# Total newbie looking for advice



## sconsgirl01 (Jan 4, 2014)

Hey,
I'm a total newbie to all things immigration so please be kind. I am a 34yr old mother of 4 and we have begun seriously considering moving to NewZealand. Were do we start?
My partner has just qualified as a civil engineer and is hoping to find work in that field. Where do we begin the whole process? I have thought about travel visas (?) in order to get over and try it out as such, see if it's for us but would need access to schools and am unsure if this is possible. My partner has an uncle who lives in Aukland and he has been over and stayed with them before and travelled around NZ a little, of what help, if any, this maybe I don't know.

Any help or advice is more than welcome

many thanks in advance. x


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

sconsgirl01 said:


> Hey, I'm a total newbie to all things immigration so please be kind. I am a 34yr old mother of 4 and we have begun seriously considering moving to NewZealand. Were do we start? My partner has just qualified as a civil engineer and is hoping to find work in that field. Where do we begin the whole process? I have thought about travel visas (?) in order to get over and try it out as such, see if it's for us but would need access to schools and am unsure if this is possible. My partner has an uncle who lives in Aukland and he has been over and stayed with them before and travelled around NZ a little, of what help, if any, this maybe I don't know. Any help or advice is more than welcome many thanks in advance. x


Hey sconsgirl01,
Welcome to the forum.

First thing I would decide is how you want to plan your first "visit".
It'll be one of three scenarios :-
(1) Come for a holiday and if you like it try to find a job and stay - this could also involve returning home first before embarking on one of the other options below!
(2) Commit to maybe a couple of years to see how it goes.
(3) Jump in both feet and make it a permanent move and see how it goes.

This'll make the decision on the type of visa to apply for.
So in scenario (1) visitor visas, (2) a temporary type of work visa, (3) residency visas or a temporary work visa that leads to residency in the future.

Next, have a good trawl through the Immigration NZ website to get an idea of re requirements you will have to meet and if you are eligible or not etc.

www.immigration.gov.nz

Just for your info, we did no (3) and jumped in with both feet. Had never even visited Oz or NZ before so had no idea what life was gonna be like.
We applied for Residency visas straight off via SMC and after securing these I managed to land a job here 3 months before we were due to fly out.
I settled fairly quickly bit it took my wife at least a year before she wanted to be here. It can be difficult to get used to.
Are we glad we moved from NW England ?
Yes for sure. More outdoorsy lifestyle, always near the beach, the sun is never far away, winter is very mild, cleaner, less people, less cars, less pollution, less crime, feels miles safer on the streets of the cities etc etc.
Yea there are things we miss about the UK but not enough to bring us back.
So much better here to bring up children.

Have a look to see if Civil Engineer is on the Long Term Skill Shortage List. Google it or have a look through the links on the Points Indicator on the INZ website - click on the highlighted text for absolute skill shortage in one of the questions.
I'm sure it is on the list but to claim the points your partner may need a few years post qualification experience.

Come back with any questions.

Good luck.


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