Work experience

[Rick]

Hi All

Just found this site and was hoping for a bit of advice, I have a job offer in NZ, I was going to apply for residency and wondered if my lack of experience would go against me, I have just qualified from a Carpentry course and have worked out I have 135 points with no work experience so could express an interest, but then got worried I wouldn't be allowed to work in NZ cos I haven't got any post qualification experience, I've been employed by a builder here whilst at College for the last year so have on the job experience pre qualifications. Sorry if this is confusing, I am confused myself, basically can I apply? appreciate any feedback!
Rick

[drumminj]

Hi, Rick. I'm sure Taffy will give a better response than I'm about to give, but I'll take a shot at it.

As far as I understand, all that should matter is the #of points and the job offer. If you have enough points to meet the selection point, experience shouldn't matter. You aren't judged, or rejected, for not having earned points for a certain category. I would imagine that if it's not an issue for your employer, than NZIS has no reason to care.

It *does* however matter whether your job offer is relevant to your qualifications.

I say file the EOI now while the selection point is low. Since you have a job offer, you will be moved to the top of the pile, and should get an ITA pretty quickly.

Welcome to the forum, btw.

J

[Rick]

J, thanks for the reply and it's looking good so i'm a bit more positive today. Taffy, can you confirm what J has said?

Also can anyone tell me how long it takes to lodge an EOI and get granted residency? and when do they ask to see all the relevant paperwork etc, if someone could give me a rough idea i'd appreciate that. I'm a novice and the nzis site is a bit confusing.
Rick

[drumminj]

Hi, Rick. After your EOI is selected(step 2, after submitting it), they approximate 6-8 weeks before getting your ITA. At that time, you will need to get all your paperwork together. You have 4 months to fill out the application, I believe. From there, it can take several months. I'm not sure how long, as I haven't moved to that stage yet.

J

[Lisa]

This is confusing to say the least in my destination NZ newsletter Swain is quoted as saying "applicants need skills, [b:4cf537b1c9]work experience[/b:4cf537b1c9], in addition to good English, health and character, without these 100 points will not be reached therefore they are not skilled migrants???? But if Rick can score 135 without experience then Swain is wrong, sorry I dont mean to confuse matters???? I'm not sure how you'd find the answer to your question Rick, it's very frustrating to say the least, either your 135 is acceptable or the system is a farce.
To score 100 you need qualifications and a job offer only! Can anyone shed any light on this?
Lisa :icon_confused:

[Jodie]

Hi all,

We've were selected on 15th September with 160 points. I'm the main applicant and have only got 18 months work experience in my industry (since leaving Uni), so less than the minimum 2 years as requested through the SMC. IAs you said, it is possible to get the points without experience, so we're just waiting to see if we'll be accepted on this basis - I'll keep you all posted!

Jodie

[Rick]

I rang New Zealand house yesterday and to cut a long story short, there are no hard and fast answers, i'll have to submit all my docs, job offer etc, then basically it'll be down to the case officer who handles my case to decide? it's quite frustrating but at least they haven't said no.

Jodie did you get a work permit without the minimum 2 years then? perhaps I should try the wp route then like you once in NZ lodge an EOI?