months in NZ and then leave... just doesn't seem like enough time to me... I know it's going to be hard to get used to the changes but I'm not going to just up and leave so fast after all that we have done (so far) to get over there!

And to me I do see it as a lesson! after reading all the stories on here... people leaving... people coming back... I know that I'm going to get home sick. I know that it might be hard at first but I know that I don't want to leave NZ only to want to come right back! If i get the itch to come back to the US I'm going to think about this thread and make sure that it's what I really want before we pack up!

meh...to each his own! :nice1

[Pebbles]

Still a tad condescending ... To each his own, indeed.
I am certain most people are as determined and optimistic as you but Emotions are funny things that can't be messed with.

[JandM]

Emotions are funny things that can't be messed with. That's very true. And I was about to add, 'The only person I can tell how to feel is myself,' but then I thought how even that doesn't always work.

[Falcon_XR6]

Just a few observations I have made over some time by talking to people who have emigrated to and settled in NZ and who have also had the urge to “go home”.
This is just as I see things IMHO and not a dig at anyone.

If you keep thinking and referring to where you came from before you emigrated as “home” and not calling where you are now (NZ) home, then there is a very high probability that you will leave here and return there... i.e. once the "holiday" feeling has worn off you will then want to "go home" and any tenuous reason will do, it may be small but it can grow into a huge driving force if uncontrolled and not curtailed and it could drive you back to where you came from.
If you do ever feel homesick just examine the reasons that made you want to come here in the first place, if anything has changed then re-evaluate and act accordingly, just don't forget to include an examination of the financial aspect of the cost of moving here and the further cost of moving back, it can be huge.

Some friends of ours moved back to the UK after 4 months here due partly to "homesickness" and a more major problem due to some trouble with a person buying their house in the UK, they are now much worse off financially than if they had stayed and ridden it out, they now realise that they have made a dreadful mistake and reacted emotionally and not rationally, they would now like to come back to NZ but it is now all but financially impossible for this to happen. Very sad.

Every one gets cold feet and homesick now and then but when it happens just examine ALL the aspects logically before reacting emotionally... then in the cold light of day regretting your actions.

Our reasons for coming here are as strong if not stronger than they were when we decided to move from the UK.... but each to his own, we are all different and as such have different values.

As I said, this is just MHO as I see things and not a dig at anyone.

Cheers

G

[Ana&Steve]

Our friends moved back to the States after a year; we begged them to stick it out in NZ but the level of depression, emotional stress, and homesickness they felt was intolerable. I found it very hard to help from here, I couldn't put myself in their shoes. They still love NZ, they just feel that the time wasn't right to stay. They've been back for 1.5 years and have considered moving back to NZ a few times. Currently they've decided to stay here and we're happy to have them close, but I still daydream about ALL of us living in NZ someday.

[BkyMonster]

I know I can't relate to people who want to leave NZ, but then people couldn't relate to us wanting to leave the US, so just let people figure out what is right for them IMO. Sometimes the only way you can really learn is from doing. :)

[peebles16]

This is a very emotive subject and really depends on the individual :yes What I will say is that knowing you are going to be homesick and actually experiencing it are too completely different things. When I was first in NZ and, have to say for the best part of 9 months I was what I would call people-sick. At times it was like a physical pain being so far away from my family and close friends - and no I'm not being dramatic, that's what it felt like for me... It's also a dreadful thing to watch you partner or loved one being very unhappy and I know my OH found it very hard to deal with..... I thought I was prepared for it - I'd lived overseas beforefor a number of years, we all have skype, computers, webcams and with promised visits I thought I'd be fine. Thankfully I'm managing much better now and things have settled down :)

So I suppose what I'm saying is all the preparation and anticipation about how you will feel may not prepare for the reality of it no matter how much you want to be in NZ. I don't think it's helpful to judge people who have made the move back to their home for whatever reasons - it works for their individual circumstances. Personally I think those folks who have taken the leap and tried NZ will be a lot wiser for it whether they stay or go back 'home' and have taken a chance that many would only dream about.

Just my rambling thoughts..:o
Karenx

P.S. Good luck with the move back Billy & Liz and hope it all works out this time :)

[world2007]

Wow, that's a tad condescending! I'm sure most people that choose to visit/not visit, make the move then leave again go through a huge amount of heartache before making a costly and emotionally draining decision to move 'home.' I think it is a little unfair to tell people to 'learn a lesson' and 'make a decision' particularly as you haven't even moved there yet and have no idea how you are going to feel.

I'm sorry to sound curt but I find it a little patronizing that's all...

L :)

My sentiments exactly,Spudulike.As someone who is very much feeling the effects of homesickness, and how it manifests itself into your daily life, I can tell you that you cannot tell how you will really feel until you are there.If my family agreed to go back to the UK, i would be off like a shot.Unfortunately, at the moment,we cant go back and it will probably be another 18 months before we can realisticaly return home as a family.

[wolfysmith]

Ok, from the perspective of someone who has been down this road, I can tell you one thing - no matter how much you tell yourself that you won't get homesick and how much you won't miss the UK, it's a completey different kettle of fish when you're thousands of miles from your family.
It's hard - very hard. For us, it all went wrong when we moved from Tauranga to Wellington. We did this because we were in a hurry to get well paid jobs, get a mortgage and a nice house.
However, what we found was we were hundreds of miles from the friends we had in TGA and all alone in a freezing cold house and doing the daily commuter trudge into and out of Wellington CDC (which wasn't quite so appealing in the depths of winter).
I well remember standing waiting for the bus in the wind and rain, one morning and a thought struck me, "I may as well be back in the UK". Where, at least, family and friends were close to hand. I think that's when the home sickness set in and when it grips you it is very hard to shake off. It didn't help that my OH felt exactly the same so no one to try and pull you out of it. Due to family issues back in the UK, which would have put enormous pressure on us to return had we been settled. However, as we were at a pretty low ebb, the urge was irrestible.
We've been back for 5 years now. Do we miss NZ? Hell yes and we're desperate to go back. Older and a lot, lot wiser.
The moral of the tale is, however much you say you won't miss 'home' and no matter how much you call NZ 'home', if home sickness grabs you, you really will have a hard time of it and I've the utmost respect for those that go through it and still stick it out.

[marcia]

Reading everyones posts with interest - those of you who did have to go back, and want to return good luck, hope it all works out for you and you find happiness whereever you choose to be.

I never missed the Uk when we arrived - my few blips and brick walls were caused by missing people, not places. In a way its a bit like grieving after a death, the ache hurts so much you can't bear it. But as with a normal grieving process over time that pain fades - its always there and at certain times feels a bit worse, but i found it does fade.

Once you've been here a while and made new friends and established a 'histroy' (now we've been here two and half years we can actually say to people 'do you remember when we.......') they gradually begin to fill that huge empty space your old friends used to fill.

making a new life and new friends takes time, you need to let it mature like a good wine. :)

[jonSE]

It's a strange one.

In my mind home is where I grew up and where my parents lived for 30 years before they moved about 10 years ago. Where they live now is still the "new house"

Nowhere I have lived in the UK since I left "home" to go to Uni eleventy billion years ago has actually felt really like home.

approaching 3 years in OZ after 18 months in NZ (Not a move forced by "emotional" issues) I do on occasion actually feel something like homesickness for our damp leaking beautiful view former home on Waiheke. I somehow can't foresee that I will feel like that about where we live now (even though it doesn't leak or is damp)

It's strange early this week I found myself looking at places I had lived in the past on Google Earth god knows why - why would I be mentally reminiscing about the halls of residence I lived in at Uni, or a council flat I lived in for 2 months after moving to a new job ?

Each to his or her own on this one, but in an ideal world one would wish that those who make the early decision to abandon the dream, only to realise soon after that abandoning was a bad move at serious financial cost had some kind of divine protection, kind of like you decided to undo the move you just made 'cos you think you changed your mind, computer says no, I'm sorry you have to wait another year before you can move countries again.

[boduke]

I agree with all those who say you don't how hard it's going to be for lots of different reasons, and also how your going to feel at different times. We have spent the best part of 3 years on and off in NZ on work visas, we came home the first time to get married, stayed for 6 months in the UK and went back. I felt very unsettled and like no-where was home, and had terrible home sickness, so after 9 months we came back to the UK for what we anticipated was for good. Initially I was happy surrounded by friends and family, but more recently I have started to realise what we have left behind and yearn for my 'other home' in ChCh. Due to the housing market over here I can't see us getting back to NZ any time soon, as we want to be able to move with PR this time and no/few ties (house etc). However on the up side we were incredibly lucky to have lived in such a beautiful country and to have had that experience in the first place. I would like to think that at some point in the future we will be able to return to NZ-may be even with some family in tow, and that I will be able to feel settled and at home where ever I live. Till that time comes I have started a list of 'things to do, to get back to NZ' which may filll the gap.

I guess what I really want to say, is there is little wrong and right and you have to do whats right for you at that time. Nothing is ever forever and you're allowed to change your mind if it turns out not to be right for you. For those people that do return to the UK to stay, you have to remember that many people talk about emigrating but few do, and will you always have that experience on your side.

Ok enough of my rambling, didn't realised I had gone on quite so much:-

[veronica]

bizzie lizzie, hows things going with you guys.

[Flutterby]

it seems insanely crazy to me, if only from a financial point of view, but who knows what the heart will do if faced with the same situation.
Its been said to me (today actually) "when you go, you better make it work because you probably wont be able to come back" So true in many ways, but also completely wrong.
financially it would be very difficult to return.....as it is to get there in the 1st place, but in many other ways the only real ties to either country are family and unfortunately for us they are in both countries so we will always miss someone.

Posts like this do act as a lesson to others and i think thats really how mrspony meant it in her post, they make you look at your own situation and consider all the possibilities (one more time) maybe even alert you to something you hadn't considered.



Good luck with the decision and move back again, i hope you find a happy place that you can all call home soon.

[DizzyF]

Just wanted to add that we have been in NZ for four months. I knew I would get homesick as I had lived overseas before, but we have experienced a lot of changes since arriving.
We had planned to live in Wellington but moved to Auckland a month after arriving for OH job. OH has family in Welli so we had no one in Auckland and neither of us know the city or anyone here. Additionally, I found out I was pregnant within a couple of weeks of arriving. I spent weeks at the in laws struggling with morning sickness and just feeling I wanted some space and privacy. We are now in a city centre apartment in Auckland (not my NZ dream!) and although our shipment arrived we are unable to unpack as we do not have the space. We are trying to buy a house but struggling with choosing suburbs and worried about making a mistake.
On the plus side we have had a great summer in Auckland...always things to do at the weekend. The weather has been much better than the UK and the beaches are great...our 2 year old son loves them! Finally I am meeting some local people and making friends with other mums. I can not imagine staying living in Auckland or NZ...the best way for me to deal with the move is to see us here for 5 years and then see what happens. In reality i have moved a lot and struggle to settle anywhere...maybe I never will!
We met my OH Aunt who is Japanese and has lived in NZ for over 40 years and she still struggles with some of the same homesickness issues I have after 40 years...maybe we have to just accept that these may never completely go!
Anyway, just wanted to say that however well you think you have planned the move you can not plan your emotions and you have no idea what changes you will face when you arrive. I think everyone who takes the step is brave and should be supported whatever decision they make.

[clairelouise]

Anyway, just wanted to say that however well you think you have planned the move you can not plan your emotions and you have no idea what changes you will face when you arrive. I think everyone who takes the step is brave and should be supported whatever decision they make.

Ditto that. I had a bit of a lost and lonely people-sick kind of weekend. All doom and gloom, on the brink of tears a few times too! I never thought I wouldn't suffer from home/people sickness, but I didn't realise how weirdly sudden it can hit you! Talk about out of the blue!
I honestly agree with people saying you never know how you're going to feel until you actually have been through it (the move) yourself. It's all fine and well second guessing how you'll cope, but it's different actually living it. IMO anyway!

I'm ok now, Seems to have been a bit of a blip, and a few phone calls to my sister,crazy trampolinre playing with DD, some major ((hugs)) from OH and the sun coming back out here set things right (for now!) again :nice1

[garyanimal]

We came three yrs ago this month. Last six weeks and went back to Uk for three months then tried again. We had visited 8 times over the yrs and thought we new what to expect.
We now want to go back to Uk or Europe again but will do two more yrs for the passport.
Then we are going back. The reasons are many . Its a great place for our five yr old daughter and the retired. For me , NZ is just not alive, no umph . Standards are low and we feel now rather isolated. We miss being able to fly Europe for a few days. We miss culture. I think its worth sticking with NZ to get the passport. Many seem to give up because they are homesick. Do not see it as forever , see it as a five year adventure.
Homesick you will get, money you will loose but so what. If we went back to day we would be about 60,000 pounds out of pocket. I expect when we do sell up and return in two yrs it will be worse than that. NZ is small and bloombergs insist it is the most over priced property market when compared to incomes and demand. Remember it is very easy to go back and costly. Your homesick now but if you go back you will see why you left. I took the family back again this summer for a 10 wk holiday. Left us broke but we needed to see the old folks. I can tell you the UK is rather a harsh Place after this and the teenages are complete ******** compared to here. I fancy Spain next as I have got used to the weather here in Auckland. Any way do come back . It was a lot of effort to giver up so quick

[wolfysmith]

I think if you start your new life in NZ mentally prepared that it is forever, you are more likely to be susceptable to yearnings of homesickness. I think don't put yourself under so much pressure and as Garyanimal said give it five years, or two years. There is no need to have to say 'forever'.

[winka]

Good luck with the move guys and remember we're all only human!

One thing which is worth noting IMO,that getting in to NZ (the rules etc) will only get harder in the future.

[Leo]

...getting in to NZ (the rules etc) will only get harder in the future.

:wah Aye matie! :wah

[sasvanb]

Hi all,

It's been really interesting reading through all these posts. And somehow very reassuring to know the feelings are shared... it makes me feel less lonely in my own home/people sickness bubble I'm having just now. We've been in Wellington for almost 10 months now and I think I'm hitting the first real wall. Sometimes getting an almost overwhelming urge to go home (Scotland). And I echo the remarks of others when I say I never imagined myself feeling this way. I thought I was prepared to feel homesick, but gosh, when it hits you the emotions really do throw you off balance.

And for that very reason I have decided not to 'go home' just yet. I feel we need longer here before we can make that choice. We are however opting for a Plan B, which is to move to Dunedin. We've been down to the south island twice already, and it was strange the feeling of heading south here, felt like heading north in the UK for me. Like going home. We have to give it a try. I'm not sure I'll ever get over the heartache of being so far from family and friends (it was aptly put when someone mentioned grief) and I suppose the journey I go on from here will determine whether I can live with those feelings or not.

I remind myself that without the lows, we can not fully appreciate the highs. And although I may not feel that NZ is forever for me (yet) it's a truly fabulous place to be in the mean time. I will not forget how fortunate I am to be living this experience...

:yes

[JandM]

the heartache of being so far from family and friends (it was aptly put when someone mentioned grief)It is grief. I started grieving inside when my son met his Kiwi lady, now my lovely d-i-l: I KNEW they would marry, he'd be going there, and that's where my grandchildren would be. All the modern technology for keeping in touch means that the separation isn't as absolute as it would have been once, but it still hurts. I don't think you ever stop grieving (whichever kind), but if you can accept it and look round it, the hurt becomes part of you so you live with it.

[Arwen]

Oh JandM, reading your post really moved me.

What a wonderful mother and grandmother you are to be so supportive of your son and his family even though deep down you are hurting so bad.

Will you be able to come over to NZ to visit them at some stage, or better still, get sponsorship to move here and be with them permanently???

I notice how you always offer so many people such good advice about the emigration process. If you do decide to move here, you will have a vast amount of knowledge and know how and would therefore be better prepared than most. :nice1

To Billy and Liz. This must have been a heartbreaking decision to make and I applaued your courage to come out here and try it in the first place. I really hope you do make it back here if you are now as sure as you can be that that's what you want, and this is something only you and your family can know not anybody else!!!! :)

The very best of luck to you. :nice1

[pleccy2000]

Oh don't get me started on homesickness :(
This is my 3rd time i emigrated to NZ (i think i could write a book about it). This time is better, but i really know that i can't live here forever. I'm glad that we rented instead of buying a house. I do like it here for sure. It's nice, it's pleasant but if I'm honest with myself I want more. I used to go on 4 or 5 holidays a year when i lived in Surrey. I miss the night markets in Thailand, the colours of Morocco, the December heat in Egypt to get away form the pre-christmas build up in UK, the food in France, the glitz of Monaco and Cannes, exploring Africa, 300 pound holiday with my mates in Portugal.... the list goes on. I miss my family so much also, I miss football and pubs, good TV, old Victorian houses and people with the same sense of humour as me.

I'm gonna stick it out here though because i go through phases. We have a wedding next March to go to in Surrey, so we'll use that as a reccie trip back to the UK. I do wonder if I will ever be able to settle properly in UK or NZ, sometimes i think ignorance is bliss and I never should have though about moving to NZ.

I do hate my job here, which might be the stem of the problem, maybe if i change jobs things will be better, who knows.

busylizzie, I hope it all works out for you and you don't end up ping-ponging 3 times like us. Money I don't care about, it's the emotional TURMOIL of it that's damaged me.

[Arwen]

Oh pleccy2000, your post has moved me too!! Every time I look in on this thread I'm practically reduced to tears hearing about the heartache and homesickness people are experiencing. :(

I really feel for you all. I can't say that I am experiencing the same thing, because luckily I'm not. I don't have any family that I miss, and from childhood to adulthood I have always moved from one place to another (like some kind of hobo), so I guess I have learned to become largely emotionally unattached to people, places and things.

Don't get me wrong, I have made lots of lovely friends on my travels (who I keep in touch with), but there is no real 'history' there, just a sharing of a period in my life. I guess because of this lifestyle, emigrating has not been as traumatic for me as it clearly seems to have been for others.

Pleccy, it sounds as if you have seen and done some amazing things in your life. Here's a suggestion. Why don't you try to find another job (I know this may be easier said than done though), and then put into a holiday pot and go somewhere you have not yet been???? It would give you something to focus on and look forward too. :)

[pleccy2000]

Oh pleccy2000, your post has moved me too!! Every time I look in on this thread I'm practically reduced to tears hearing about the heartache and homesickness people are experiencing. :(

I really feel for you all. I can't say that I am experiencing the same thing, because luckily I'm not. I don't have any family that I miss, and from childhood to adulthood I have always moved from one place to another (like some kind of hobo), so I guess I have learned to become largely emotionally unattached to people, places and things.

Don't get me wrong, I have made lots of lovely friends on my travels (who I keep in touch with), but there is no real 'history' there, just a sharing of a period in my life. I guess because of this lifestyle, emigrating has not been as traumatic for me as it clearly seems to have been for others.

Pleccy, it sounds as if you have seen and done some amazing things in your life. Here's a suggestion. Why don't you try to find another job (I know this may be easier said than done though), and then put into a holiday pot and go somewhere you have not yet been???? It would give you something to focus on and look forward too. :)

thanks Arwen! That is EXACTLY what I am trying to do!!! I know that I need to change my job (ASAP - it's well paid, but driving me insane!) I have some idea's but they all are going to take time. It's so horrible because there are people who can't even get a job becasue of the recession and there is me complaining about mine :( I am grateful to be employed but I still don't like it. Thanks for your kind words, one day I will write my story on this forum, but only when I'm settled :)

[Duncan74]

Sorry to report this, but I think it got missed on my 'Introduction' thread last week. Relevant to this thread too.

Can you confirm if my understanding of the process is right. We get PR, then need to be in NZ for 6 months of each of the first 2 years after that to get the IRRV. Once we have that, then there is nothing to stop me if I need to, coming back to the uk for 1, 2, 5 or even 10 years to care for my parent(s) before returning to NZ at any time? Basically once you get the IRRV after 2 years then you're set for life? If so then although I have no intention to come back to blighty, then if I go to NZ with a mindset of being there for 3 years then that should cover me for if my parents start to struggle?

[M-Squared]

Pleccy, we need another meetup, mate! :) Arwen, you're coming to. Yes, you have your orders! :D I have a circle of good acquaintances here, but no true, close friends. It pains me writing that. I only made 2 good friends in the US, and only met them after about 9 (out of 12) years. Arwen, I've moved around a lot to where I'm almost imperveous (sp?) to having close friends, but I'm acutely aware that as I intend of living the rest of my life in this beautiful country, I simply MUST get a proper circle of close friends going. Their nationality is not important. :)

JandM, you are a saint, my dear. Many (((hugs))) to you! x

[pleccy2000]

yes yes meet-ups are good, I'm up for that M-Squared.

[Kanga]

Sorry to report this, but I think it got missed on my 'Introduction' thread last week. Relevant to this thread too.

Can you confirm if my understanding of the process is right. We get PR, then need to be in NZ for 6 months of each of the first 2 years after that to get the IRRV. Once we have that, then there is nothing to stop me if I need to, coming back to the uk for 1, 2, 5 or even 10 years to care for my parent(s) before returning to NZ at any time? Basically once you get the IRRV after 2 years then you're set for life? If so then although I have no intention to come back to blighty, then if I go to NZ with a mindset of being there for 3 years then that should cover me for if my parents start to struggle?

In a nutshell, yes. IRRV currently allows you to come and go as you please forever. I guess it's possible that legislation in the future could change that, but highly unlikely. How you qualify for IRRV could very well change though.

[Arwen]

Pleccy, we need another meetup, mate! :) Arwen, you're coming to. Yes, you have your orders! :D


Just let me know when and where. ;):nice1