21/11/2013

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

I’m in the process of applying for a New Zealand Essential Skills Work Visa. Along with the work visa application form and medical forms there is also a list of documents that I need from the employer, such as: the job offer, the job description, the employment contract, an employer supplementary form, proof that the employer has advertised extensively to try and find local candidates, a letter from them showing the results of the interviewing process and a letter giving the reasons why I’m suitable for the job.

It’s essential apparently that the employer places the vacancy with the Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ-the equivalent of the Social Welfare) to prove that they’ve tried to find a New Zealander to do the job or be trained to do the job. Immigration will also check the labour market to see if there are New Zealanders who can fill this gap.

The complicated bit is the part where certified true copies of certain documents are needed. The documents that need to be certified include the job description, the employment agreement, qualifications and job references. These certified true copies need to be signed by a Justice of the Peace (JP) which costs nothing, but the JP needs to see original documents, in order to be able to certify them as copies.The job description has changed, with the extra task being added, so I now need the original of the new job description. I’m waiting for the employer to send this to me.

I also need to get the originals of my qualifications and job references sent over from Amsterdam by courier, which costs about 65 Euros and may take about four days. One of my qualifications is in Dutch so I need to get that translated, which will cost 85 NZD. I also only realised that one of my job references is a copy and not an original, so I don’t know if that will be counted. It will take too long and cost too much at this late stage to get the original sent over.

So I’m waiting for the originals of the job references, qualifications and new job description to arrive and the translation to be done. Then I have to take them to the JP to get all the relevant copies signed, send everything, including my passport, to the advisor, who will check everything and submit the application for me. I’m hoping I’ll have everything sent off by the end of this week, if I’m lucky. This part of the process has taken longer than I expected but I’ve done everything as quickly as possible. Some parts of the process are out of my control and I just have to try not to worry about them.