[denalipop]

I've applied for permanent residency as a skilled migrant, but have never been to New Zealand.

I don't remember ever being asked in the EOI or ITA if I had been to NZ before, so it didn't seem like an important issue. I went ahead and applied, including my passport and the migrant levy form so that they could accept me as soon as possible.

However, I have since heard that one of the questions that is often asked during the interview is whether we've visited NZ before. Ouch!

I've been educating myself like crazy (books, videos, podcasts, forums), but since INZ has my passport, I can't squeeze a last-minute trip there to satisfy the "I've been there" requirement.

How badly do you think it will it hurt me that I've never been to NZ before?

Has anyone else been in this same position?

[Gemini]

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people didn't visit before they came to NZ. It isn't a requirement to do so. I think it's a pretty even mix of people who did and who didn't on this forum. Good luck with your application.

[BkyMonster]

No, shouldn't be an issue. The interview (from what I have read) is an assessment of how well you will settle, so knowledge of things like job search options, plans for integrating yourself into the culture, financial back up plans in case of hardship, and similar will carry weight. You can do a search on this forum for interview questions as I think a complete list has been posted in the past.

[denalipop]

Thanks! I'm worried that my lack of first-hand experience w/ NZ will be a huge mark against me when it comes to the interview. :(

[Pete & Sheila]

we revieved permanent residency without making a visit before hand never even had an interview

[BodaciousBean]

Hi there!

Hubby and I achieved PR without ever visiting the country. :yes

The question did come up in the interview though. Although we did say we have never been there, we mentioned we researched the country so much, it felt like we has already been there! And our CO loved that answer. :nice1

The interview (at least in my experience) was very job related, like, do we plan to work full time, do we have experience in other fields in case we do not get a position in our desired career, have we looked for jobs already, how? Have we made any contacts in NZ? Also, be prepared to answer how the recession may affect your job search and how quickly you plan to find a job. How quick do we anticipate finding a job, how will we make friends, how much of a salary do we expect, cost of living. Also, why we chose NZ, that was one of the first questions asked. It was a very job focused interview.

So basically, be prepared to answer oodles of questions about job searches, some of the questions were very hypothetical and you will have to answer according to how you would respond or react in such a situation. A lot of people on the forum reassured me the interview was no biggie, just a friendly chat. However, I shook the during the whole interview (phone interview) even though our CO was very nice. I do not want to scare you, I just get VERY anxious over this kind of stuff.

Good luck with everything. Hope this helps. :nice1

[TJH]

We have never visited and we were granted PR a while back. 94 days and we board a plane to NZ!!

We had nearly made a month long vacation last September for a vacation/reccy. When we really started thinking about, it we determined that whatever our experience was in just one short month of vacation in NZ would not change our decision to move there when granted PR. With this in mind, we felt that while it would be a nice vacation, it would not be worth it in the long run if we were granted PR and decided to save our money.

I can second what BodaciousBean posted regarding the interview. Our first question was "had we been to NZ before". I simply said "no" with no further explanation or discussion. Our answers to the later questions proved that we were well prepared for the move and had done more than enough research regarding all the aspects of such a move. I think the question of whether you have visited is just one aspect the CO takes into consideration when making the determination of whether or not you have done the proper research and are making an informed decision regarding immigrating. Someone who has been there on vacation multiple times may have a horrible time when migrating if they have unreasonable expectations and have not informed themselves on what it will be like to live in NZ compared to visiting NZ.

[Georgebulldog]

We never visited either or had an interview
Been wondering why they choose to interview people, what's the ratio? Just interested really :)
Good luck

[Rob&Don]

we revieved permanent residency without making a visit before hand never even had an interview

So did we!! Our first visit will be when we move!! :nice1;)

[Familyofmonkeys]

We had also never visited NZ first. OH managed to get a job via the NZ Expo in London with a telephone interview etc a couple of days afterwards. My understanding is that if you have a job offer you don't need an interview to get PR.

[Jacqi B]

We never visited either or had an interview
Been wondering why they choose to interview people, what's the ratio? Just interested really :)
Good luck

According to our CO all applicants that donot have a job offer have to be interviewed.

[Kalla]

yeah same here - never been to NZ and got PR no problem.

Hubby said same as other posts - main questions were related to jobs, how will you find jobs, what will you do if you don't find jobs, what if you can't find job in your field, do you have money to support you if you take too long to find jobs etc etc.

study is all!!! use this forum and be prepared as possible for your interview and you should be fine. If english is your first language that helps too as the whole interview is really to see if you will settle ok and this is a huge bonus too.

[denalipop]

Just a quick followup...

We ended up being accepted, so never having been to NZ isn't a shop-stopper.

(Just in case anyone else in our shoes is wondering the same thing).