Immigration to Hastings NZ or Sydney Aus.

[Confused]

Hi Everyone

This is such a great/useful forum!

My husband recently received a offer for a job in Hastings NZ. He also applied for a job in Sydney Aus - everything sounds promising (so far we know they will assist us financially, not sure how or how much yet), we are just waiting for the 'offer'. We would love to move to Australia.

His job offer is a: Level 4B Advanced Engineer - position.

How do we go about immigration? Where do we start? How long does it normally take? Can we do it on our own? What type of Visa's do we need?

Should we fall pregnant (and welcome a new member to our family) before we go - how does one go about visa's etc?

Should we fall pregnant (and welcome a new member to our family) in NZ/Aus, how does one go about then?

My husband will have a job, me on the other hand will be without one. Is it easy to find a job in either or NZ/Aus?

Thank you so much!

[OubaasDik]

Hi and welcome.

I can't possibly answer the all your questions, but I'll give it a go.

If they are offering you a job in Aus and they are offering to help get you there, it'll probably be a 457, which is an employer sponsored visa, which is quick to get, BUT it doesn't give you permanent residence, so if you lose the job, the visa goes away and you have 28 days to sell up and get out, OR you can try to get another company to sponsor you another 457.

Once you have been with the employer a certain time (I think it's 2 years), you can ask your employer to sponsor you a permanent visa (I think it's a 156 nowadays). This can get you PR and eventually citizenship.

I THINK you can also, while you are here on the 457, try to get a normal PR visa (189, 190), but I'll let someone more up to date answer that.

Any kids born here while you are NOT on a PR visa will NOT be Aussie citizens, and you will need private health insurance, since Medicare will NOT cover any medical costs.

I initially came out this way, and it's very stressful. From day to day, you have no idea where you are.

Now to let others give you other news.

I have no clue about NZ - this is for Oz only.

Edited November 12, 2012 by OubaasDik

[naomiwarr]

Just a note about falling pregnant whilst on a 457 visa....even if you have medical insurance there are fees that are not covered by the medical aid - the main one being what they term a "pregnancy management" fee that you pay to the obstetrician for the care you receive from 20 weeks until birth. It can be rather a large amount...up to $5000. If you have PR you will still pay the pregnancy management fee if you choose to have your own obstertrician but you also have the option of going public - you won't have your own ob but its all free and by all accounts as good (or better) than private hospitals in South Africa.

[Jordy]

Your employer will need to sponsor you for a visa. This has nothing to do with money but rather with an offer of employment. They might pay or you might pay for the visa.

There are two routes:

1. A temporary work permit valid for up to 4 years and is called a 457 visa. http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/sbs/

2. A permanent residence visa granting you, well permanent residence, and is called either an ENS 186 (for jobs in cities) or a RSMS 187 (for jobs in regional areas) http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/visa-permanent.htm

As to which one the company offers is up to them. You can try convince them you want the PR option but most companies will offer option 1 and then offer option 2 after a period of say 2 years. If they offer this to you make sure you get it in writing.

The path to Citizenship must include living in Australia for 4 years, two of which must be on a PR visa.

NOTE: The ENS186 and RSMS187 used to be called the ENS 121/856 and the RSMS119/857. The 121 number indicated offshore application and the 856 indicated onshore application. They are now just called the 186 and 187 respectively irrespective of where you were when you applied.

If you do try convince the company to go for PR immediately, you will need to convince them that you intend to make Aus your home and in this regard I would mention your desire to start a family. As mentioned above, pregnancy on a temp visa is a costly affair but it is free on Medicare.

As for you working, I would suggest you read the threads on the cost of daycare. This is extremely expensive (between $75 and $100 a day). If you are on a temp visa, this often restricts moms from working. Many moms, if not most, do not work because of this.