Some advice PLEASE!!

Hi All

Just looking for some advice really.. I have loads of questions to ask and no one here in the UK seems to have the time to answer them..

A bit of infor about me... I'm a single mum who is planning to move to New Zealand this August, I have a 6 1/2 year old who will have just finished year 1 here in the UK.

As I understand it once I have a Work Permit my daughter can be enrolled in a local school. What are the afterschool childcare facilities like? Are there many clubs etc like there is in the UK?

I wanted to come to NZ on a Work to Residence Visa but am finding that despite a wealth of experience and skills very few employers are willing to make an offer without me being in the country.

I have 8 years management experience in retail and 6 years experience in the Civil Service working in Finance, and I have CIMA and CIPD qualifications.

I have decided to come on a standard Working Visa instead, of which I have already applied for my Police Certificate and my medical etc is booked for the 4th of May, I plan to submit my Visa application as soon as possible after the completion of my medical.

I would like to locate myself in the Christchurch/Canterbury region, how easy is it to get employment in this area?

Cairen :006:

Hi Claire

I can't answer your questions but just like to say welcome any way [smilie=welcome.gif]



Anna

[quote:d8072a176e="Cairenh"]As I understand it once I have a Work Permit my daughter can be enrolled in a local school. What are the afterschool childcare facilities like? Are there many clubs etc like there is in the UK?
[color=green:d8072a176e]Yes, once you have a Work Permit your child is eligible for schooling. Having said that, I believe any child may be accepted into school, but the parents would have to pay international fees without either PR or a relevant Work Permit. I'm sure there are many after-school activities for children and I hope that some of our mothers on the forum will be able to give much fuller information than I can. With it being Easter at the moment, I guess the forum will be a little quieter than usual.[/color:d8072a176e]

I wanted to come to NZ on a Work to Residence Visa but am finding that despite a wealth of experience and skills very few employers are willing to make an offer without me being in the country. [color=green:d8072a176e]Unfortunately, this is a fact. Unless you are on the skills shortages list, it can be very difficult to get a job offer whilst still outside NZ. This is partly due to potential employers being very reluctant to take on people from outside in case they decide to abandon their efforts to immigrate and don't take up the job after all.[/color:d8072a176e]

I would like to locate myself in the Christchurch/Canterbury region, how easy is it to get employment in this area? [color=green:d8072a176e]Have you thought of looking through Yellow Pages to see if there are any likely looking companies where you might find work around the Christchurch/Canterbury area? That could possibly give you some idea about whether you'd be likely to find work there in your line.[/color:d8072a176e][/quote:d8072a176e]

Hello Cairenh! A warm welcome to our humbel forum!

I agreed with what Motherbear has said.

Another advice is when you are trying to find a job once you have the work visa, I would suggest that you submit your CVs to potential companies in Canterbury (possible listing in Yellow Pages) three to four weeks before arriving. That will allow these companies to look and evaluate your CV and base on your keen intention to be in NZ physcially, I presume the potential employers are more willing to interview you. Similarly, try to get in contact with employment agencies in NZ and indicate when you are arriving. Give them about three to four weeks so they can set something setup for you. Lastly, before you leave for NZ, look at online job banks three weeks before and apply for job vacanies listed.

Three ways of looking for jobs! I wish you all the best!

Pulsarblu

Greetings and welcome to the forum!

Now I'm confused though; from your initial post and Pulsarblu's reply it seems that you [i:fc56956b3f]can[/i:fc56956b3f] get a work permit before you get a job. I thought you explicitly could not do that, unless I misread what you both posted. Could someone please clarify?


thanks,
Brian & April

Hello Brian and Arpil,

Yes, I think you are correct that to get a work permit, you must have a job offer. There are also multiple ways to get a work permit and eventually work your way to residency.

It is possible to secure a job offer while overseas and getting the work permit later and I think this is the path that Cairen is taking. To show you another possibility, when you apply for the skilled migrant category, you may also be granted a work to residence visa (basically a work visa, convert to work permit when you arrive in NZ) and that visa is valid only for months. The work visa is for you to prove that you can contribute and sustain employment before the residency is approved.

Another way is to apply for a working holiday visa and work your way to a permanent work permit.

Pulsarblu

Thanks for the clarification Pulsarblu, that's what I thought as well. I just mis-interpreted what you had previously written.

-thanks,
Brian & April

I have been told by the immigration authority here in London that I can apply for a Working Visa before travelling over to NZ and without a job offer, once in NZ and having obtained a job offer the Work Permit is issued.

Unfortunately I am too old by 3 years to apply for the working holiday visa, but seeing as the main work visa costs only ?80 I don't see an issue. The medical cost more than that....

Thanks for everyone's help and info it's greatly appreciated

welcom cairenh
you will find this forum a wealth of info ,idears and info
i somtimes go back to the old posts and find out loads, they are a good bunch on here and have a good laugth as well as being very helpfull

Thank you all, we are no experts in this field but we all try our very best with our limited knowledge of the "deep blue sea of NZIS" to answer your questions. Please keep on posting and ask anything.

Pulsarblu