[Lee Pattison]

Last february I went to NZ for 3 weeks to celebrate my 40th and what a great time we had in NZ.
So we have decided to emigrate to NZ,
We are a little confused as where to start.
I have read many NZ forums and yours seems to give out the most helpful tips,
So where to start? I own a house in the UK. I am married with one child and a family pet cat.
I’ll be moving to NZ with $700.000 NZ Dollars so my financial circumstances aren’t a real concern for me, that’s if I can purchase a 3-4 bedroom house for this.
I don’t have any qualifications in any trade but I have 13 yrs printing experience of which we have been told in my trade that in NZ I’ll not have any problems trying to get a job ?.
Forgot to mention my preferred location is Wellington.
I completed an online immigration points system and I failed. I achieved 80 points, Min is 100 points.
On reading your forums I see that another way into NZ is to get a 1yrs working visa. Then once obtain a Job then apply PR which seems straight forward.
For which is the best order for me to arrange things,
1 sell my house first
2 apply for working visa
3 get a medical for the family
4 documents for my cat
Do I purchase a house on arrival or rent? Or invest my capital in a bank.

The above is so sketchy I have no idea in what order or things to arrange, I am sure we are missing some vital things above, so some pointers in the right direction would be of great help.
Do I apply for a visa when we have a matter of weeks left before I move out of my house?
Is it easy to transfer my capital from a UK bank to a NZ bank? Will I endure a charge?

I have tried ringing the NZ embassy in the UK they charge £1 per minute after 6 mins on the phone going through many options as u can imagine I hung up.
Then I went to an assessment company who charged me £100 to see if I qualified they said sorry you only score 75 points, which I found very costly.
Does any one know of a UK firm that they have used and can recommend?
If ringing the NZ embassy was so costly is there any other place I can apply for the right documents/applications for a family Visa.

I found from your forums there are no
Gimmicks and, most important no secret agenda every one here all share the same experiences,
In fact I have just read through what I have posted, and I must seem such a noob.

How rude

I would like to wish every one a happy new year.
Regards
Lee.

[pinkpiggy]

Lee

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately i'm unable to help you with your questions as we are going the PR route but i'm sure they'll be someone along soon who can.

The one thing I can say is don't use an agency, you can do everything yourself. The only time to use an agency is when you are expecting difficulties (i.e. you have an illness that may cause problems).

On another note, medicals are only valid for 3 months so bear this in mind.

There are also lots of threads about transferring money so go to the board about money matters etc. and do a search, i'm sure you'll find lots of useful information.

Once again, welcome and good luck with everything.

[Paul]

Lee Can't help with other queries but there is a direct number I believe Kim39 posted previously to get in touch with NZ House http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7511&highlight=phone+number+NZ+House

Best of luck


Last february I went to NZ for 3 weeks to celebrate my 40th and what a great time we had in NZ.
So we have decided to emigrate to NZ,
We are a little confused as where to start.
I have read many NZ forums and yours seems to give out the most helpful tips,
So where to start? I own a house in the UK. I am married with one child and a family pet cat.
I’ll be moving to NZ with $700.000 NZ Dollars so my financial circumstances aren’t a real concern for me, that’s if I can purchase a 3-4 bedroom house for this.
I don’t have any qualifications in any trade but I have 13 yrs printing experience of which we have been told in my trade that in NZ I’ll not have any problems trying to get a job ?.
Forgot to mention my preferred location is Wellington.
I completed an online immigration points system and I failed. I achieved 80 points, Min is 100 points.
On reading your forums I see that another way into NZ is to get a 1yrs working visa. Then once obtain a Job then apply PR which seems straight forward.
For which is the best order for me to arrange things,
1 sell my house first
2 apply for working visa
3 get a medical for the family
4 documents for my cat
Do I purchase a house on arrival or rent? Or invest my capital in a bank.

The above is so sketchy I have no idea in what order or things to arrange, I am sure we are missing some vital things above, so some pointers in the right direction would be of great help.
Do I apply for a visa when we have a matter of weeks left before I move out of my house?
Is it easy to transfer my capital from a UK bank to a NZ bank? Will I endure a charge?

I have tried ringing the NZ embassy in the UK they charge £1 per minute after 6 mins on the phone going through many options as u can imagine I hung up.
Then I went to an assessment company who charged me £100 to see if I qualified they said sorry you only score 75 points, which I found very costly.
Does any one know of a UK firm that they have used and can recommend?
If ringing the NZ embassy was so costly is there any other place I can apply for the right documents/applications for a family Visa.

I found from your forums there are no
Gimmicks and, most important no secret agenda every one here all share the same experiences,
In fact I have just read through what I have posted, and I must seem such a noob.

How rude

I would like to wish every one a happy new year.
Regards
Lee.

[Lee Pattison]

thank you for the info.
as for the PR this is something i would rather get over a working permit.

[vixxann]

Lee - Hi - I am fairly new poster myself but welcome!

We also are planning to go the work visa route as I don't think we'd get enough points. My husband has been self employed in joinery/building industry for about 20 years but has no formal qualifications. We were told at the expo that once on the ground over there it wouldn't be a problem as they are desperate for people in the construction trade.

I am interested to see what replies you get to confirm my thoughts on the matter but I think our route is going to be:
1) 3 week holiday in March/April this year - going to try and speak to some recruitment agencies there possibly an interview or two
2) as soon as we return we will put the house on the market
3) The plan is it will sell pretty promptly and we will go anytime after the kids break up for school summer hols (we also have a family wedding in June) Would like to think it will be around September time.

Not sure at what point we do any visa related things as we will be going in as tourist and applying for work visa once in NZ. But I think its wise to prepare certain documents before you go (police checks etc) maybe someone can confirm this :confused:

Good luck any how - here's to the best decision we've made :cheers

[Lee Pattison]

Vixx dunno if this will help.
an E-Mail from an employment agencie.


dear Phil James,
before I post a CV.
just a quick chat, I am looking to emigrate to NZ, I have 13 yrs experience in the print trade, but I am sad to say no City and guilds cert,
all my training was done in house with a printing company.will this be a problem for me making the big move.
duties carried out making plates, operating GTO 46 A3 single colour press.finishing Jobs packing ect,
also a lot of customer contact of print requirements, pricing of print, ordering stock paper,inks arranging service of all print related machines,
the above is kept short as to not waist your time.but from the basic skills I stated is there a demand for my work experience in NZ.
Regards
Lee Pattison


my reply was as follows:)

Hi Lee,
Thanks for your enquiry,a Happy New Year to you and yours.
To answer your question....it could be a problem,but it depends on how you tackle the obstacle.
The thing you MUST do is get together as much information as you can in regard to your "work history"....you will need to convince the N.Z. Qualifications Authority and N.Z.Immigration that you are a "skilled" Operator.
It is not me you have to convince...it is them , but ultimately I will also need copies of your history to present to possible employers.
TIME in the trade is considered as a "Qualification" and as everything is calculated on a "points" system you will need to be able to show them in detail what you have done and what you can do, down to naming the Presses, plate-making equipment.....get the detail.
You will need "detailed" letters from the management of your previous Employers stating your abilities and what you actually did with them ...even to the point of them giving you a personal "rating"...these you should then present to N.Z.Qualifications Authority and get them to give you a rating (points) you will then be able to see if you have enough points to qualify under the "skills shortage" category.
I hope this gives you a starting point, any further info after you have done this...just drop me a line
Best Regards
Phil


mt next E-Mail was


Dear Phil
you have been of great help. and happy new year to you.
how nice it was that you took the time to respond to my E-Mail rather than brush it under the carpet, many thanks.
just one thing, is my trade under the NZ job skills shortage listed. if this is the case.I can see I have a good chance for applying for PR in NZ.
getting references from my previous employer is not a problem.
Last thing,i know i only gave a brief description of my skills, is my trade an easy one to get back into.if i make the move to NZ.
Regards
Lee Pattison


Reply


Hi Lee,
Thanks for your kind wishes,
Yes ...Offset printing IS on the skills shortages list and people with the "right" experience will very nearly always find a position.
You MUST spend some time with NZ Immigration and discuss with them the possibilities, I don't know where in the UK you are (my parents were from Liverpool & Birkenhead) but, it would be a worthwhile trip to London to NZ House and NZ Immigration to lodge your expression of interest and to get as much detail as possible to them directly.
You only need a "Visitors Visa" first....BUT you must be prepared to stay and start work...no going back to sell property , tidy up loose ends etc.
Too many Employers have been burned by this scenario and will not make offers if you can't start as soon as you have your "Work Permit".
Hope this helps, Regards,
Phil


so as for no Qualifications in my trade at first was a worry,
But as Phil stated if u can prove you have relevant skills in a trade and can prove this to the NZ Immigration then they might take this into consideration :)

also i noticed on ITV news the other night,
15k people a yrd head on out to NZ, and the NZ government stated they need 50K a yr for the the economy tp grow as many sectors have a shortage in skilld people.

Vixx its like a mine field for us, but im sure once we are clear in our minds whats needed, then in the long run will be worth the effort.
also where abouts in the UK are you from :)

[Hannah]

Hi Lee
We were similar to you in that we needed to find a job to get enough points to be considered for PR (and, to be honest, i think most people are in this situation since the change to the points system giving preference to those with 140 points plus).
We came to NZ on visitor visa, applied for jobs - when we got jobs we immediately applied for work permit so we could start work quickly (after which you can apply for PR at your leisure).
Sounds like you would find work easily and i don't think your lack of qualifications would be a problem (my other half had no qualifications and got a job - for work permit purposes his experience was enough).
Go for it. If you are serious, then well worth selling your house etc. Alternatively you could be 'safe' like we were - leaving house in UK and only selling when we had PR and were sure emigrating was right thing to do. (We return to NZ on one way tickets in a few days!!!!). Maybe living here for a year on a work permit will also help you make that decision as living in NZ is VERY VERY different from having been here on holiday.
Good luck mate, you'll find lots of help and advice on this forum so stick with us!
All the best, hannah

[stuart h]

hi regards the police checks- like medicals they only last 12 weeks, they are quite easy to apply for when over here have you thought of a work to residance visa?
regards Stuart (lancs uk)

[Lee Pattison]

Hi hannah thx for the info.

But now im really getting confused,
got off the phone to NZ house also they are located in my town. 01344 number,
which when i found out i thought this would make things alot smoother for me, but this was not the case,

right on the ponts system on the Net, i scored 60 points.
but when changing the details on skilled job offer in NZ i scored 110 points,
so i rang NZ house and infomed them that i would like to obtain a working permit and that ive been offerd a skilled FT job. so my plan was working permit to a PR.
my reply was not what i wanted to hear :( sorry Lee u will still not score enough points to get a working permit which means no PR.so i hear that NZ needs people with skills. ill offer my skills which are listed under the trade skill shortage.
so do they not take into account 13yrs print exp over someone who has just left a 2yr course in print.with no hands on exp. seems unfair imo :(

so any advice on what i should now do ????
your input would be of great help

Regards Lee


Bah just read your reply again Hannah seems i need a visitors permit>>working permit>>PR...Bah my heads going to explode.

Visitor permit 6months or a year max.??
Working pernit until when do i apply for PR??

[Lee Pattison]

now I am even more confused.

NZ House has said i cant apply for a work permit due to a lack of points.but i stated to NZ house that i have a job offer.they say i stiill dont have the points.
so my option is visiter permit>>work permit>>PR
but how can i get a Work permit if i have been turned down in the UK due to a lack of points :( + i need a work permit to get job offers??

[The Hodges]

Hi Lee and welcome

With the number of points that you have, it does seem that PR is going to be difficult and WR is going to the preferred option.

I recommend that you log on and register at http://www.immigration.govt.nz. I know that this is a bit of a kick in the guts, but you could have worked out what points you have for free here (http://www.immigration.govt.nz/pointsindicator/)

If you are really keen on going to NZ, I would try and attend one of the events listed here (http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/events/) as there is nothing like speaking to these people in person and see what they say before you fly out to NZ. There should be immigration consultants, potential employers and hopefully NZIS officers there, so I would give it a go, unless you fancy selling up and just arriving.

Between the official NZIS website and this forum, you don't need to pay anyone to do the work for you and you can keep your hard earned cash.

Good luck Lee and I hope it all works out for you.

[wiki]

I agree with TheHodges and suggest going to your nearest next immigration forum where NZIS will be in attendance.

We gained a lot of confidence from going and outlining our slightly unusual case to NZIS staff there who gave us very clear, very easy answers.

There's nothing like a face-to-face consultation to get to the bottom of problems.

Good luck!