May I have some hint?

[Brendan]

Hi everybody,:smiley

I've landed in Auckland 4 weeks ago from Italy with a visitor visa with the intention to find a job offer and then apply for a WP in order to move to NZ permanently. I knew things wouldn't be easier, but I made this step with the convincement I could work it out somehow; I have also taken into account the possibility to extend the VP further while the WP being processed (having considered the time spent to look for a suitable job and the long time needed for issuing) ... Maybe I was too confident?

There is someone who can explain me better how it works? The situation is the following:
1. Can't apply for skilled migrant category because I can't get enough points to enter the pool
2. the only way is the apply under the General Work Policy...Well If I haven't misunderstood, I can get a WP only if I'll find a job offer with a salary of $ 50k pa and at least 24th months long.
Is it correct??? Or a WP is still being issued if I find a job offer, for example, for 40k and 12 months?

Because I'm a bit puzzled mainly by the fact that at least here in Auckland I see lost of foreigners... they couldn't be here just on the family stream policy I think.... Then I wonder if they got all a job offer for 50k&24months...or are they all skilled migrants? Maybe I'm wrong but I'm a bit skeptic this is the case... Am I wrong in this consideration?

And then there is another thing: wherever I look for a job on the internet (seek, search4jobs, trademe, recruitment agencies websites...) I see always at the bottom the warning "only people with the right to work in NZ my apply for this job"... the fact is that I can't get the WP if I have no a job offer, but then the potential employer always tells me I need a current WP in order to be considered... Is it not a vicious cycle?

In particular the "general work policy" is then just there but has no practical application? I mean if the limits of 50k e 24months are correct, who will get such an offer if he is not effectively a skilled labourer so that he is going to apply under the "skilled migrant category"? (It seems 50k are quite a high salary here). Actually even in that case (I mean the SM category), to get the 100points score, usually a job offer from a NZ employer is needed: so how you can get a job offer if to get it is always required to have the right to work in NZ? Do you mean these websites are only for Kiwis and Australians (and British)? Or the warning is just a disclosure but with a minor impact since advertisers are still keen on reviewing applications?

The fact is that I've applied lots of jobs ads for which I think I was skilled enough at least to be taken in consideration for a following step in the screening process (there were cases it was the same job I've been doing in Italy for 8 years), but couldn't get through to a single interview, my impression being my applications put down just because I have not a WP!

Then, to conclude my reasoning, do you thing I'll ever been able to get a WP or I must surrender? Is there anybody who managed or heard of sb that was successful in my same situation?

I hope being clear...
Thank you to all the forum users (especially the ones who are going to reply!)

B.

[MotherBear]

Brendon and welcome to MoveToNZ.

Let me try and pick my way through your post .

This is a quick check for applying for a Work Permit and these are the requirements for getting a WP . There are several different types of WP so you need to decide which one applies to your circumstances. In most, if not all, cases you will need to have a job offer to apply. I think the 50k salary mentioned is only for some types of visa, like the Work to Residence and not all.

When you say you have seen a lot of foreigners in Auckland do you know if they were living in NZ or just visiting? If you have only been there for a month it could be that many of the 'foreigners' are tourists because you are there in the middle of the tourist season. There are also many Pacific Islanders in NZ as it is very easy for them to come there compared to the rest of us who have a complicated process to undergo. Of course Auckland, being a big city, will attract people from all over the world to live and work there. Some may have been there for years and some may be quite new to NZ. Whoever they are and however long they have been there, they will have had to go through a similar process to get there, like the rest of us. There are many different types of visa so I guess these 'foreigners' you see around you have managed to get to NZ via one or another of these visa types.

It is true that some NZ employers say you can't have a job without a Work Permit. But you can't get a WP without a job offer so that statement can't be true. These particular employers usually mean something else when they say that. For example, perhaps they don't feel comfortable about having someone from another country working with them, including British and Americans. NZ can be a bit insular in that respect apparently. If you read Taffy's post on here it will show what I mean. Or there may be some other reason why they don't want to employ you that has nothing to do with how you are but how they are. Other companies have no problem offering jobs to people and are prepared to wait while you apply for a WP, so it's worth continuing your search for a job. A WP doesn't take long to come through. It may be a matter of a few days to a couple of weeks, depending how busy the INZ branch is at the time.

Don't feel you are alone in this. Other people also often find it difficult to get started in NZ so it's a case of persevering in the hope that you will find a company that is more open-minded about employing migrants. Someone somewhere will welcome you with open arms.

Good luck.

[Brendan]

Thank you motherbear for your prompt clarifications. I am still confident I'll work it out... I feel inspered by a inner voice! Let's see if my ears haven't made me a trick!