[welshman213]

Hi all,

OH has reservations about moving permenantly so we are thinking about going over on a WTR visa.
If we do this are there any restrictions?
The OH has the principle applicant, will she require a job offer for this to happen?
Myself, would I be able to go accross and be able to work, if so would there be any restrictions?

Many thanks

John

[Kalla]

Hi there

As far as I am aware you NEED to have a job offer to secure a WTR visa or any kind of work visa for that matter unless you want to set up a business or you have special talents in the arts, culture or sports. (or you apply for PR but get offered WTR instead)

I also think that if you as the principal apply for a WTR visa, your partner and any kids etc would have to apply for their own visa if they want to accompany you. So this would either mean they would need a holiday, student or work visa of their own if they were coming too - they can't be included on your application.

However, I think once you have a work permit issued then your family may be able to apply under the family stream.

I also think that your work visa would stipulate that you have to work for the company who offered you the job for a certain period of time or that you have to work in a certain type of job etc

In my opinion, it would be better to just apply for permanent residence straight away if you qualify with enough points. This means a lot less restrictions on what type of job etc you get.

[JandM]

Also, there is the point that you need your work visa to be valid for two years minimum in order to be eligible for the NZ health service.

I agree with the previous poster about going straight for PR. If you gain PR, you don't HAVE to stay in NZ if you don't want to.

A drawback of having a work visa is that you have to apply for it to be renewed whenever it runs out, and the NZ immigration service are not obliged to do this. For instance, there has just been a tightening of the regulations, and people who considered themselves settled are being told, when they thought they were going to renew, that it's now felt they should leave and a Kiwi should have their job.

[IanW99]

...
I also think that if you as the principal apply for a WTR visa, your partner and any kids etc would have to apply for their own visa if they want to accompany you. So this would either mean they would need a holiday, student or work visa of their own if they were coming too - they can't be included on your application.
...


Whilst the other visas can't be included in the same application, all that really means is that you have to fill in separate forms i.e. you can still send all the applications in together and NZIS will link them all to the WTR application.


...
A drawback of having a work visa is that you have to apply for it to be renewed whenever it runs out, and the NZ immigration service are not obliged to do this. For instance, there has just been a tightening of the regulations, and people who considered themselves settled are being told, when they thought they were going to renew, that it's now felt they should leave and a Kiwi should have their job.

AFAIK, this is specific to temporary work permits and doesn't include WTR visas and at any rate is unlikely to be of any concern to any jobs on the LTSSL such as teachers or nurses.

Ian

[welshman213]

Thanks all, lots to mull over there.
I would hope that if WTR was offered, then the OH as main applicant and a teacher, would hopefully be ok with regards to not being able to renew visa.

[JandM]

I think you need to do some research on the different kinds of work visa. Every time I THINK I understand it fully, something turns up to make it seem that I don't, so the best thing is for YOU to mull it over. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/ There appear to be two distinct things which get called WTR (work to residency). One is what is granted if someone has applied for PR, but NZIS have doubts whether they will settle, so they're given WTR to give them a chance to move to NZ and prove themselves - once in a job and having worked there for a certain amount of time, the WTR is converted to PR (I believe). That sounds like the one you're talking about in your last post. But there's another WTR which can be applied for directly, and, as can be seen by the FAQ links from that page, that is very much affected by the applicant's job situation. Also, as the FAQ answers make clear, if the NZIS are not satisfied that the job meets the guidelines (and, as we all know, the guidelines are undergoing change at the moment), they don't renew - well actually, it's wrong to say 'renew', because each time is really 'grant afresh'.