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5 Steps to Move to New Zealand from the United States

Broken Down

By Tiffany WilliamsPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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1. Find a job. Sound easy right? A little more to it than you would realize. New Zealand is constantly looking to improve its economy, so skilled workers are in high demand.

That's the key though — skilled — workers. Typically this includes nurses, IT, engineers, but can include bakers or construction workers, it all depends on the demand. So don't lose heart.

Be careful, however. My husband received a job offer to manage a few restaurants in Wellington, New Zealand in November 2015. He soon after was informed he lost the job offer when a citizen applied. He was more qualified, but the company told him immigration wouldn't let him through, because citizens of New Zealand and residents are always getting priority. It was a huge letdown, though we found another route.

If you don't find a job and are between 18 to 30, there is a special category called a USA Holiday Working Visa. This allows you to stay for 12 months as long as you have $4200 to live on during your stay.

On this visa, you can choose to work or study, but allows you the flexibility to not commit. It allows you to explore all that New Zealand has to offer and decide if you want to make a permanent plunge.

If you are over 30, do not despair. New Zealand has been rated the easiet country to do business in and the easiest to start up a business by the 2016 World Bank "Doing Business" survey.

The only constraints with this, hold your seat, is you do need $100,000 for capital. Got it in the bank? What are you waiting for then?

2. Once you have a job offer, you can contact an immigration advisor to help with paperwork. This is where I will give you our tip. An immigration advisor will give you piece of mind. They will make sure you have the right paperwork and information submitted.

They come, like everything, with a price tag. They run 2,000 to 3,000 dollars. My husband and I braved it ourselves, and with constant contact with immigration New Zealand, we had only one minor hiccup and had success. If you can deal with the headache the paperwork gives, I highly suggest it is worth it to save your pennies, because that plane ticket will not be cheap — as you probably know.

3. After you have obtained a visa, through whatever means (I did leave out finding a Kiwi and falling in love, but make sure you have documentation to prove it has been a stable relationship), now comes the medical exams.

Make sure you have money saved. Insurance will not cover this. New Zealand will have a list of approved doctors that allow you to have your blood work and x-rays done and to be examined. If you live on the east coast, there are many on the list and you may have the option to price match. Typically it runs 1000-1500 per person and about 250 to 300 for a child.

4. Once you have this figured out, hopefully you will have been looking on CheapOair or any of your favorite sites for a deal with plane tickets. This is where I give another tip — buy that travel insurance, please. Please.

My husband ruptured his achilles three days before we left. We were so glad to have that be one thing we didn't have to worry about.

Now comes the cut with take or toss. We brought 12 suitcases and 2 carry-ons with us. Price tag of 2000 dollars, but worth it. Shipping averages about 5000 to 7000 if you want to ship your big things. Many expats here did, and I often wonder if we should have.

New Zealand being the island it is, is very pricy for buying furniture. Also electronics are so pricy. A 50 inch smart TV can run up to 3000 dollars. Our furniture didn't make the cut, but our computer did. We just brought adapters, and so far so good.

5. Make the plunge. Sounds silly, but the week before I was a mess, thinking of leaving family and friends behind. I had to remind myself daily of the reasons we were doing this.

Even now, with the holidays, I have hard days. But the people here — omg the people here — they are the reason I didn't run back home after the first week. They will do anything to make you feel welcome and forget the distance. I had a Thanksgiving tea specifically thrown for me by coworkers to help me feel at home.

But whatever your reasons for coming, just make sure, as I had so wisely advised to me, give it at least a year.

I will get back to you in ten months.

new zealand
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