[toby/lisa]

Hi

We finally got back from our month in NZ (2 weeks in campervan and zoomin around south island like nobodies business). flippin exhausted and not glad to be back in the UK I can tell you (nearly didn't get on the plane).... :wah

WE (myself, hubby and little one) are going to wing it :exit (as they say) and go to NZ in February next year. But before we make any plans, just wanted to talk to the wise crowd of ENZ and ask a few questions.

Background stuff - Here goes - Have been told that we need jobs/offers in order to get those extra points (even though I have 2 close family members and hubby has uncle in the country). I work at the moment as a part-time administrator (until little un can go to pre-school - not long to go) - previouly full time for 14 years and hubby will go as semi-skilled mechanic. , was told by our agent (don't get me started... :roll ) that NZQA not really much feedback except for my HND in visual communication (graphic design). We will have quite a bit of capital to set things up and can live with uncle until we find jobs.

Silly questions I know and am sure answers somewhere on forum ....

Q - Can we go there under visitor visa (as stamped in passport) or should we request a form from NZIS?

Q - How long will work permits last for - is it 2 years? but confused...

Q - Obviously we have to book return flights to say we are leaving the county in 6 months, but if we manage to stay and get a work permit and maybe get this extended if need be, can we get a refund on our return ticket?

Q - Administrators - not really on the wanted list - do you think that would be a problem getting a work permit or resi etc......


Please advise oh wise and wonderful ENZ members.....

Thanks


Lisa
:D

[toby/lisa]

By the way spent 1 month in NZ and NOT 2 weeks, just in case you think we were COMPLETELY MAD.....

Lisa

[Diny]

Lisa ... sorry I can't help with your questions about visas, I got here through family/partnership category and very lucky to have avoided all the 'points' requirements.

All I can say is that I wish you all the luck in the world, where there's a will there's a way and it'll all be worthit inthe end.

Good luck.

Diny

[Moorf]

Q - Can we go there under visitor visa (as stamped in passport) or should we request a form from NZIS?

Yes, as long as you do not work whilst on the visitors visa you are free to look for work. Once you have a job offer you can take the contract/paperwork to the immigration office and apply for a work visa - ours was issued for 1 year. We had already started the PR process before we left the UK and arrived in NZ, with no jobs or home or anything, with just a selected EOI. We changed the location of processing from UK to NZ, no probs.

Q - How long will work permits last for - is it 2 years? but confused...

As I said, ours was for 1 yr, may be different in other circumstances.

Q - Obviously we have to book return flights to say we are leaving the county in 6 months, but if we manage to stay and get a work permit and maybe get this extended if need be, can we get a refund on our return ticket?

Not necessarily, check your ticket conditions. We came with return flights book for 6 mths (as is the requirement), but these tickets were extendable for 1 yr so we could use return tickets anywhere up to 12 mths into our trip. We never used them!


Q - Administrators - not really on the wanted list - do you think that would be a problem getting a work permit or resi etc......

Sorry, can't answer that - is your job on the skills list?

Good luck - are you still going through an agent????

[toby/lisa]

Thanks Diny for your reply, seen you reply to other people and thanks for the luck, think we are going to need it.....

Just need some answers to the questions so we don't make a HUGE mistake..... and have to come back again..... really don't want to do that.

By the way, really suprised by how many people were interested in NZ, really only felt like we were the only ones until we visted this site. Can't believe how many people have the same dream and feelings about NZ as we do. :D

Thanks
Lisa

[toby/lisa]

Thank you sooooo much for your advice Moorf.

Silly question - return tickets, you say to check the ticket conditions, how did you set the tickets extended another 6 months to a year - presume airline OK to do that and even if not used in the end date, did you not ever get any kind of refund or is that return ticket refund gone forever? :no

Only asked as obviously return flight not intended to be used and seems like a waste of money if once everything is sorted in NZ, you don't get any money back. Not a scrooge, but just counting every penny when 3 tickets are involved (all adds up).


Lisa
:D

p.s wil browse again on shortlist for admin....

[Moorf]

Memory a bit vague now after 2 yrs here :D but from what I remember we flew with Singapore Airlines and bought a ticket valid for 12 mths (speak to the travel agents or airline direct and ask what options you have), whilst setting the initial return date just a week before we HAD to leave but with the ability to a) extend to 9 months should we need to extend our 6 month visa to a 9 month one in case jobs were hard to find and/or b) to be able to further extend to a year in case we fancied a trip back to the UK (errrr, no!) or in case things didn't work out.

Yes, it was a bit of a waste as we didn't use the return portion, but it was a necessity as you can't even get on the plane without a return ticket if on a visitors visa (or an onward flight? I 've heard that you could buy a ticket to Oz or something but you'll need further advice from others on that) :confused:

It may be that there are other ticketing options out there where you can get refunds for unused portions, but my understanding at the time was that the flexibility meant a pricier ticket.

Maybe someone who has flown more recently can help?

Best
Moorf

[urban78]

Thank you sooooo much for your advice Moorf.

Silly question - return tickets, you say to check the ticket conditions, how did you set the tickets extended another 6 months to a year - presume airline OK to do that and even if not used in the end date, did you not ever get any kind of refund or is that return ticket refund gone forever?

Only asked as obviously return flight not intended to be used and seems like a waste of money if once everything is sorted in NZ, you don't get any money back. Not a scrooge, but just counting every penny when 3 tickets are involved (all adds up).


Lisa


p.s wil browse again on shortlist for admin....

Hiya Lisa,

As far as I know, if you buy a non refundable ticket and end up staying in NZ and not use your return, you won't get any of that money back :no. (in theory)

However, let's say you get a refundable one, you will have to send proof of immigration status to the airline to get your money back. A copy of your visa will be ok, as long as they know you have the correct immigration status in NZ ;)

Usually airlines are pretty flexible on changes and don't charge much, usually service fees but no penalties.

Hope this helps,

Jen :)

[Avalon]

be, can we get a refund on our return ticket?

Q - Administrators - not really on the wanted list - do you think that would be a problem getting a work permit or resi etc......


Please advise oh wise and wonderful ENZ members.....

Thanks


Lisa
:D

Lisa,

a friend of mine got work relatively easily as an administrator. Worked in govertment (so fairly straightforward to get a work visa) and on a fairly good salary as well. Wouldnt have got them a residence visa as its not skilled work, but if you were to get a work visa in that area - your OH automatically gets a work visa as well, so bypasses the whole "need a job to get a visa and a visa to get a job" cycle of madness!

Hxxx

[Moorf]

Usually airlines are pretty flexible on changes and don't charge much, usually service fees but no penalties.




Except if you've bought a cut-price or "offer" ticket, usually these have no flexibility built in.. as I said, check the conditions of the tickets, don't assume. :nice1

[urban78]

Except if you've bought a cut-price or "offer" ticket, usually these have no flexibility built in.. as I said, check the conditions of the tickets, don't assume. :nice1

Definitely Moorf, working in the business has made me read all the small print everywhere now :D

[NannyOgg]

Hi,

We did exactly what are you planning on doing 2 months ago. We arrived as visitors, OH got a job offer (I am not sure what the difference is applying for a 2 year permit instead of one - we went for 2 to give us time to get our pr sorted out so may as well go for the longest possible I think). I can get a general WP on the back of OH WP.

We initialy booked our return date for 6 weeks after we had landed as didn't want any sticky questions at immigration BUT as soon as we got here I rang Air NZ and booked the return ones for almost a year after we left the UK. THE longest you can get a return ticket valid for is a year after you first travel on it. Make sure you get a date changable ticket. I rang them the other day and there is not refund to be had on the return portion. I just think of it as an insurance anyway - If I was called back in a hurry for a family emergency it is ready to be used. IF you went for for fully refundable ticket and could get a refund you would be paying serious money for that ticket anyway - although no better seats!

Even with the WP though we have still applied for PR under the skilled migrant catagory so I don't know where that leaves you - unles your OH's semi-mechanic status counts for anything. Our attitude was even we did not get PR we will have lived this life for 2 years - and you can always apply for another 2 years when it runs out.

Feel free to PM me and all the very best.

Nanny x

[Hannah]

hi there, we did the same too - went to NZ on a visitor visa, found jobs, applied for PR (took 2 months start to finish!). We came back to UK for a bit and returning to NZ in January.
There are some things to be aware of (like paying school fees if you register your child into school before you get a work permit), dental fees for kids (they don't qualify for free dentistry if you have work permit under 2 yrs) etc. but they are minor issues. So long as you have a bit of cash to pay the bills until your wages start coming in i'm sure you'll be fine. Neither mine or hubby's jobs were on shortage list and we had no problems getting work.
PM if you have any specific questions, i'm happy to answer, or you can search for some of my earlier postings
All the best - GO FOR IT!!!!
hannah

[ruthyroo]

Just a couple of things to be aware of (from a if-I-knew-then-what-I-know-now persepctive!)

1. Flights... you can have an onward flight to somewhere else booked rather than a return to the UK. We arrived on visitor visas, on one-way tickets from the UK but had booked a cheapy onto Oz with Virgin Blue. From the Immigration pov they just want to see that you are planning to move on from NZ if you arrive on visitor visas. Having said that, we had jobs etc in place - we just ran out of time to apply for WP as we'd already booked flights, so it was a bit of a formality (OH is a teacher so very in demand and on all the shortage lists) - and I am sure the immigration guy knew that as he didn't even ask to look at our onward tickets. I think in your situation I would book the return, make sure the date are changeable up to the year maximum, and use them for a trip back to the UK in a year's time if you want it. TBH even if you don't by the time the year is up you will have forgotten about spending the money and it will be just one more outflow of cash in this big escapade that is emigrating!

2. Work Permits - these can be anything from 1-3 years. The advantage of 2 years and over is that you are treated as a resident in terms of medical care - rather than a temporary visitor. So you are eligible for ACC (accident cover etc) at local rates rather than tourist eates. Also they do give you time to apply for PR. The downside is that they tend to be tied to a particular job / employer - so if the job turns to custard you are kinda stuck there until you either apply to change it or get PR.

3. Make sure that you get all the necessary paperwork in place before you leave the UK. Work through the WP / PR application forms as if you were applying now (even if you have to make up a job) and make sure you can actually apply for them, and that you have all the necessary bits and bobs. If you are planning to apply for 2 or more year WP / PR that will need to include medicals and police checks. Some people find the former cheaper in the UK - some say NZ. TBH I think if you are in NZ but still thinking in GBP you will find them cheap in NZ - if you are earning NZ$ by then, you will wish you'd done them in the UK while you still had some money! You may need to get your qualifications assessed. etc.

Good luck

[strawberries]

just stumbled upon this thread.

what a great thread.

I am thinking of doing the same thing (ie come over for a 6 months stay on a visitor's visa); and all the questions that I had been pondering for months are covered in the thread. A big thank you!