[Sir]

Hi all , First time posting on this site , which We must say is "amazing" and very very helpful.

I am in the IT field with 15 years experience and have family in NZ , and currently in South Africa.

I have done the Quick test on the NZ immgration site and got 125. Can some one help with a bit of imformation in connection with applying for PR.

Can you send in your EOI before you get a job offer ?

I have been told that they are slowly getting away from the Work To Residence , as they have already droped it from 2 yrs to 6 months , and they are saying that the basic Work Visa will cover you untill your application for PR is granted ?


If i go for the work visa can my wife also work or do we have to get her a work visa aswell ?
Also on a work visa , can our child go to school ?(jnr school)

Once again thanks for such a great site and cant wait for the replies .

Untill then ......... :cool:
Ian and Candice

[dawn]

You can send the EOI before your job offer, but a job offer is worth another 50 points and "almost guarantees" selection (but don't quote me on that!) lol I guess it depends how desperate you are to get there.

125 points is very respectable and should get you selected pretty quickly anyway.

Sorry I can't answer your other questions, someone here will be able too.

Oh and welcome :D

[MB]

Ian and Candice,

Welcome indeed.

You asked: "Can you send in your EOI before you get a job offer ?"

Yes, but:

Do you have 15 points or more for work experience and is your skill in an Absolute Skills Shortage field? If so -- and by the way the following statement is based purely on the last draw's points settings -- that seems to be the only way you could get your EOI selected for now, without a job offer.

Here, though, is some context to throw into the mix:
until Dec. '05, 100 points was for a long time all that was needed to be automatically selected from the pool... and so there have been only a handful of fortnightly draws since NZIS tightened criteria a bit and started making these (see http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/news/smc120406.htm) kinds of subdivisions in who could be selected and how.
Why is this relevant? Because this new, 'choppier' EOI-selection system has perhaps not had time to find its feet yet and might thus be very likely to change from draw to draw.

The consequence for you, right now, might be that you choose:

either to submit EOI now and gamble on a few selection-point chops and changes benefitting you before your EOI pool place expires in a few months' time,

or

wait until one fortnight's drawing seems to favour EOIs like yours so heavily that you can scoot your EOI in just afterwards on the assumption that it will very likely be selected next time.

Hope that makes sense. Please take it with a big pinch of salt because we went through selection, etc., in '04-'05 and have not really kept an eye on the subtleties since then.

But the message I really wanted to get across to you is that the criteria used to select EOIs since Dec. '05 might not have had time to get into any clear rhythm quite yet, and yet were preceded by about 15 months in which the selection point was set and clear and very constant. And as, I think, NZ's immigration demands have not changed massively in either era, this is just an interesting piece of NZIS-selection history to keep in mind as you choose when to apply.

All the best from us!

[kiwidollie]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

My hubby got a Work Visa to come over and take up a job as HGV Driver. On the strength of that I got a Work Visa which enables me to work wherever I want, and the children have both got Student Visas which enable them to enrol and got to school no problem.

Good luck to you in your plans.

[Smiler]

Sir (bows and scrapes to Sir)

We sent in our EOI for PR before we received OH's job offer but that was when the threshold was 100 points. We had 125 scored if I remember right from a year ago.

Like MB says do you score anymore points anywhere for absolute shortage etc? Although you can still put your EOI in, again like Matt says it may take a while to be selected.

What area of IT are you in?

Let us know how you get on and Welcome to the forum. :raebanana

[Sir]

Thanks to all of you that replied , have answered some of my questions .
One thing i have come across in one of the other postings is that the points grouping has changed , correct me if i am wrong , it is now 100 - 119 sit in the pool and 120-139 get selected ,,,, this sounds like good news .
Is this going to stay like this for the rest on the selections or is it just a once off because they did not get their quoto of applicants above 140 ?

I am claiming for my work experience in an area of skills shortage (15 years )

Can you give me advice on whether i should submit my EOI now (125 points) or should i try and go over and get a job offer first and then submit EOI. Should i get a job offer can you update your EOI once submitted ?

[zardell]

Hi Sir and WELCOME to the forum.

Yes, you can update your EOI if you get a job / job offer, obviously backed up with written confirmation / contract of employment from prospective employer.

There is nothing to stop you submitting your EOI in your country of origin (where is that btw?) and then going to NZ in an attempt to secure a job and conclude your application from within NZ. I don't know, but I would assume that you would have to obtain some sort of work permit once you are in NZ to allow you work.

There are people on this forum who have done just that and I'm sure that they can advise you better than I.

Julie

xx