21/11/2013

(My Mission To Find A Job In New Zealand & Get A Work Visa)

When I first saw the amount of forms, documents and list of requirements needed for the work visa application, it felt like I had a mountain to climb. I made a list though of everything I had to do and took every step as it came and so far, the process hasn’t been so bad. I was advised by a friend of mine, who is also an expat, to use the services of an immigration advisor. She told me that her experience of trying to get the work visa was a nightmare for her and having the advisor certainly helped smooth the journey. There is of course a fee to pay for this but the fee for the advisor I’m using is fairly reasonable.

So getting the advisor’s contract, signing it and paying part of her fee was the first step for me. We agreed that I would pay the first three quarters of her fee and if the visa came through, then I would pay the last quarter. In total, the fee costs just over 1000 NZD. There is always a time delay when a third party is involved but an advisor can also help speed up the process a little once the application has been submitted. They can’t guarantee of course that the visa will come through but having the advisor to act as an intermediary between you and immigration is helpful.

I lost a bit of time getting the advisor’s contract signed and paid. Part of the delay was the fact that the advisor’s company doesn’t have credit card payment facilities or paypal, which I think is very unusual, so I ended up having to get a cash advance on the credit card and deposit the money into their bank account. But she came up with a good suggestion, which I might not have thought of myself, to help sell my skills. The job is an Office Receptionist job and the advisor suggested that the employer add the task of writing a regular newsletter to promote the company. That’s something I’d be very good at and could use my writing skills for. The employer was happy with it so we decided to go ahead with the suggestion and the task was added to the job description.

I had a work visa application form to fill in, along with a medical certificate, a chest xray form and a laboratory certificate for blood/urine tests and needed passport photos to go along with these forms. I didn’t think I’d need to get a medical done because on the immigration website it says that this is only necessary if I plan on staying in the country for longer than 12 months. My contract is for a year but when calculating the time I plan on staying here, I must include the time I’ve already spent in NZ plus the length of the employment contract. So that meant that I had to get the medicals done. They cost about 287 NZD. I got all of these done in one day actually and the queuing time wasn’t bad at all. The results normally come back within two days. So I’m making progress. The more complicated bit comes in part two.