Lukas
14th March 2006, 11:22 PM
In my case in 2001 I saw that is much easier to obtain a PR visa that a work one. At the time, it was also quite cheap (203 GBP). The pass mark was 24 I have got 25. In 2001 I Have stayed 9 months visiting the country from north to south, staying on the main cities and trying to get some reasonable work….then I went back in Romania to “recharge” my batteries. In 2003 I have stayed 6 months having quite a similar experience. Although I have met very nice people and I saw very nice places as long as you are not a tourist the real life in NZ can be a bit challenging. I have to admit also that it may depend a lot on what kind of life you are looking for and what you are expecting.
Reading your posts I was a bit surprised that no one is warning the potential emigrants about some realities on the site.
1. The Nature:
The nature is NZ (otherwise not virgin or untouched) no doubt is fabulous… but there are some minuses. You may see gorgeous bitches and great see water…but you can only watch…the water is very cold even on the mid summer and laying down on the bitch more that 10-15 minutes can harm you as far as the NZ sun is very dangerous. If you are having in mind swimming in Mediterranean style waters and Spanish or Greece style beaches forget…forget about it in NZ. Otherwise you can have a fabulous run on the morning along the beach, it may also please your dog. Another unpleasant think is the daylight brightness especially on the spring time….the good sunglasses are not a fashion accessory but a must. Because of the light, I have had head eggs and eye pain for weeks. The clime in NZ is diverse but I found the clime on the South Island particularly Otago, and Southland quite challenging. On the summer very hot and dry during the day, cold and humid during the night (often you have to use the heater). And if you stay in an old wood or light structure house as most of the houses are …
The life style, the people:
For some one coming from Europe in general and for someone coming from Easter Europe in particular, the kiwis would appear very friendly, very open sometime even a bit naive …and most of them very civilized.
Little bourgeois lifestyle…quiet, quiet…and again quiet. I won’t insist more about it, but for some one coming from Europe from a culture and life-vibrating city and if the cultural life is playing an important part on his life personal I can’t recommend NZ.
Although you may find reasonable European style cultural life and infrastructure on the big cities for a European the cultural life is not a reason to emigrate in NZ.
The job market:
WARNING: Although anyone is complaining about the money and the low wages compared with Australia in my view the NZ problem are not the money (about 20% les that in OZ) but the opportunities. The NZ job market is quite small unless you are not an agricultural or a professional somehow related with the food industry. There are good and well paid jobs but for those jobs you will have to compete not only with the 4 million kiwis but also with the 19 million Australians eligible to work in NZ and usually preferred to the new emigrants. The equation become much more complicated for those who are not native English speakers. Most of the Romanians living in NZ which I know have good jobs but, they are the kind of technicians who will find always jobs everywhere on the planet earth…I am not a technician but a social scientist J.
The difficulty to find a good job make quite a good number of emigrants to leave NZ after a while. I an matter of months the citizenship law will change allowing the emigrants to get NZ citizenship only after 5 years (3 years now) which in my view is a good think as fare as many if not most were using NZ as a bridge to Australia.
Looking at the official statistics you will also see that the percent of kiwis leaving their country is very high…some of them will come back…some not.
In my view an European Union citizen having access to a job market of more than 350 million people, (thousands of cities he can live and work in any of the member countries, climateric conditions ranging from sub tropical to sub arctic) the decision to emigrate and to stay in New Zealand must be motivated by a total love for this country.
Advantages
In my view NZ is a great place to start a business with a good added value (not a manufacture one). Minimal paper work and bureaucracy. Great infrastructure…and one of the least corrupt countries on the planet earth. It is also a gate for the huge market represented by Asia. In my view, in economical terms this is the only comparative advantage NZ has compared with Europe.
This is my view, my experience…I don’t pretend to be objective. Probable I will be back in NZ in October. Till then I am thinking at the most suitable business, for my skills and financial possibilities (probable something related with educational services). There are so many people who would like to have NZ, PR …this is basically why I am still trying to valorize it somehow.
And something else. In downtown Christchurch you may find an office designed by the City Council to give advices to the new emigrants who may whish to locate in Canterbury.
I had a two hours discussion with the guy at the office. The guy was firmly convinced that is living in the World’s best city -“you don’t have to be a millionaire to live like a millionaire”- one of his arguments…well I didn’t argue him about it…why not to live him happy. Our talk may have ended in half an hour but at a certain moment he touch the NZ political field, more exactly the countries external relations…that NZ may have been created as a piece of Europe on the South Pacific but Europe is far away and the country need a more geographical realistic economic and politic orientation as well as his own identity. I told him that is a bit hilarious the fact that NZ was economically and culturally a part of Europe by the 19 century regardless the huge distance for the time while today on the jumbo jet era it seems to be too far…
Finally I went out from his office with two priceless advices:
As an immigrant to be successful in New Zealand you need to know exactly what you want and also to know exactly what is your comparative advantage for that on the NZ context.
Unless you come in with a good capital and you sell previously your Lexus and your wife’s Mercedes, many if not most are coming with an “I will do everything” policy…Honestly I saw many disappointed people. With this policy you may survive, but probable never regain your professional status. This is also the main reason the NZIS has changed the immigration policy: to avoid the too many “tax drivers” “cleaners”’ “laborers” and “factory workers” with an M.A or a PhD.
Reading your posts I was a bit surprised that no one is warning the potential emigrants about some realities on the site.
1. The Nature:
The nature is NZ (otherwise not virgin or untouched) no doubt is fabulous… but there are some minuses. You may see gorgeous bitches and great see water…but you can only watch…the water is very cold even on the mid summer and laying down on the bitch more that 10-15 minutes can harm you as far as the NZ sun is very dangerous. If you are having in mind swimming in Mediterranean style waters and Spanish or Greece style beaches forget…forget about it in NZ. Otherwise you can have a fabulous run on the morning along the beach, it may also please your dog. Another unpleasant think is the daylight brightness especially on the spring time….the good sunglasses are not a fashion accessory but a must. Because of the light, I have had head eggs and eye pain for weeks. The clime in NZ is diverse but I found the clime on the South Island particularly Otago, and Southland quite challenging. On the summer very hot and dry during the day, cold and humid during the night (often you have to use the heater). And if you stay in an old wood or light structure house as most of the houses are …
The life style, the people:
For some one coming from Europe in general and for someone coming from Easter Europe in particular, the kiwis would appear very friendly, very open sometime even a bit naive …and most of them very civilized.
Little bourgeois lifestyle…quiet, quiet…and again quiet. I won’t insist more about it, but for some one coming from Europe from a culture and life-vibrating city and if the cultural life is playing an important part on his life personal I can’t recommend NZ.
Although you may find reasonable European style cultural life and infrastructure on the big cities for a European the cultural life is not a reason to emigrate in NZ.
The job market:
WARNING: Although anyone is complaining about the money and the low wages compared with Australia in my view the NZ problem are not the money (about 20% les that in OZ) but the opportunities. The NZ job market is quite small unless you are not an agricultural or a professional somehow related with the food industry. There are good and well paid jobs but for those jobs you will have to compete not only with the 4 million kiwis but also with the 19 million Australians eligible to work in NZ and usually preferred to the new emigrants. The equation become much more complicated for those who are not native English speakers. Most of the Romanians living in NZ which I know have good jobs but, they are the kind of technicians who will find always jobs everywhere on the planet earth…I am not a technician but a social scientist J.
The difficulty to find a good job make quite a good number of emigrants to leave NZ after a while. I an matter of months the citizenship law will change allowing the emigrants to get NZ citizenship only after 5 years (3 years now) which in my view is a good think as fare as many if not most were using NZ as a bridge to Australia.
Looking at the official statistics you will also see that the percent of kiwis leaving their country is very high…some of them will come back…some not.
In my view an European Union citizen having access to a job market of more than 350 million people, (thousands of cities he can live and work in any of the member countries, climateric conditions ranging from sub tropical to sub arctic) the decision to emigrate and to stay in New Zealand must be motivated by a total love for this country.
Advantages
In my view NZ is a great place to start a business with a good added value (not a manufacture one). Minimal paper work and bureaucracy. Great infrastructure…and one of the least corrupt countries on the planet earth. It is also a gate for the huge market represented by Asia. In my view, in economical terms this is the only comparative advantage NZ has compared with Europe.
This is my view, my experience…I don’t pretend to be objective. Probable I will be back in NZ in October. Till then I am thinking at the most suitable business, for my skills and financial possibilities (probable something related with educational services). There are so many people who would like to have NZ, PR …this is basically why I am still trying to valorize it somehow.
And something else. In downtown Christchurch you may find an office designed by the City Council to give advices to the new emigrants who may whish to locate in Canterbury.
I had a two hours discussion with the guy at the office. The guy was firmly convinced that is living in the World’s best city -“you don’t have to be a millionaire to live like a millionaire”- one of his arguments…well I didn’t argue him about it…why not to live him happy. Our talk may have ended in half an hour but at a certain moment he touch the NZ political field, more exactly the countries external relations…that NZ may have been created as a piece of Europe on the South Pacific but Europe is far away and the country need a more geographical realistic economic and politic orientation as well as his own identity. I told him that is a bit hilarious the fact that NZ was economically and culturally a part of Europe by the 19 century regardless the huge distance for the time while today on the jumbo jet era it seems to be too far…
Finally I went out from his office with two priceless advices:
As an immigrant to be successful in New Zealand you need to know exactly what you want and also to know exactly what is your comparative advantage for that on the NZ context.
Unless you come in with a good capital and you sell previously your Lexus and your wife’s Mercedes, many if not most are coming with an “I will do everything” policy…Honestly I saw many disappointed people. With this policy you may survive, but probable never regain your professional status. This is also the main reason the NZIS has changed the immigration policy: to avoid the too many “tax drivers” “cleaners”’ “laborers” and “factory workers” with an M.A or a PhD.