Can I go from a WHV to a work permit or PR??

[joethemiller]

Hello all,

I need some info from you please ..... In July I will be arriving in NZ on a 12 month WHV with the option of increasing my stay to 23 months. My plan is to travel and generally chill out for 3 months then find a job with the view of staying in NZ.

By July I will have been a Quantity Surveyor for 4 years ish and I believe this is on NZ skilled job list. Unfortunately I dont have dergree and just wondering if this will affect my chances of gaining a WP or PR?

Also is it a complicated / time consuming process to change from a WHV to a WP or PR?

Your help would be much appreciated!!


Cheers


Joe

[Carl]

Hi Joe and welcome!

As far as I understand, you can head there, and look for a job. Once you have an offer from an "accredited employer," you can then apply for visa/permit for work to residence.

These two pages would probably help answer your questions better than i could...

What is required?
Work Visas and Permits

I dont really know what all would be involved in changing from one to the other, but hopefully somebody here has done it and can enlighten us

Hope that helps, and best of luck
Carl

[MotherBear]

Joe and welcome from me, too.

You shouldn't have much problem swapping from a WHV to a WP as long as you have a suitable job offer. A lot of people do this.

I'm not sure that your years of work experience would be enough to cover you without having a relevant qualification. Have you checked out the Points Indicator to see how you go. You need a minimum of 100 points to be able to apply. Finding out how many points you get would be a good place to start.

G4.1 Basic rules for work experience (26/07/99)

a. Principal applicants* must have at least 2 years' work experience to be approved in the General Skills category. Principal applicants* who do not obtain at least one point for work experience must be declined (subject to G4.1(b) below).
b. Principal applicants* are exempt from this requirement if they have completed a New Zealand qualification* (see G2.20.1) for which they have been awarded points or for which they were eligible to be awarded points but did not claim them, provided that they obtained the qualification without the assistance of NZODA funding.
c. Principal applicants* may be awarded one point for every 2 complete years' work experience, up to a maximum of 10 points.
Example: Five years of work experience would be awarded 2 points.

[joethemiller]

Thankyou for the prompt reply. The 'points indicator' link and 'work visa & permits' link were very helpfull.

Looked at the recognised basic qualification choices and I kind of qualify for the extra 50 points (I think!). I have an HNC in constrution which could count if they were feeling generous.

Here's my best case scenario giving me a grand total of 170 points!

- Skilled employment in NZ for 12 months + = 60 points
-Job outside of Aukland = 10 points
-Recognised basic qualification = 50 points
-4 years work experience = 15 points
-Number of years work experience in NZ (1 year) = 5 points
- Current age, 20-29 = 30 points

And here's my worse case scenario giving me a total of 95 points!

- Offer of skilled employment in NZ = 50 points
-4 years work experience = 15 points
-Current age, 20-29 = 30 points


Just to clarify, if I recieve a job offer is it quite straight forward to obtain a work permit? Also how long does a work permit entitle me to stay in NZ for?


Thanks again,



Joe

[MotherBear]

If the job offer is relative to your skills and said skills are required by NZ, then it should be straight forward to get a WP . They can range from periods up to 3 years and be renewed as need be. For the longer length WPs you need to get a police certificate and medical done, which can hold things up a bit.

Here's a quick check for the Work Permit route.

[SOMV]

If you are in the UK then the processing time in London is about 2 weeks, but you are advised to allow four to six weeks, in case of delays etc.

:)

[LilAmy]

Hello,

We came to NZ on a 23mth WHV then applied for PR. Basically it's just like starting from fresh when you move from WHV to apply for PR. They also dont take into account your time spent in NZ on a WHV when you do apply for PR.

Just a wee note as well if you do come to NZ on a 12month WHV then want to change it to 23months you will need to get a full medical done and approved before they grant you this.

If, after you have the extension of your WHV and you want to apply for PR you will need to get another medical done if you rcv your ITA after 3months of having your initial medical. If that makes sense. So to save cash you may want to decide quite early on into your 12month WHV if you do want to stay permy and then apply for PR.