Finding work in New Zealand before having a visa approved?
May 17, 2016 9:51 AM   Subscribe

Having filled out an Expression of Interest to work in New Zealand I am 10 points shy of automatic acceptance. However, on receipt of a job offer I qualify easily. What I don't understand is the Chicken/Egg situation of looking for a job without a visa but needing a visa to find a job. Has anyone been through this? I can't help but feel it will be off putting to employers, although as far as I understand they need only to assist with the application for a temporary work visa; however I may be being naive here.

If it helps – I am looking to enter as a Skilled Migrant in a creative role.
posted by stackhaus23 to Travel & Transportation around Auckland, New Zealand (5 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Are you under 30? If so, maybe look into a year-long working holiday visa? Get over there first and work for an employer who will love you so much they sponsor your for the temporary work visa.
posted by aniola at 10:59 AM on May 17, 2016


Response by poster: Hi Aniola, unfortunately not. It's something that I had looked into previously but a little too late.
posted by stackhaus23 at 11:23 AM on May 17, 2016


Have a look at the Accredited Employers visa. As far as I know, companies that are accredited employers don't have to employ New Zealanders preferentially, and can offer jobs to overseas applicants in your position. There are bound to be some design companies on the list, and if they have vacancies, go for it! (Good luck!)
posted by superfish at 12:40 AM on May 18, 2016


When you were researching working holiday visas, did you look into the IEP visa which is only available through BUNAC's Work New Zealand programme? You can apply for that over 30 if you're under 36 .
posted by boudicca at 6:29 AM on May 18, 2016


I went to New Zealand in the late 2000s without a visa - I'm an American, and so was able to go for a 3-month window for travel without getting a visa beforehand. I had lined up job interviews ahead of time from overseas but was finding that employers were unwilling to make job offers to migrants until they arrived in NZ. At the time, something like 40% of migrants who accepted job offers from overseas would have second thoughts and back out of the move. I flew to NZ with a refundable round-trip ticket, went to the interviews and accepted a position with the understanding that it would take about a month for my visa to come through. This is a very common practice in NZ under the skilled migrant category; in this scenario, the employer is sponsoring your application and so it goes through more quickly than if you applied on your own without a sponsor. My profession is on the skills shortage list, and I got a work-to-residency permit in about a month.
posted by hootenatty at 4:10 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


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