New Zealand is simply beautiful! Home of Lord of the Ring, and many spectacular scenary drops of uncountable famous movies of the world produced in New Zealand...The natural fresh air and temperate climate of the country best suit the description quoted in a famous song: Do you wanna live forever, forever? and yes, if anyone wants to live life longer and forever, indeed, come to New Zealand!
New Zealand is a small country of 4 million friendly people, comprised of the North and South Islands. The capital city of Wellington is in the North Island as well as the cosmopolitan and popular city of Auckland. The South Island is a favourable attraction for tourism such as the charming city of Christchurch, exciting and fun city of Queenstown and Dunedin, home to the University of Otako.
New Zealand is a popular Work and Live destination attracted to people from all over the world. To work in New Zealand, one needs a work visa which will convert to a work permit upon arrival in the country. A permit is what allows a person to work in New Zealand, and a visa is what allows one to travel in and out of hte country. There are both temporary and permanent visas widely classified under the following policies:
1. Temorary Work Policy usually issued for 1 to 3 years under the following options:
- Working Holiday Visa for the under 30 and wanting to travel and work in New Zealand for up to 1 year
- BUNAC work exchange programme for the under 35
- Essential Skills Visa for temporary worker with a job offer in New Zealand
- Silver Fern Job Search Visa Up to 9 months visa opportunity for those aged between 20-35 highly skilled people to look for work in New Zealand. There are only 300 Silver Fern Job Search visas issued each year. Once found a job, applicant is entitled to move on to Silver Fern Practical Experience visa which will be issued for 2 years.
- Student visa holders can work up to 20 hours if study full time, English language students must enrol in longer than 6 months course + IELTS result of 5 and successfully prove the need to improve English for study or work
2. Work to Residence Policy A special visa policy to allow people who are not yet qualified for residence but want work experience in NZ to help with their residence application or for those who are not sure whether they want to live in NZ on a permanent basis. The permits allow the applicant to stay in New Zealand for up to 30 months in order to seek skilled employment in NZ
a stepping stone towards NZ permanaent residency. There are several visa options under this Policy such as Talent (Accredited Employers) for people with a job offer; Long Term Skills Shortage List for people in occupations listed on this list; Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) for people with exceptional talent in art, culture or sport; and Long Term Business Policy for people who plan to establish a business in New Zealand.
3. Residence Policy for people who want to migrate to live in NZ on a permanent basis. Permanent residents of NZ enjoy the full benefits of working full time for whomever they want, wherever they want with full access to government funded healthcare, study and pay for local fees just like a NZ citizens. There are many permanent residence visa options including:
- Skilled Migrant Based on points test system in recruiting skilled migrants to meet economic needs of New Zealand. Applicants must first put in their Expression of Interests in order to be qualified for this visa.
- Entrepreneur For people who wish to set up and operate business in New Zealand
- Entrepreneur Plus For people who have invested at least NZ$0.5 million in successfully setting up and operate business in New Zealand
- Investor For people who are interested in investing a minimum of NZ$1.5 million in New Zealand
- Investor Plus For people who are interested in investing a minimum of NZ$10 million in New Zealand
There are numerous visa options for people who are interested to work and live in New Zealand. However, as New Zealand immigration laws and policies are constantly changing, if you are interested to work and live in New Zealand, please visit the website of Immigration New Zealand for further and up-to-date information at: http://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/work-in-new-zealand~1.html
