Wednesday, 31 January 2007
31st January 2007
The police forms are completed and in the post. As expected, there was a fair degree of repetition (especially as they had to be filled in by hand) but were straight-forward enough. Up to 40 day wait for this now.
30th January 2007
I phoned and made appointments for our medicals today. Having looked at my plan, the latest we will receive our ITA is the 23rd March, therefore I have made the appointments for the end of February, which means that the results (completed medical) should be back to us just before this date (which also allows for delays of up to 2 months).
The medical is split into 2 - a general medical and chest x-ray – for which we are required to visit 2 different locations. The chest x-ray is the easier of the 2. We can get an appointment anytime for this and it costs £55 each. The medical itself is more complicated and thus more expensive! There is a 3 week wait for appointments, then it’s urine sample on arrival followed by blood tests and general medical. The costs for this are as follows:
£120 p.p. - medical
£50 p.p. - admin
£61 p.p. - blood tests
£7 p.p. - optional blood tests
Making a grand total (including x-rays) of £286 each. I’m hoping to hear from immigration prior to going ahead with the medical to ensure it’s not money wasted.
The medical is split into 2 - a general medical and chest x-ray – for which we are required to visit 2 different locations. The chest x-ray is the easier of the 2. We can get an appointment anytime for this and it costs £55 each. The medical itself is more complicated and thus more expensive! There is a 3 week wait for appointments, then it’s urine sample on arrival followed by blood tests and general medical. The costs for this are as follows:
£120 p.p. - medical
£50 p.p. - admin
£61 p.p. - blood tests
£7 p.p. - optional blood tests
Making a grand total (including x-rays) of £286 each. I’m hoping to hear from immigration prior to going ahead with the medical to ensure it’s not money wasted.
24th January 2007
I received the police forms via email today and am resolved to fill them in this weekend. There appears to be a lot of repetition in the document that needs to be filled out and backed by photocopies of 2 pieces of identification, but it looks straight-forward enough. It’s £10 to get our history, which we’re both expecting to be clear!
21st January 2007
In order to ease my fears over my qualifications, I have decided to apply to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (www.nzqa.govt.nz) to have my qualifications evaluated. Some qualifications require full validation by the NZQA for which there is a charge of $450 (plus optional extras). You can however have an pre-assessment which provides reassurance akin to that I’m looking for. It can be done online, costs $75 and takes up to 10 days to complete. I’m hoping that my professional qualifications have been assessed before, especially as they’re in an area of skills shortage and as such won’t require the full assessment or payment. Anyway, the pre-assessment application is done, which now involves more waiting!
18th January 2007
Having reviewed the job opportunities in NZ, we have decided to head for Wellington as our initial base. Ideally we’d love to have a place (run down ramshackle place to spruce up over the years), but in order to get established, Wellington seems to be the place for us. We don’t really fancy Auckland (or at least I don’t) and Wellington’s location gives us a good base from which to explore South Island.
Tuesday, 30 January 2007
16th January 2007
We’re checking every day for notification that we’ve been invited to apply! In order to dampen down expectation, I have decided to fully research timescales and also look at what’s needed in order to potentially steal a march on the ITA (providing we get it). It’s a difficult balance to strike between those things that can be done that don’t involve committing too much money and those things that need to be done/booked in advance to smooth the process.
Looking at it, there are a number of key things required for the ITA, namely:
Assessment of qualifications
Police searches
Medical
In terms of cost, I’ve no doubt the medical will prove to be the most expensive (although I could be wrong) and this needs to be completed by one of the specially selected panel of doctors listed on the NZ Immigration London website. The medical also only lasts for 3 months, so this can’t be done too soon otherwise it could be money down the drain should the ITA not arrive in time. The police searches though last a year, so can be done now. They cost £10 for each application and are handled through the local authority. Not sure whether the assessment of qualifications is required yet, so am awaiting more details. It’s $470 for this, which I don’t really want to lay out until I’m absolutely sure it’s required.
From the information on the website about what’s required, I have built a ‘worst-case scenario’ plan. At the latest we should be invited to apply (qualifications permitting) by the end of March. Once we get the details back to Immigration, it could potentially be a further 7 months until the decision is made, meaning we could be in NZ by December. In reality, providing we sell our house, we’ll be there earlier than that – hopefully.
Looking at it, there are a number of key things required for the ITA, namely:
Assessment of qualifications
Police searches
Medical
In terms of cost, I’ve no doubt the medical will prove to be the most expensive (although I could be wrong) and this needs to be completed by one of the specially selected panel of doctors listed on the NZ Immigration London website. The medical also only lasts for 3 months, so this can’t be done too soon otherwise it could be money down the drain should the ITA not arrive in time. The police searches though last a year, so can be done now. They cost £10 for each application and are handled through the local authority. Not sure whether the assessment of qualifications is required yet, so am awaiting more details. It’s $470 for this, which I don’t really want to lay out until I’m absolutely sure it’s required.
From the information on the website about what’s required, I have built a ‘worst-case scenario’ plan. At the latest we should be invited to apply (qualifications permitting) by the end of March. Once we get the details back to Immigration, it could potentially be a further 7 months until the decision is made, meaning we could be in NZ by December. In reality, providing we sell our house, we’ll be there earlier than that – hopefully.
8th January 2007
We received a letter today from NZ immigration confirming that we’ve been selected from the pool and outlining next steps. They seem to be super efficient and direct us to our local (well, London) office website for more information.
6th January 2007
Our EOI has been accepted! In fact, it was selected from the pool two days after completion! We’re trying not to get too excited as it still will require scrutiny and challenge before being formally ‘Invited To Apply’ (ITA). We’re really excited now and thoughts turn to what we need to do to literally get our house in order for selling. We resolve to produce a much needed list, starting with the garden (which is due to be completed by the beginning of Feb).
Jules is very pleased at the number of potential Montessori schools in NZ for Ted, something that is really important to her.
Jules is very pleased at the number of potential Montessori schools in NZ for Ted, something that is really important to her.
4th January 2007
I have started to look at opportunities in NZ. Christchurch is currently our favoured location and my current intentions are to go contracting as a PM. There don’t appear to be too many opportunities in Christchurch, however I see a permanent position that takes my eye and give the agency a call. I’m sure that nothing further will come of it (me not having a visa and all), but it causes initial excitement and confirmation that this is really going to happen.I bought my first NZ magazine this week and Christchurch sounds really nice. Just the kind of thing we’re looking for.
19th December 2006
The application is done! We completed what is known as an Expression Of Interest (EOI) online, paid the $300 fee and now go into a pot awaiting selection decisions. The application is based on a points based system, which you accrue for various items including work experience, qualifications, family in NZ etc. We scored 150 points which largely revolved around my professional qualifications for which there was no real category/comparison, so this remains a relative ‘weakness’ in the application. This is sure to be challenged should we be lucky enough to be accepted, however they are internationally recognised professional qualifications in an area of real skills shortage, so I’m hoping that this is viewed positively by the powers that be.
18th December 2006
We have spent some time looking at the relevant immigration policies for both and have decided to plump for NZ. It was always our favourite, truth be told, however the waiting lists for Canada extend to 2 years +, whilst NZ seem much more organised and my skills are in short supply, which should aid our application. Having made the decision, we just want to apply and get the wheels moving. It’s pointless pontificating about it.
10th December 2006
Well, we have decided to leave. We really do feel that Britain is ‘going to the dogs’ and have no other option (other than to moan incessantly for the next 40 years) than to seek pastures new. Ironically, it had been me who’d been against moving away, however I see little future for the country and agree that it’s time to move on.
Obviously family and friends will be left behind and that will be the hardest part, however it’s the long term future and happiness of our own family that is paramount and it’s really important that we give Ted (and future siblings) the opportunity to grow up in a place where they can do or be anything they want to be.
We talked at length about where to move and due to work/language constraints settled on either Canada or New Zealand. I have a cousin who lives in NZ and has nothing but good words to say about it. My best mate has also been there and would move back in a heartbeat. Actually, anyone who has ever been to NZ enthuses about it – let’s hope it’s not just a holiday thing.
My brother recently moved back from Canada to England citing (amongst other things) its lack of family ‘entertainment’ and certainly, having visited where he lived in Nova Scotia he had a point. We have been primarily looking at Vancouver, which seems to be in a great location and also has stuff for Jules and I to do.
Obviously family and friends will be left behind and that will be the hardest part, however it’s the long term future and happiness of our own family that is paramount and it’s really important that we give Ted (and future siblings) the opportunity to grow up in a place where they can do or be anything they want to be.
We talked at length about where to move and due to work/language constraints settled on either Canada or New Zealand. I have a cousin who lives in NZ and has nothing but good words to say about it. My best mate has also been there and would move back in a heartbeat. Actually, anyone who has ever been to NZ enthuses about it – let’s hope it’s not just a holiday thing.
My brother recently moved back from Canada to England citing (amongst other things) its lack of family ‘entertainment’ and certainly, having visited where he lived in Nova Scotia he had a point. We have been primarily looking at Vancouver, which seems to be in a great location and also has stuff for Jules and I to do.
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