Patrick
22nd July 2006, 05:38 PM
I had posted bits and pieces of our efforts to get to New Zealand in other parts of the forums, but basically ... we made it! After a battle with NZQA and an easy Teacher's Council process, my wife and I were planning on trying to move to NZ late this year for an early 2007 school year start as a teacher. That was in mid-June. Then, I got a great job offer from a private school here in Auckland, submitted my EOI, and at the same time, applied for a work visa and the appropriate visas for my wife and daughter because my residency case officer in Beijing advised me to wait to submit my ITA in Auckland after I arrived. The visa process took three days!!! Then, I took the ITA which my case officer sent me for the permanent residency visa, and hopped on a plane with my wife and daughter right after my school year in Taiwan finished. That was on July 3rd.
Now, after almost 3 weeks here, I can really say that the move has been fabulous. My wife is a bit cold from the temperature change (37 to 12 here in Papakura right now), but we like the fresh air, the endless parks and reserves to explore, the house we're in, and all the other good stuff, like savories and lamb on the BBQ. My daughter is on the same campus I'm working at in her preschool, and seems to already have a crush on one of her playmates. The only downside to the fast move was that I am now renting here and still owning a house in Taiwan, but hopefully I can get that house sold and buy here once the permanent residency is apporved in about 2 weeks according to my case officer here.
So, on behalf of myself and my family, I would advise anyone thinking of timelines for moving to just go for it. Things do tend to work out in the end provided you do the research ahead of time (thank you, all forum members, for creating such a great source of information!). Once you get past the NZQA, if you have everything prepared, things go very smoothly. Must get the BBQ going with the neighbors, but if anyone needs advice or info, please feel free to PM me anytime. :cheers
Now, after almost 3 weeks here, I can really say that the move has been fabulous. My wife is a bit cold from the temperature change (37 to 12 here in Papakura right now), but we like the fresh air, the endless parks and reserves to explore, the house we're in, and all the other good stuff, like savories and lamb on the BBQ. My daughter is on the same campus I'm working at in her preschool, and seems to already have a crush on one of her playmates. The only downside to the fast move was that I am now renting here and still owning a house in Taiwan, but hopefully I can get that house sold and buy here once the permanent residency is apporved in about 2 weeks according to my case officer here.
So, on behalf of myself and my family, I would advise anyone thinking of timelines for moving to just go for it. Things do tend to work out in the end provided you do the research ahead of time (thank you, all forum members, for creating such a great source of information!). Once you get past the NZQA, if you have everything prepared, things go very smoothly. Must get the BBQ going with the neighbors, but if anyone needs advice or info, please feel free to PM me anytime. :cheers