[happymartins]

I've been an avid reader of the forum for some time and though it was about time I made my bow.

My wife and I (and young daughter) are planning on emigrating to New Zealand once we sell our house in the UK. All things being equal the sale should complete end of Oct 2006 which will give me the necessary security to hand in my notice at work (3 months). We then plan to fly to NZ to look for work.

We had our EOI accpeted in August with 130 points (but no job offer) so we are expecting a long wait before getting an ITA even if we get one at all. I have circulated my CV to several recruitment agencies in NZ who have all said the same thing, "get out here and meet employers and you'll get sorted quickly"

I know its a calculated risk to upsticks with the family and do this but I think it's worth it. We've worked out that the interest on our equity from our house sale will pay the rent on a decent sized property so if the worst happens we will just end up having had a six month holiday!

I'd be interested in any advice but in particular on the process of getting a work visa or residency once I'm already in NZ.

Also, if I get a work permit (through a job offer) will my wife and daughter be entitled to a permit as well?

Can I use a job offer (obtained in NZ) to apply both for my work permit application and to speed up my (already in progress Residency application?

Lastly, I have read various threads about arriving on tourist visa and having to have an onward/return ticket. Is it true that an onward ticket to Sydney would be enough or that if we could show sufficient funds to purchase a ticket this would be OK.

I know that a lot of advice I'm asking for but January is getting nearer and I am just seeking a bit of reassurance.


Thanks in advance

Dave

[KerryS]

I'd be interested in any advice but in particular on the process of getting a work visa or residency once I'm already in NZ.

Also, if I get a work permit (through a job offer) will my wife and daughter be entitled to a permit as well?

Can I use a job offer (obtained in NZ) to apply both for my work permit application and to speed up my (already in progress Residency application?

Lastly, I have read various threads about arriving on tourist visa and having to have an onward/return ticket. Is it true that an onward ticket to Sydney would be enough or that if we could show sufficient funds to purchase a ticket this would be OK.


OK, from the beginning, if you are planning to travel to NZ without a visa with the words "Outward Passage Waived", then you need a ticket out of the country. If you but a ticket to Australia you would need the same thing, unless you have the right to reside there. Australia is just a strict about letting people in as NZ. As the carrier is liable to pay for your removal, they will often not let you onto the plane in the first place.

You can easily enter NZ on a visitor visa and then look for work. Just don't make it obvious to Immigration that this is your intention. (They have a tv show here - Border Patrol or somesuch, that showed this scenario only a few weeks ago.)

You will stand a much better chance of getting a job offer if you are actually in the country. Once you have a job offer, you can apply for a work permit. (You can't apply for one without a job offer!) These are relatively easy to obtain and are usually issued in only a few days, from experience.
You can continue with your PR application whilst you do all this, and inform NZIS that you now have a job. Once you have a work permit though, you can remain in NZ for the period of the permit, so speed of PR won't really affect this issue.
Your wife and children (if any) can be included in any work permit application, as well as PR. Your work permit will be restricted to the job offer you have, but your wife would be able to work anywhere.

Hope this helps!

[happymartins]

Thanks for the info Kerry. I don't think I'll risk the one way tickets but i will investigate the best way of getting a refundable ticket so that I can reclaim the money if we are successful in our job searching.

Am I right in thinking that its probably not worth getting our meducals done until we have a job offer as a. they are quicker to arrange in NZ and b. they are loads cheaper in NZ?

[Smiler]

Hi Happymartins

Welcome

Yes the medical are cheaper here in NZ and there's much less of a queue to get an appointment too. :clap

[happymartins]

Looks like we'll be delayed a little now as our house sale has fallen through today. This is just so frustrating. The estate agents tell me there were a few people interested while the previous sale was agreed so they're phoning around to see if anyone is still interested.

Fingers and evrything else crossed. the hardest bit is keeping the place tidy for viewings while my 20 Month old daughter runs amok.

We're keeping the faith and hope we won't be delayed in heading to NZ much longer than is necessary.

[Cardiff Irons]

Hi Dave

So sorry to hear this news. That feeling of not being in control of it is really unsettling. On the positive side, you do have other possible interest so hopefully you'll resell quickly. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

As for keeping the place tidy, we normally tie our kids up and confine them to their rooms between viewings*. Works for us. ;)

Good luck. Hope it all works out for you.


* for the benefit of nspcc and government agencies - this is not really true

[Angie and Mick]

Hi Dave and Family

Welcome to the forum.

Note re the work permit. Not sure what job you do however when I looked at the a work visa I was informed that my OH could then also go for any job. (I would have had a job before going to NZ)

What area do you want to live?

Good luck in the house sale department, we have that yet to come. :(

[happymartins]

I'm in IT specialising in Project Management. We're planning to move to Auckland where we know a few people. We've travelled around the whole of NZ before and although we'd love to move somewhere like Nelson or Napier I'm realistic about where my best job prospects would be and I think thats why we'll try Auckland.

[Hannah]

Hi Dave
We pretty much did what you did, albeit without selling house and planning a 6 month stay to test the water. Came out on visitor visa, hubby got job and that qualified me for a 'family' work permit (open work permit for partner/spouse). Kids got student permits. A search on my threads will give more details if you are interested.
If you have children, you will need to pay international school fees unless you get work permit first (which gives them free schooling).
Having come out with hope of finding work once, I'm confident i could go back again and find work so i dont think you are taking too much of a risk.
Two words of advice though - getting a job took a while for us (just the slower kiwi way) so make sure you have a pile of cash to tide you over until the wages start coming in (although some on forum have started jobs within a week or two), secondly. if finances allow and you've not been here before, have a recce trip first to check NZ is for you.
The 'just up sticks approach' is more risky than the 'get PR then travel' approach, however its well worth the risk in my opinion, and the PR process was really easy for us (2 months to get PR, no problems, no interviews, really quite easy compared to the other hassles like settling, finding my way around, getting used to new country etc.)
Good luck Dave, lots of useful advice here on the forum to make things easier for you....
Hannah

[happymartins]

Thanks for the advice Hannah, We're coming out with attitude that if we don't find work we'll end up having a nice six month holiday. We'll have enough money to support ourselves for this time although obviously the sooner I find work the less we'll dig in to our savings.

My daughter is only 20 months old so school fees are not an issue just yet. My wife and I have spent a few months in New Zealand before so we've got some idea what to expect but I realise you can't predict everything so we'll just give it a go.

Our house sale falling through last week was a bit of a pain but if it delays us a few months its only a few months out of the rest of our lives so I'm trying to stay relaxed about the whole thing although this is easier said than done!

[mrtrick]

I am thinking the same as you happymartins. My girlfriend and I are planning on just heading there on a regular visitor visa and then see if NZ is for us and what the job market should be like for an IT manager/network administrator (anyone?)
If things do not work out, I guess we just had a few months of vacation :-)
I did my EOI online but didn't submit it, if I just had a job offer in my hand I'd be at 160 points!

[happymartins]

Still no luck with our house sale, I think I am going mad at the moment!!

I'm trying to be patient at the moment as I know it is actually only a matter of time but I'm finding it all a bit frustrating at the moment.

On the bright side I've generated a lot of interest from recruitment consultants in Auckland who want to know when I'm arriving as my cv seems to have impressed them. This makes me think that as long as I do my homework I should be able to find work relatively quickly once I arrive. Well done to everyone who has posted with good news recently and to those like me who are having a frustrating time of it at the moment just keep the faith it'll happen in the end.

[olivia]

why don't you rent your house out then you'll have a fall back if things don't go to plan?

[happymartins]

Sadly we need the proceeds of the house sale to fund us as well as pay of a few short term debts. we purchased the house when it was nearly derelict and we've sunk in all our cash in the hope of making a profit.

We've had two sales fall through (through no fault of our own the chain has collapsed further up) Unfortunately both times we accepted the offers the house got marked up as sale agreed. As a result, since we put it up for sale in mid August it's only really been for sale for about two weeks. We've just got to be patient I guess

[olivia]

We debated renting our house out but decided we would rather have the equity to put towards buying a home in NZ. We are at the other end of the scale from you. We have sold our house and the buyers are jumping up and down for us to exchange but we don't want to until we have the ok from immigration. They've told us our application is being second checked so the decision should be imminent, but meanwhile i'm turning into a nervous wreck!

Hope you get a buyer soon,

Olivia

[Hannah]

Olivia, it shouldn't take long now, the second check thing is just a sort of quality control thing they do in immigration (to prevent fraud etc. i assume) and it took about a week in our case.
Happy martins, it will all work out i'm sure - plenty of jobs in NZ and i imagine the interest from agencies is already making you feel optimistic. Lets hope that house sale comes your way soon. am just about to put our house up for sale and from reading the forum and other's stories i'm kind of just expecting the first one or two sales to fall flat! Seems it's a sad reality of the uk housing system and those damned chains.
Keep your chin up!
Hannah

[marcia]

House selling in the Uk needs a complete overhaul in my opinion. Its one of the biggest purchases you make yet you don't have to put a penny down till you sign on the dotted line. :no

We have made the very difficult decision to go leaving our house in the hands of the estate agent and my parents - but we are looking into the possibilty of an auction too. We have organised an open to view afternoon for sunday - not a normal thing in the uk - but we'll try anything!! We have already reduced the price by 45K!!!

We are lucky that we do have funds to take to NZ without the house sale - but its still worrying leaving an empty house!

Good luck whatever you decide to do!

[olivia]

Marcia, i'm sure your parents will able to sell your house for you.

And just think of the good points, you won't have to sit through endless viewings while people come round and insult your choice of decor and furnishings. I found some of the people that came to view our house were soooo rude.

BTW, I agree about the selling process. It takes ages here and there's no logical reason.

Good Luck with the sale.

Olivia

[ellenmelon]

when my family moved to ireland, i stayed behind in new zealand. in case our house didnt sell before they left, i was made signatory for my mum so if there was an offer put in i could legally sell it on behalf of my parents (even though i was only 18..but my dads cousin was signatory for my dad so i didnt feel any pressure over it).it ended up being sold just before they left so it was never an issue.
maybe this would be an option for people if they want/need to get to NZ asap but are worried about leaving their house unsold...saves paperwork being sent to the other side of the world and back!!

[happymartins]

The worst thing about the system is the fact that someone can offer you money for a property, insist you take it off the market and then can drop out at any point before contracts are exchanged.

I agree that some people can be incredibly rude about your house when they view it. We had one person tell us "no family could live in such a small place and not go mad!". Why she had arranged to see an 1860's stone cottage is anyones guess. I was really pleased about her comments as we'd just spent the last two or three hours cleaning tidying, polishing, dusting, mowing etc etc

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-13195612.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

I've put in a link to our house as if anyone has a friend/relative/acquaintance interested in moving to the Isle of Wight. Well its worth a try isn't it?

[olivia]

I don't know anyone but i had a peek at your house. It looks lovely, i'm sure it'll sell in no time at all.

Olivia

[Trigirl]

i also think it looks really lovely. but i had no idea the isle of wight was so expensive! we’re selling a 3 to 4 bedroom townhouse within commuting distance of central london for not much more than that!

however, i can see from the other properties in the area that its in the right sort of price range and i’m sure you’ll have no trouble selling it. after all if its only been a few weeks its not really worth worrying yet

mandy (4 months in to the house selling process and still no offer)

[Trigirl]

this one is ours by the way

http://www.thelittlehousecompany.co.uk/search/full-07295.html

[marcia]

We have already agreed with my mum and dad that they will have power of attorny so they can sign all the legal paperwork for the house sale. The estate agents will have to earn their money for a change and show people around - I'm not expecting my parents to do that as well!! But i want them to let my parents know all the feedback and how many viewings etc - at least we can be in contact with mum and dad for a few hours longer each end of the day, whereas it would be a case of staying up/getting up at stupid hours to try and catch the agents!!

So for any nosy parkers (i know some of you have seen it before on another thread) heres our house!

http://www.simonblyth.co.uk/property.asp?ID=3931

[happymartins]

No more luck with the house as yet, We're thinking of taking it off in a few weeks if nothing happens an re-marketing in the spring when the garden will be looking more colourful again.

Also we have a problem with Badgers digging up part of the lawn every night at the moment. Now I am a lover of wildlife but I feel I'm being tested here!!

Congrats to everyone whos posted good news about their PR in the last week or so. I'm extremely jealous!!

Staying patient,
Dave

[Jameelka]

Just had a look at your house,very nice! but see it is on the IOW,small world my parents live at Wootton Bridge and I used to as well! worked at one of the travel agents!!! actually Mum is at the dentist this am down at Ventnor!
Good luck selling it. :exit

[Soon2baKiwi]

Hi Housemartins. Why don't you go for auction? I used to always think that a house going to auction would either sell or not and that would be the end of it. But it's not. Usually. Although a house may not make the reserve at the actual auction the people who are interested will negotiate once the hammer comes down. It also gives a condensed timeframe AND once an agreement is made (and signed) they can't back out of it without losing their deposit.

[happymartins]

We accepted an offer on the house on friday. From now on its fingers, legs and everything else crossed!! We're not counting our chickens though as we've been here before but I can't help dreaming of the North Shore!!

[Jameelka]

Well done,we'll all keep our fingers crossed for you!
:raebanana :clap

[marcia]

Great news hope it all goes well for you!

We only had 3 viewers at our 'open house' but wasn't impressed with the way the agents advertised it, and we have told them so!!

Anyway to try and attract that elusive buyer before we go, we have dropped another £10k off the price (so far a reduction of £55K in total :( ) But kev has told the agents that if no offer come in before we go we will put it back up again - it's not likely to sell in the winter anyway so we would have nothing to lose!!!


Well better get my bum into gear and carry on cleaning the mountain of shoes we seem to possess in this house :p - 'methinks' the charity shop is going to be getting a visit soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Moorf]

Great news! :clap

[olivia]

Well done with the offer. Hope it all goes through smoothly this time.

Olivia

[happymartins]

Our buyers are having the survey done today, I'm a nervous wreck.

[sidabrine]

Good luck with the house sale! Looks lovely!

Just one thing I wanted to add regarding the work permit. As far as I know, the job offer has to be in the area of skills shortage (and the employer has to supply all sorts of evidence that the job was advertised locally and no kiwis wanted (or had skills) to take it). Anyway, I think IT professionals are in skills shortage, so if you find a company willing to employ you, it shouldn't be too difficult.

A word of warning abt "interested" companies and employment agents. My hubby refused a good job offer and came down to NZ believing that he will get a job almost immediately, judging on the response from "impressed" employers, when he initially inquired (slapping on the shoulders, "just ring us once you get down here", etc). So when we finally got down here, all of a sudden it was "quiet lately". Eventually everything worked out (it took him 2 months to find a job), so just be prepared to be mucked around and see some of your savings go (and boy ow boy savings melt faster than you can ever imagine....)

[happymartins]

Thanks Sidabrine,

We're going into this with our eyes wide open and although I'm hopeful of getting work quite quickly the realist in me knows I could be in for a long wait! The very worst that could happen is that we get a six month holiday. My current employers are intimating that they may keep my job open for me for that period anyway which would provide me with some reassurance although to be honest I don't think I'll want to go back to it!

As well as all this we also have our application in for PR which I'm hopeful will work its way through the system in due course.

[happymartins]

I thought I'd update this post after the rollercoaster events of the last few weeks.

Firstly our house sale looked like it was going nowhere after our buyer's surveyor seriously tried it on leading to our buyer asking for a substantial price reduction.

Then my EOI was de-selected as they disallowed my bonus points, this wasn't entirely unexpected and I wasn't to bothered as I was waiting for my OU exam result that woudl give me enough points for a degree and put my EOI back on track. (Some of you may be interested to know that the immigration officer who called me advised me that the best thing to do was to travel to NZ to obtain a job offer)

Then I got my exam result (passed with distinction)

The I found out that I still need ten more points from teh OU to achieve my degree. This made me angry as it conflicted with advice they had previously given me, I have lodged an appeal but am not hopeful

Next, we managed to negotiate a mutually acceptable price with our buyer and agreed to complete on the11th December

Then we agreed to complete on the 18th.

Then we agreed to complete on teh 4th January

Then we completed (at short notice on the 21st of december!!!!!!)

SO,

We are now in the process of booking flights to come to NZ at the end of Feb/beginning of March.

I'll be going into overdrive talking to recruitment agencies form now on in. I have several who have been emailing me regularly saying "when are you coming" and it's been heartbreaking telling them "when the sale completes" all the time.

I still can't believe we're actually coming!!! I know we're taking a slight risk but I don't care anymore. Like I've always said, Teh worst case scenario is that we get to spend six months in NZ.

Auckland here we come!!

[Trigirl]

congrats on your ou result this year - even if it didn't give you the degree you wanted its still fab. i got a distinction this year too (M208) and we found out after we'd been here 2 weeks - so very good news.

[pintpot]

Hi Happymartins,
Having read the whole thread it does seem like you've been through a rollercoster ride! Glad that you are making the decision to go out in March and see what happens.

Being slightly concerned myself about bonus points, how many bonus points did you lose and why did you lose the bonus points. Having read a lot of the threads and the NZIS website it would appear that the awarding of points and bonus points can be fraught with danager!

Cheers
Paul

[pinkpiggy]

Happymartins,

Congratulations on both your OU result and on completing the house sale. I know how difficult it can be, having only completed my Degree in 2003 - whilst working 25 hours a week and looking after our two sons who were 7 and 5 when I finished.

Are you thinking of flying before March now that you've sold the house? I bet you've had a fantastic christmas. Keep us updated of your progress.

[happymartins]

Hi Paul,

I lost bonus points for my qualification as since my field is IT my qualification needed to be degree level to claim points. Even though I had my highest qualification assessed as level 5 by the NZQA this was not enough unfortunately. Then the double jeopordy hit, as the bonus points for qualifications were stripped so were the work experience bonus points.
I went from 130 points to 105 with no bonus points and hence no chance of being selected it would seem without a job offer.

Hi Happymartins,
Having read the whole thread it does seem like you've been through a rollercoster ride! Glad that you are making the decision to go out in March and see what happens.

Being slightly concerned myself about bonus points, how many bonus points did you lose and why did you lose the bonus points. Having read a lot of the threads and the NZIS website it would appear that the awarding of points and bonus points can be fraught with danager!

Cheers
Paul

[happymartins]

Thanks pp,

Christmas was fab as fab could be. My daughter (who is nearly 2) kept us all entertained thoroughly despite the fact that Father Christmas didn't bring me a scalextric, again.

We are definitely flying out end of feb.
Ouch, I've just had to pinch myself again.

The OU is certainly no soft option. I think we can both attest to that!!!

Happymartins,

Congratulations on both your OU result and on completing the house sale. I know how difficult it can be, having only completed my Degree in 2003 - whilst working 25 hours a week and looking after our two sons who were 7 and 5 when I finished.

Are you thinking of flying before March now that you've sold the house? I bet you've had a fantastic christmas. Keep us updated of your progress.