The Big move

taragheb wrote:

Is it a good idea to travel to New Zealand with a visiting visa and search for work during my stay, and if I managed to find work, is it acceptable to change my visiting visa to a work visa? 

Tamer..

You can travel to NZ on visitor visa and look for work. However you will have to be back in your home country for a work visa to be issued should you find a job.

That sounds like a question for immigration. To the best of my knowledge you can not look for work while on a visitor visa. I am from the USA and have lived in NZ for 3 years. I was not allowed to work if I came over on a visitor visa.

They must have tightened up the policies in the last 6 years.    My son (mid 30's) arrived here with his back pack and a visitor visa.  He made direct contact with a couple of organisations in his line of work, was offered a job after a few tries, and got his work permit from the local office all within a three month period.   He later moved to a different organisation and it was just a matter of updating his work visa (at a cost of course). He is non qualified and not on any skill shortage list.   

I know they are a lot stricter in Australia and yes you cannot look for work there whilst on a visitor visa,  (as shown on the Border Security TV programmes where many airport arrivals are caught out)