hiya
Hi everyone.
My name is Jim, originally from Staffordshire, and I ran the New Zealand immigration gauntlet about 3 years ago! I'm in my late twenties and have settled myself in Auckland quite nicely. Needless to say, I made it. I got those little stickers in my passport now and it wasn't an easy task, so I'm quite willing to share my experiences with anyone with a query! I initially came here on a one year working holiday visa, soon decided that I'd rather stay and then underwent the nightmare that is the NZ Immigration Service! :twisted:
I never actually intended to emigrate. This beautiful country just happened to afford me an opportunity to have a fresh start and a new life. I worked as an IT technician (yawn) for a while, but since gone back to uni here and training to be a paramedic. It's not always rosey, but I'm glad I made the decision to stay. And in the end, the hassle was worth it. I did it all on my own too which is what I'm happiest about! :D I was hoping to become a citizen at the beginning of next year, but unfortunately Helen Clark's government has moved the goal posts on that one too and made things much harder, so now I have to wait another 2 whole years. Boo hoo. :cry: Well, they've let me stay permanently so I ought to be thankful and guess I can wait a wee bit longer yet...
Please feel free to drop me a line if there's something I can help with.
Good luck everyone!
Jim.
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