[sarahw]

Wow - can't believe it! :mrgreen: Boyfriend just had job interview on our 3rd day in NZ & he got a job offer!!!

We have been advised to go for Work to Residence - we went to Immigration and they were really helpful - saw us straight away and gave us all the forms to get a work visa and permit each (I can apply as de-facto). They said if we completed all the information and took all of the documents that they required to their office in Wellington they would grant us a permit on the same day (unfortunately got to come back to UK to finish work assignments and sell the house and get all documentation in order (and I expect the UK office may not be as fast to process) but it looks like we might be moving in January!!!!! :nice1

We have been told by the job agency recruitment guy that its easier to get residency after you've worked here for a couple of years rather than doing it off a job offer - he is British and emmigrated doing the same some years ago.

My main concern is that EOI points are low at present and it could be a good time to get PR rather than waiting the 2 years... Anyone been through the same thing that can share their experience or give advice?

Anyway - off to crack open a bottle of bubbly! :cool

[eric_amanda]

Hi

We are here on a work to residency scheme (talent visa).

We have been here two months and have already come accross a few stumbling blocks because we are not residents, mainly financial.

Mortgages (some banks will not lend over 60%) / Hire purchase/credit cards etc are all problems if you are not residents.

Once we are settled into our new home we plan on applying for residency straight away. When we originally started to apply EOI points were at 190 ish so we went with the talent visa since we would only have about 150. In hindsight we probably would have been better going for a work visa and submitting an EOI.

I would calculate your points and see if it is worth submitting an EOI and getting a work visa in the meantime.

Amanda

[xanctus]

congrats Sarah...so are you saying that your boyfriend get the job offer and he will be back in NZ for another 2/3 months after the offer? so in other words the company willing to wait 2/3 months?

[veronica]

Sarahw. the guy may have been right 2 years ago but the whole points situation is different now so I would go for it now while the points are low.

[sarahw]

Hi All,

Thanks for the responses - very useful info :nice1

Thanks for the advice about going for residency straight away - I think this will be a good move (I might go for work permits as a filler to ensure we get in for the time he starts the job but then apply immediately when we arrive)

Xanctus - yes we came over for 2 pre-arranged interviews and one company asked Ian when he could start - he said Mid-November and the guy interviewing asked if he would like to spend Xmas at home saying goodbye to family and friends and start in January.

We've found out that the occupation he's in is called something else in NZ which happens to be on the Priority List :mrgreen: - we've been told they've been advertising for a while so at least they will know they have someone to start for sure. We're pretty pleased that we have time to sell the house and pack everything :P

[veronica]

May I ask what the job title was in the UK and what its called here.

Because December/January are the main holiday periods here they often don't want people to start until the holidays are all out of the way, otherwise they end up having noone to 'settle' you into the job and thats not productive.

[Robert Dazzler]

We came over on a WTR visa in June and are applying for residency now.

The way I see it is the sooner you have residency the sooner you can apply for citizenship.

Bobby.

[xanctus]

Sarah, that is good news indeed for both of you, and that the company willing to wait for couple months. Congrats again.... :nice1 :nice1 :cheers

[jesselyn]

wow, sarah! congratulations!!! :clap

jes :angel

[sarahw]

Thanks for all the responses :mrgreen:

Veronica, in answer to your question the job title in the UK was Building Surveyor and in NZ they bunch Building Surveyors and Quantity Surveyors under the same title - QS.

Robert Dazzler, thanks - everyone seems to be in agreement here that we should go for PR so I reckon that's what we'll do. :P

[Annierobrigado]

good luck then, sarah!

will you be getting married in new zealand then? (is this too personal? i just wondered, coz, what about marital status changes, would it affect application for residency, and so on?)

:angel

annie

[jesselyn]

We came over on a WTR visa in June and are applying for residency now.

The way I see it is the sooner you have residency the sooner you can apply for citizenship.

Bobby.

hi bobby,

welcome to the forum :smile

umm will you be under the 3yr or the new 5yr requirement?

jes :angel

[Robert Dazzler]

We came over on a WTR visa in June and are applying for residency now.

The way I see it is the sooner you have residency the sooner you can apply for citizenship.

Bobby.

hi bobby,

welcome to the forum :smile

umm will you be under the 3yr or the new 5yr requirement?

jes :angel

Hi jes,

I`m not sure whether it wil be 3yrs or 5 yrs.

The 5yr requirement hasn`t come into force yet and I`m not sure if it`s going to be retrospective or not but either way the sooner you have residency the sooner you can apply for citizenship.

Bobby

[renrob]

hey guys,

it looks like everybody is confused or may be i am also one of them. is it when you apply for a work NZI will give you a work permit then once you arrive and nz they you have to apply for work visa. you could only avail of those visa once you got a job offer, but nowadays you could only get a job offer if you have those visa. it's really confusing. anyway some companies/employers are willing to give applicants with a job offer.

if your application for immigraton is successfull, then they will give a residence visa. the 3 or 5 years requirement is for citizenship not for residency. effectivity of the 5 years requirement will start on jan. 2005.

[sarahw]

Hi Renrob,

I think its the other way around - you need a Work Visa to get into NZ if you are coming to work from any other country (with a job offer) and then you can apply for a Work Permit once you arrive; if you are already in NZ you have to apply for Work Permit only - Work Visa if you want to leave NZ and come back... I could be wrong :? - anyone who has experience in this know?

Hi Annie,

No we're going to be de facto - I've worked out today that the job offer (we were given wrong info by the chap in NZIS about my partner's job) is for an OSL and not a POL so we'll have to apply for general work visas and not Work to Residence and then apply for Residence when we arrive - I don't plan on getting married until we're residents so that shouldn't be a problem (planning a wedding and moving to NZ may just give me a nervous breakdown!! :laugh )

As for the citizenship - only just seen this today :( Looks like its going to take a bit more time to get that one under our belts...

[abdul]

Sarah

Yes you are correct.

You require a visa when you travel to NZ from overseas. Upon landing in NZ, you will be issued with the correct permit ie ( student permit, work permit etc).

If you are in NZ and wish to extend your stay or continue to work , you apply for a work permit. However, if you plan to go overseas on a short holiday, then you also need to get a visa so that you can come back in and apply for the permit

hope that this clears some aspects

Abdul

[sarahw]

Thanks Abdul for that clarification :nice1