Visas & Advice Detail
Ex pat question time
This month, Expat Question Time features Nicola Caine, a healthcare worker who recently emigrated to New Zealand. She answers our most pressing questions
Which visa category did you apply for?
We applied for Permanent Residency from the outset. We decided this to be the best option after looking at the immigration web site and realising that we both have jobs that are included on the skilled migrant list for NZ
How long did the application process take?
All in all, the whole process took about five months from us deciding that we might like to move to New Zealand to actually arriving there!
How much did the whole process cost?
The whole process without a doubt is an expensive one (though worth every penny in my opinion) I feel that they weed out any non-serious contenders simply by the expense along the way of applying for a visa.
Broken down, the costs were approximately as follows:
Expression of Interest (EoI): £100
Invitation to Apply (ITA): £700
Police checks: x4 (needed one for visa, one for nursing registration): £40
Nursing registration NZ x2: £100
Medicals/ x-rays x2: £1,500
Legal clarification of certificates etcetera: £75
Fee when visa given: Unsure how much: ?
Verification of professional status x2: £80
Postage: £20
Flights: £300 (though we did treat ourselves and fly business class) Shipping: £4,500
Car hire: £700
Initial stay in Motel (not pre-booked and extended for four weeks to await rental availability): £800
It is worth noting that some costs were because of the profession we are in. We had to have extra blood tests as we are healthcare workers. We also had professional registration fees to pay in NZ as well as a verification of professional good standing from the British nursing board.
What would you say the hardest part of the process was?
No one thing sticks out as being particularly hard. Of course, saying goodbye to family and friends is difficult, but to be expected. Personal things were difficult – for us, our dog died suddenly as we were beginning the process of sorting out his pet passport. Also, the reality of how far away we were hit home when my Grandad died four weeks after our arrival to NZ. The reality of this, though, is that neither of these events would have been pleasant even if we had never considered emigrating.
Did you consult a migration consultant at any point during the process?
No we didn't consult any form of consultant. We found the process relatively easily. The initial forms seem long and complicated at first, but were easily completed in a logical fashion. The British Expats discussion forum is a great place to ask questions and get great answers because someone somewhere will have been through exactly what you are doing, and may have even posed the same queries. The one thing that we found difficult was what order to do things – when to send for police reports, when to send for NZ nursing registration and making sure we had the right documents available within the time frame of the ITA requirements.
Any other advice?
The thing that took the longest was selling our house! My advice to anyone would be put the house up for sale first. All in all, it was a great decision we made – we really love it here. Good luck to anyone else either in the process or considering it.
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