Cost to hire relocation agency...

Hubby and I are both in the medical field and on the shortage list.  The paperwork was easy to do.  Beware of agents telling you they can get you here in a few months.  NZ immigration takes its own time to do everything. It took over a year with us even with jobs awaiting us. The agents charge a fortune for doing very little.

You can always come on a basic work permit and apply for residency once you are here.  As for employment -  google district health boards.  They usually have a vacancy list advertised.

Good luck

Thanks for the info.  I appreciate it.

Rick

I'm in the medical field and had no trouble finding work.  I came over under my husband's visa, so I didn't actually start looking for a job until I was in Auckland.  I think that being available for face-to-face interviews really helped, both in terms of getting a good job offer quickly and in terms of figuring out where I wanted to work.

We did all of the paperwork ourselves.  I will say that the paperwork involved in getting my RN license took awhile, and as of right now the Nursing Council of New Zealand is not accepting international applications (they're making policy changes).  If you want more info, you can email me and I'll answer whatever I can!

- Jenny

Doesn't it concern any of you that there are so many vacancies in New Zealand for medics? You have to be wondering why the country can't retain staff.

For every blog or post that I read (here and other sites) that expounds on the positive virtues of New Zealand, there are at least two that expounds on the negative  aspects of New Zealand.  The overriding theme is that food, clothes, furniture, broadband internet, and electronics are outrageously expensive.   Several bloggers stated that asians are not treated very well (my wife is from the Philippines) and Americans are often not made to feel welcome either.

And I have also noticed that the fees involved with applying for anything relating to immigration are outrageously high!

Other than the beautiful geography of New Zealand, I cannot seem to find much proof that moving to New Zealand would be a good move for us.

And one person who replied to my post stated that the Nursing Council of New Zealand is not accepting international applications.  I guess my RN wife is out of luck!

Sad that government greed and personal prejudices are keeping some of the brightest and hard-working people from migrating to New Zealand.