# ITA/Fat people



## 123laura

HI,

I confess I am a very very very impatient person. I like it done yesterday - or last week.

Having been selected on Wednesday - yes, 2 days ago, I am quivering with impatience to move - yes have done police checks etc, paperwork. Also been on every recruitment and property website known to man. Have been on grocery store websites. Am getting house ready to sell/let. Have been on DIY shop websites. Have built new imaginary house in NZ at 3 this morning. Have made contact with NZ families and arranged for my kids to email their kids. Have searched Trademe and written lists of what we should bring and what we should leave. Have found out about my kids doing GAA sports, music lessons etc. Have researched uni. Have checked out healthcare. Have priced flights.

I am considering changing my login to madhyperactivelady.

I am resisting the temptation to start packing(just) and wondering why doing the ironing and unloading the dishwasher just don't have the same appeal.

Can somebody please give me some idea when we are likely to receive out ITA? I think it will help me not to just start swimming.

Also, has anyone any experience with medicals and fat people. I'm sure we both have a high BMI - we're fast approaching forty (it did kill me to put that in writing) and although we are not really really fat my husband suffers from a sedentary job, long commute and cold, rainy climate. I've just had baby number 5 (and I love my children and gave her lots of choc when I was pregnant) so we're not quite as svelte as we used to be!

Thank you for your patience with the insane.

Laura


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## Siouxzee

Hi Laura
I understand exactly how you feel, we are waiting for our police clearance certificates in order to lodge our application and they are taking forever.
I am also concerned re : my BMI. I had my first little boy in June 2009, 10.5mths later I had my second in April 2010, not planned lets just say a surprise  I am 6wks pregnant with no.3 due in september. Lets say preganancy has not been kind to me either. I also work fulltime, so between that and 2 very small children it has been impossible at this point to get back to gym. As far as I can see I am borderline on the acceptable BMI or very slightly over. With this pregnancy I am definitely going to go way over 
Anyone had any indication if they refuse people based on this?
When are you planning your move? How old are you little ones?


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## alansheffield

Laura

I love your post - you sound well up for coming...I hope it works out. All I can say is this is a manic and crazy time - bit like a rollacoaster...I know when we went through it last year we had both highs and lows...what you need to do is find that bit of patience (sure you were handed some - or were you collecting the hairdryer like my granddaughter when it was handed out!) - there is a process to go through and NZ immigration will follow it (slowly). This said once you get the email and change in status things have to move quicker...you'll need your medicals and all of sudden (as my wife will remind me) you need not only lists but lists of lists to be made! 

Medicals are stressful even though as people point out they should not be too problematic. Realistically their main concern is if you have major health problems and going to be a drain on the health system - for example needing major surgery - all the boarderline issues - and preventative (not being overweight) will sort themselves out...if your BMI is over the limit then there will be other checks (and sadly more costs) but I think no one gets stopped from coming because their BMI is over the limit. 

I can tell you though if you really want this (like we did) - when you get your visia it is a wonderful moment - we got PR and now see ourselves as Kiwi's - the UK seems behind us...I hope it all works out....


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## danandsioned

It's a load of rubbish. I was borderline at medical, though I have less fat than 95% of people in the street.

To be honest, it was thye social engineering aspect of this whole process that almost made me change my mind abot wanting to emigrate to NZ.

We have friends that stupidly drove home from a night out after being stranded in Town at Christmas when it was minus 3 degrees. They are bothy teachers with 35 years experience between them and two daughters that are excelling at school.

They were slighlty over the drink drive limit, he received a ban and their visas were rebuked. They can re-apply in 5 years, but have been told that their chances are less than zero of ever getting in.

I also know of another family being refused, he is an IT consultant, she is a nurse, but they have an autistic son.......

If your child has special needs...forget it...if you get banned from driving...forget it...if you are fat...forget it.

All of this strikes me as a bit over the top, and your waistline will be less of a drain on a society than the content of your character.


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## Siouxzee

Sad to hear that about children with special needs! Especially when the family clearly has so much to offer.
Though I can understand about the drunk driving.


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## laurasaurus

Its important to remember when you emigrate that the country you want to go to doesn't owe you anything. Despite all the adverts trying to get people to emigrate to NZ, really they are not going to want to invite people or families who are likely to cost the existing citizens extra money are they. I know from hearing conversations back in the UK that most people in the UK feel the same way.

It may seem cruel to be basing it on paper facts rather than 'getting to know the family' and finding out if they have alot to offer. But as you can see, immigration takes enough time already, and I'm sure their methods are based on experience. Can you think of any reason why the family with the autistic kid really need to live in NZ rather than where they are? I can't...


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## Siouxzee

hi laurasaurus, i do agree with you and understand where you and of course immigration are coming from. i guess i understand why my family and i want to leave south africa, there are plenty of reasons why we feel we need to live somewhere else (to do with levels of crime/violence etc amongst other things) and why we have chosen New Zealand. So I guess each persons needs are personal as in our situation plenty of South Africans feel the need to go however plenty are staying.


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## oldjonah

Hi there. Not wanting to put the fear of God into anyone...but.....I am in NZ on a 2 year work visa. Immigration has bluntly told me that if my BMI of 40 is not reduced to 35 then I will NOT be granted another visa (work or residency).

Seems a tad unfair when I am here as a radiographer and paying a small fortune in taxes. I work about 40 hours a week and have no other health issues.


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## 123laura

oldjonah said:


> Hi there. Not wanting to put the fear of God into anyone...but.....I am in NZ on a 2 year work visa. Immigration has bluntly told me that if my BMI of 40 is not reduced to 35 then I will NOT be granted another visa (work or residency).
> 
> Seems a tad unfair when I am here as a radiographer and paying a small fortune in taxes. I work about 40 hours a week and have no other health issues.


If it helps... maybe I needed a really big incentive, but have lost two pounds this week. My BMI is 32 but I think we'll fall down on the waist measurement. Would you have time for a walk in the evenings - I lost 18 pounds the summer before my last pregnancy just by walking half an hour in the evenings and cutting down fat and carbs. I really know how hard it is - I was a skinny girl all my life til I started having kids. I ate very large quantities of whatever I wanted and never put on an ounce. And it is really hard for some people . I went to a dietician who was very arrogant, wrote me a diet sheet and told me if I stuck to it I would certainly lose weight. I did - put on two pounds in a week. If it was easy it wouldn't be such a huge issue.

I'm trying to be positive, I know I'm too heavy, and I know that it's unhealthy and I can feel it straining my back etc., so maybe we can try to be pretend it's a good thing. (Can you tell my baby _almost_ slept thro the night last night - I'm turning into Pollyanna!) Maybe we should start a diet thread. Then, when we've lost all the weight, got our visas and I'm in NZ we can have a feast of all the food we've been deprived of.


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## topcat83

123laura said:


> If it helps... maybe I needed a really big incentive, but have lost two pounds this week. My BMI is 32 but I think we'll fall down on the waist measurement. Would you have time for a walk in the evenings - I lost 18 pounds the summer before my last pregnancy just by walking half an hour in the evenings and cutting down fat and carbs. I really know how hard it is - I was a skinny girl all my life til I started having kids. I ate very large quantities of whatever I wanted and never put on an ounce. And it is really hard for some people . I went to a dietician who was very arrogant, wrote me a diet sheet and told me if I stuck to it I would certainly lose weight. I did - put on two pounds in a week. If it was easy it wouldn't be such a huge issue.
> 
> I'm trying to be positive, I know I'm too heavy, and I know that it's unhealthy and I can feel it straining my back etc., so maybe we can try to be pretend it's a good thing. (Can you tell my baby _almost_ slept thro the night last night - I'm turning into Pollyanna!) Maybe we should start a diet thread. Then, when we've lost all the weight, got our visas and I'm in NZ we can have a feast of all the food we've been deprived of.


Well done, Laura - I know how difficult it is too. I know all the theory.....  I sympathise with the BMI situation too - my gym confirmed I have a 'healthy' amount of body fat but my BMI is over 30 and therefore I'm officially obese! 
An online diet club sounds like a good idea. We could swap recipes and other ideas. But maybe we could move it to the lounge?


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## jb22

This thread amuses me as I had concerns going into my medicals, although I was concerned that my blood work would discover I had some terrible disease that would derail our plans of applying to NZ.

That being said I was also worried about my BMI. I have a BMI of 28, which for a male of my height makes me technically overweight from what I've read but my medical tests came in clean and my doctor gave me a clean bill of health. I just mailed my documents for our ITA today so here's hoping it won't be an issue.


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