New members of the New Zealand forum, introduce yourself here – 2017

Hi all,

Newbie on the New Zealand forum? Don't know how to start?

This thread is for you ;)

We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more on your expat projects in New Zealand if you are planning to move there.

It will enable us to help you better but above all to wish you a warm welcome.

Welcome on board!

PD : The thread New members of the New Zealand forum, introduce yourself here – 2016 continues below!

Hi! I'm new here. I'm a Filipino nationality presently working as IT Professional for 17 years in Saudi Arabia. Is there anyone who can help me apply to work and live in New Zealand. To live in NZ is my biggest dream. Hope through this site, someone can help me land a job. Thank you very much and god bless you all!

HI , im Teddy . 43 yr old. A filipino citizen. ive been working as engineer for 21 years.
im good in building construction and civil works. its been my dream to work and live in NZ . is there a way how to make this dream come to reality.Please help.Thank you.

Hi all
I am a civil engineer with masters in structural engineering. I have 4 years of wrking experience in construction industry. Presently I am working as revit modeller in singapore.
I am planning to move to nz. It would be better if I get a job over there before proceeding to EOI. Can anyone help/guide me in getting a job offer.

Thanks in advance
Shilpa sandeep

You need the visa first.
Visas are issued on a points system according to your educational and work qualifications along with experience.   www.immigration.govt.nz  or contact your nearest NZ Embassy for information.

Hi Everyone

My name is Sandra. My husband and I will be coming to live in Auckland. Nick will arrive at the end of March and I will follow with our fur babies in May

We are looking for a place to rent around Mount Eden, Ponsonby areas. Close to my husbands new work. I would appreciate any suggestions or recommendations.

many thanks
Sandra

Hi, I'm an IT Specialist living in South Africa. I plan on immigrating to NZ within the year and have started the process. So far it's been tough. Couple of Skype interviews but mostly just promises.

Hello! I'm Jen. I'm moving to Auckland in April from the UK. I'm here to find out about everyone's experiences of moving abroad really :)

Hi!

I'm Mark Olpindo, A CIVIL ENGINEER specialized on Quality Control for 10 years already.  I'm planning to move and work to NZ. Can anyone tell me a suggestion regarding these?
thanks..

Hi, I'm a South African from Durban. I moved here for a Civil Engineering position, and am hoping to meet other South Africans who have moved here!  :)

Hi I'm all I'm Anil, My family and I moved out to Auckland over 9 Years ago from the UK.
I won't lie it's been hard work being out here with no family support but it's been a fantastic experience and both my wife and I feel we have grown exponentially as individuals compared to the people we were in the UK.

hi there , i m Malika from morocco, recently coming to Auckland, married to a NZ citizen.
i m on visitor visa and now applying for work visa.
still not satisfied about my English speaking and looking for free English courses or any groups or clubs that i can join to practice language, or even a volunteer job.

i v been in CAB (citizens advice bureau) asking about volunteering and local community classes, they said that i need to be in NZ for 18 months at least , they advised this web site, and some libraries events (conversations, book-club...) once a month, but any volunteer roles presently.

could you plz give me some recommendation.
thanks

Hello from Canada!

I am a young professional with three years of major projects experience in the Canadian oil sands. I will be coming to NZ within the next 4-5 months to immerse myself into the Kiwi culture.

I plan to settle in Tauranga area as I am looking for work in the construction/infrastructure sector. I am hoping to connect with other expats who can provide guidance and resources to better plan my move.

Thanks,

Ege

Hello, I'm Lisa.  I came to New Zealand with my parents about 9 years ago now from the UK.  I've lived in Auckland and Wellington, and have now settled in Lower Hutt (Wellington).  Loving New Zealand, but missing home on occasions.  I'm sure you all can relate!  I'm working in Real Estate in Wellington so if anyone has any questions feel free to drop me a line.

Look forward to meeting you all and good luck with the moves/settling in to your new life :)

Hello from South Africa..

My name is Victor
I'm in the beginner phase of moving to NZ with my wife and child

I'm busy registering my Electrical Trade at the EWRB

Will send my CV out after receiving feedback from the EWRB

Need a Job Offer to apply for a Workers Visa...

A lot of Red Tape .... :sosad:

Hello everybody!

I live in Bosnia, but my dream is to move permanently to NZ.  To do that as an Bosnian citizen I have to find an employer, then get a visa and a lot of paperwork. I would be very thankful if there is someone with same or similar situation as mine, to share its experiences with me. If you possess a Bosnian passport only, that means that things are very complicated for you if you want to move somewhere or travel... unfortunately.  :sosad:

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Moderated by Priscilla 6 years ago
Reason : no free ads here please

Yes I think best chance is to keep on finding proper job and after that everything is easy. If you wish, try to come here first and look for few jobs. Though it will be still very difficult to get skilled job as always companies look for Work visa or residency holding candidates first.

Hi I'm Adam and looking to move to New Zealand with my partner, Leah.

We live in the UK and I work as a Senior Network Engineer (IT). Leah is planning to study over in New Zealand starting July and I plan to work in Auckland to support us. I've signed up to this forum to get advice on making these plans come off without a hitch. I've never emigrated before.

Hi Adam,

Best option for you is to apply for New Zealand residency and after that getting job will be easier. You can also try to get work visa but for that you need to get some job first. Second option is also possible but sometimes difficult for many people. You can find more details here https://www.immigration.govt.nz

Hi all, nice to meet you here so i can ask for help or maybe some advice to work and live in NZ.. Its my dreams to live overseas.
Hope i can make it.
Thanks..

Hi All, Tyler here from South Africa. Looking to make the move later this year to Auckland. Pretty much know the process so just saying hi and seeing what other South Africans are on this site. I believe there a few South Africans up in the North Shore area, so hoping to bump into some on here.

Hi everyone,

I am 37 from Malaysia, holding a bachelor degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, working in Singapore as a Electronic Engineer (in semiconductor field) over 10 years and thinking of migrate to kiwi land for a better life balance living within this year

It's hard to get a job offer here, many of job offer on website are only hiring nz citizen, PR, or with valid work visa (which i don't have)

Do you have any advise for me to apply the job visa or idea path to get work/living there.

Thanks.

Hi. I'm Myrill from Philippines. I'm planning to move in NZ December this year or January next year with just my visitor visa. I'd like to know if it's possible for me to get a working visa sponsorship from an employer  during my stay? I'm a practicing dentist in my country. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone

My name zee from Indonesia, new here, I lived in Wellington since last year with my patner NZ citizen,  I have work visa based of patnership....until now im not easy get job here, I'm applying few times on trade me and another site for looking job but not get any luck yet, I guess maybe I don't have any work experience here yet , I had few experience work in my country only.

Hi all,

As I type, my husband and I are undergoing the daunting visa application process to move to New Zealand. He's from Sweden, I'm from the U.S. We currently live in the U.S., but have lived in Sweden and South Korea as well. We have been through many, many visa processes, but for some reason this particular process seems even more exhausting than the Green Card process! However, I think I just have selective memory and have since forgotten the trials of visa applications.

My husband is in IT and landed a job in NZ and I've been offered a PhD position w/scholarship as well. In that way, we are good. However, regardless of these accomplishments, it seems like there is still so many roadblocks to getting our visas, from medical assessments to international qualification assessments. I feel like we're being placed under a microscope more than ever before.

Anyone else undergoing such fun activities? :p A couple weeks ago, I was told by the immigration help line that I didn't need a full medical, so I just got a chest xray and submitted my application, only to be told that I DO need a full medical. The doctor's office gave me a really hard time about it because they need to open a "new account" for me. I have no idea how this will impact my application. All I know is that I somehow have to have it all in before the 12th or immigration will throw my application into a pit of fire - unless I can somehow get some sort of evidence that the test results are forthcoming.

I wonder if they take into consideration that all this madness increases one stress to insane levels and possibly could negatively impact lab results? *sigh*

I would love to hear anyone else's frustrations and/or successes as we feel we're alone on a microscopic island... and not the island we want to be on!!

We're in same shoes! Emigrating from the UK. My husband's office has transferred him internally. Luckily for us, they also paid for an immigration firm who have held our hands through out the process. Application went i  2 weeks ago. We're moving from one temporary accommodation to thr other whilst we wait. We were in the process of buying a doer upper when the job offer came so we're sort of homeless. Imagine the fun with 3 children!

3 kids? I would lose my mind. As it is, it's all I can do not to keep my blood pressure from sky-rocketing!

The most irritating part of the process is that it's nearly impossible to think/focus on anything else. All my thoughts go directly to NZ/immigration/applications/housing/$$$.

It would be awesome to have someone holding our hands through this process, as I feel we'd be much less worried about accidentally angering immigration (haha).

Haha I'm barely functional. Today marks a move to our 3rd short let. I'm chuffed to have lost quite a bit of weight haha. Small blessings. Even though I  successfully navigated the UK immigration system on my own, INZ feels like a completely different league!
Where are you moving to? We're off to Auckland. I've spent a lot of time on Love Home Swap sorting our intial accommodation so hopefully we have somewhere to go straight to! Phew

Ha! I'm pretty sure I've shed some pounds myself. It reminds me of what my mom used to describe as the "break-up diet": Insane stress, tears and frustration = less poundage. But you are right, gotta take those blessings where we can find 'em. Smaller waistline during swimsuit season? I'll take it.

We're moving to New Plymouth. Love Home Swap? I'll have to check that out. We've looked at apartments a bit, but are terrified to set any real arrangements until we have our visas in hand. At this point, it may be at least 4-6 more weeks before visas are a reality for us, which sucks because my hubby is supposed to start his job August 1. That is not gonna happen at the rate this is going. Thankfully, my student schedule is much more flexible. 

It's so weird, you'd think with a job offer, much of the bureaucracy would be removed - at least from a qualifications standpoint. I have no idea why it matters whether NZ thinks his BS degree from Sweden is "good enough" when his new employer seems happy with his qualifications. Very strange. And that qualifications assessment is the real hold up on everything.

As far as the medical, it's so invasive! I've never seen, in all the visa medical checks I've had/witnessed, things like glucose levels checked, etc. I get the chest xray thing, but the blood work is extensive. After all this, I expect to get to NZ and see only super-human expats residing there ;).

Momma's are very wise! I've been trying to shift the pounds, I should apply for various work visas haha

I have used LHS for travel within Europe and have tentatively booked a points swap for 1 month. It'll also give us time to properly scout out areas to rent rather than just rent the first house available cos I can't hack a tiny hotel room plus the costs. . It can be cancelled or carried forward if needed. Plus with 3 children, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a hotel room at all! If you do decided to sign up, I can send you a referral link! New Plymouth looks nice - halfway to Wellington from Auckland. We have relatives in Gisborne which is across on the other side from New Plymouth

Funnily enough, my husband's qualifications have not been mentioned. They wanted a copy that's all. I guess because it's an internal transfer and he's been with the company for a couple of years plus he's currently working on the commonwealth games project in Gold Coast Oz so it's obvious he's needed there.

I had to re do the blood test twice!!! so paid out a 2nd time and had 2 lots of 6 hour round trips. Apparently my blood count was borderline - a bit too low so had to do a ferritin test. The nurse was kind enough to spray my blood everywhere - something I had in short commodity!

The lawyer has said London INZ offices process visas very quickly and are usually issued within the 25 days so I'm hopeful... she said

Hello,
I'm Yen, from Indonesia. I'm planning to move to NZ with my husband. We have IT degree, but not worked in IT anymore. My husband is now a chinese language teacher, and i'm working financial job. Is it possible for us to get job offer in NZ

Hi the best way is to study at first.. to find work is kinda hard unless you have sponsorship from nz company

Hi, thanks for your information. But if my husband get study visa & will study for a year, can i get a working visa with the same length as his? Because one said it depends on the immigration, and one said i can get working visa

I studied before aswell.. at that time once you graduated you will have 1 year working visa from school and during your course you can work up to 20 hrs/week. i m not sure about the spouse visa.. you could open nz immigration website for further information

Hi all

I'm from South Africa, my husband is in the process of applying for working visa.
He received a job offer in NZ as a Electrician.

Just want to know if we want to purchase a vehicle, would we be able to get finance or do we have to pay cash?

Appreciate any guidance...

Thank you
Leenie

Oh i see. Thanks for your information.

Hi all, I am from Zimbabwe but currently working in South Africa as a teacher. I need to experience life out of Africa

Both are available :)

Hi all I'm Connie from South Africa planning to move to N.Z. Its not easy...my children recently moved there. Any suggestions? would appreciate as much info and assistance re jobs and if the N.Z. govt has amended any immigration rules. Thank you.

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