# Thinking of migrating



## Blessedbee (Dec 29, 2013)

Dear all,

My family and I are British Citizens, I am 35 and hubby is 38. Our kids are 4 and 16 this year. We are seriously thinking of migrating either to New Zealand or Australia. I am a social worker and my husband is in the leisure management. I understand that social worker is on a skilled list for both countries? My questions are, where is best to migrate to? What are the chances of getting a job offer from UK? How long does the whole process take (am sure this depends with each individual but just need to know roughly)? Is it advisable to use agents and what are your experiences? We do not have a lot of money and we would rather do it ourselves if we could? I am also aware that my qualifications would need to be assessed. Now who would employ someone abroad? Is it safe to travel without job offers? Please help me?

Thank you very much.


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

Blessedbee said:


> Dear all, My family and I are British Citizens, I am 35 and hubby is 38. Our kids are 4 and 16 this year. We are seriously thinking of migrating either to New Zealand or Australia. I am a social worker and my husband is in the leisure management. I understand that social worker is on a skilled list for both countries? My questions are, where is best to migrate to? What are the chances of getting a job offer from UK? How long does the whole process take (am sure this depends with each individual but just need to know roughly)? Is it advisable to use agents and what are your experiences? We do not have a lot of money and we would rather do it ourselves if we could? I am also aware that my qualifications would need to be assessed. Now who would employ someone abroad? Is it safe to travel without job offers? Please help me? Thank you very much.


Hi,
Social Worker is on the Long Term Skill Shortage List for NZ so assuming you meet the requirements with qualifications, post qualification experience and professional registration with the social workers board then you shouldn't have too many issues being able to get a visa. You may in fact be able to earn enough points as the principal applicant in a Residency visa application via the skilled migrant route to gain Invitation To Apply without a job offer.
To find out if you do just take the points indicator test via the immigration website.

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/pointsindicator/

No idea if it's on a similar list for Australia.

We to had the same dilemma early on - Australia or NZ ?
We did lots of research starting with Australia but after a couple of months we had way more "cons" on the pros and cons list so discounted it and then looked into NZ which led us here a couple years later.
I don't like telling people whether one is better than the other etc. We all have different expectations, opinions and essentials that make us tick. What I like, you may hate with a passion.
All I'd say is research research research and if you feel it's for you then go for it.
Coming over for a holiday first is a great way to make your mind up but obviously costs an awful lot of cash which I'd assume from your post you do not have.
Personally I don't think anyone can say which is best. They will both be best to different people.
Getting a job offer from the UK is difficult - especially I you don't already have firm plans to travel and don't have a visa.
All depends how desperate an employer is for your skills. 
You'd think any employer seeking staff in a skill shortage occupation would land a job here easily.....no, doesn't work like that.
Employers are really keen to reduce costs and risk so seem to only be interested in people that are already here or people who make the effort to show that they are keen to come here - maybe by coming in person to visit and speak to them.
They see a person without a visa as a risk and a someone that is unlikely to appear soon.
It does happen though. People from overseas do land jobs without visas first.
I did land two jobs from overseas in the same week, but I already had the visa and flights / shipping booked so doesn't really count.

Residency without a job offer is approx (minimum) 12 months from lodging an EOI with 140 points or over which gets your EOI automatically selected.
If you have a job offer this could reduce to 6-9 months.
If you land a job and go the temporary work visa route instead these can be secured within a week/fortnight. These allow quick entry into NZ to take up a new job without the long wait for a residency visa. You can also submit for residency at the same time and have this ticking away in the background. A partner would also be awarded a similar temporary work visa but wouldn't need a job offer first. Children would have to come on separate visas - visitor or study visas most likely.
It's just another option.
You can do it all yourself no problem. I wouldn't advise on paying an agent unless you know you're gonna have problems. We used an agent, but only because we knew my wife's medical would be referred to the immigration medical assessors. It was good to have their assistance but you still do a heck of a lot of it yourself.
Through the process and in the end we did question and wonder what the agent really did. I suppose it was having their expert advice available at all times that made it worthwhile and they did liaise with immigration to move deadline dates etc as we needed which was something I never even considered.

It's risky to travel without job offers if you intend to stay. You will be coming as visitors (unless you secure residency visas) and you must demonstrate that you are here to be a tourist and have onward travel plans and enough money to see you through for up to 6 months (if you stay the maximum time).
It's just a bit of rule bending really but I wouldn't be comfortable bringing the family across the world as a visitor when my intentions were to never leave.
Puts a lot of pressure on you to find a job then apply for another visa while your here so you can actually work.
Coming across the border with all your worldly goods packed in a suitcase, cv's, work documents etc isn't gonna make immigration happy that your here as a genuine tourist.
Whilst job hunting isn't strictly forbidden on a tourist visa, it also isn't allowed as such.
It does happen but you have to be discreet about it.
None of this matters if you come on a residency visa but still a risk if you struggle to find work. There's only so far you can stretch the savings before you have to give up and return home.

Good luck on whichever path you choose.


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## Blessedbee (Dec 29, 2013)

escapedtonz said:


> Hi, Social Worker is on the Long Term Skill Shortage List for NZ so assuming you meet the requirements with qualifications, post qualification experience and professional registration with the social workers board then you shouldn't have too many issues being able to get a visa. You may in fact be able to earn enough points as the principal applicant in a Residency visa application via the skilled migrant route to gain Invitation To Apply without a job offer. To find out if you do just take the points indicator test via the immigration website. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/pointsindicator/ No idea if it's on a similar list for Australia. We to had the same dilemma early on - Australia or NZ ? We did lots of research starting with Australia but after a couple of months we had way more "cons" on the pros and cons list so discounted it and then looked into NZ which led us here a couple years later. I don't like telling people whether one is better than the other etc. We all have different expectations, opinions and essentials that make us tick. What I like, you may hate with a passion. All I'd say is research research research and if you feel it's for you then go for it. Coming over for a holiday first is a great way to make your mind up but obviously costs an awful lot of cash which I'd assume from your post you do not have. Personally I don't think anyone can say which is best. They will both be best to different people. Getting a job offer from the UK is difficult - especially I you don't already have firm plans to travel and don't have a visa. All depends how desperate an employer is for your skills. You'd think any employer seeking staff in a skill shortage occupation would land a job here easily.....no, doesn't work like that. Employers are really keen to reduce costs and risk so seem to only be interested in people that are already here or people who make the effort to show that they are keen to come here - maybe by coming in person to visit and speak to them. They see a person without a visa as a risk and a someone that is unlikely to appear soon. It does happen though. People from overseas do land jobs without visas first. I did land two jobs from overseas in the same week, but I already had the visa and flights / shipping booked so doesn't really count. Residency without a job offer is approx (minimum) 12 months from lodging an EOI with 140 points or over which gets your EOI automatically selected. If you have a job offer this could reduce to 6-9 months. If you land a job and go the temporary work visa route instead these can be secured within a week/fortnight. These allow quick entry into NZ to take up a new job without the long wait for a residency visa. You can also submit for residency at the same time and have this ticking away in the background. A partner would also be awarded a similar temporary work visa but wouldn't need a job offer first. Children would have to come on separate visas - visitor or study visas most likely. It's just another option. You can do it all yourself no problem. I wouldn't advise on paying an agent unless you know you're gonna have problems. We used an agent, but only because we knew my wife's medical would be referred to the immigration medical assessors. It was good to have their assistance but you still do a heck of a lot of it yourself. Through the process and in the end we did question and wonder what the agent really did. I suppose it was having their expert advice available at all times that made it worthwhile and they did liaise with immigration to move deadline dates etc as we needed which was something I never even considered. It's risky to travel without job offers if you intend to stay. You will be coming as visitors (unless you secure residency visas) and you must demonstrate that you are here to be a tourist and have onward travel plans and enough money to see you through for up to 6 months (if you stay the maximum time). It's just a bit of rule bending really but I wouldn't be comfortable bringing the family across the world as a visitor when my intentions were to never leave. Puts a lot of pressure on you to find a job then apply for another visa while your here so you can actually work. Coming across the border with all your worldly goods packed in a suitcase, cv's, work documents etc isn't gonna make immigration happy that your here as a genuine tourist. Whilst job hunting isn't strictly forbidden on a tourist visa, it also isn't allowed as such. It does happen but you have to be discreet about it. None of this matters if you come on a residency visa but still a risk if you struggle to find work. There's only so far you can stretch the savings before you have to give up and return home. Good luck on whichever path you choose.



Thank you so much for the detailed information. That is very helpful. Regarding my skills, I do have post qualifications and registered here in UK. I suppose I would still have to be assessed and registered there anyway. Thank you once again, a lot to think about and more research required indeed.


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