This autumn again, New Zealand Migration International hosted several seminars to inform interested people about successful strategies for migrating to New Zealand.
With a wide range of interactive presentations, our experienced Migration Advisers introduced current visa updates and strategies to the participants.
This year’s seminars mainly focused different visa options for professionals, craftsmen, self-employed persons and families. Further focal points included current developments concerning the Parent Visa Category, as well as the new Entrepreneur Visa for people who want to work in their own business in New Zealand.
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In addition, the seminar hosts also provided useful and practice-oriented information concerning the specifics of living in New Zealand and the local job market.
All participants also enjoyed the opportunity to discuss their individual opportunities and further questions in the course of an individual visa-check.
We are proud that again this year, our seminars were fully booked. We wish to thank all those who attended for their energetic participation and the positive feedback.
We look forward to our next New Zealand seminars in early 2017!
Portland (Oregon): 04. January 2017
Palo Alto (California): 07. January 2017
Los Angeles (California) 08. January 2017
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us If you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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Wine, biotechnology, IT, tourism – while agriculture remains the main industry sector in New Zealand, the new industries are growing strong, attracting investors and entrepreneurs from all over the world.
As New Zealand’s economy relies heavily on exports, trade barriers are relatively low. This also applies to investments from abroad. New Zealand also offers excellent terms for business startups. According to a World Bank survey in 2015, New Zealand is the “easiest place in the world to start a business” and ranks place 2 in the category “ease of doing business”.
This means New Zealand is not only the perfect holiday destination, boasting with diverse landscape inviting to be discovered, but is also a great destination for investors and entrepreneurs. Diversity and new opportunities are a main focus here. From the growing IT sector in Auckland, to the vineyards in Hawkes Bay and the booming Tourism in Otago.
Along with Skilled and Partner Visa, investor and entrepreneur visa options become more and more popular with immigrants from all around the globe. Find out more about New Zealand Migration
The NZ government reacted with visa categories aimed are these entrepreneurs and investors. The goal is to allow these people to bring their ideas and skills to the country.
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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The Essential Skills Work Visa is for individuals who have been offered full-time employment in New Zealand. You must have the necessary experience and qualifications to be able to perform the job. Before the employer offers you the job, they must have made sure that there were no New Zealanders available for the position first. Find out more about New Zealand work visa
This visa allows you to stay in New Zealand for a period of up to five years, as well as being able to support visa applications for your partner and dependent children. If you wish to extend your stay in New Zealand, you are able to apply for other Essential Skills Work Visas. There is no limit in place for the amount of Essential Skills Work Visas you can apply for.
Keep in mind, you must work in the specific occupation and location that you specified in your visa application. If you decide to change employers, work location, or jobs, you may have to apply for a Variation of Conditions. If not, you may need to apply for a new work visa before you are able to make any changes. This visa does not permit self-employment. If you are looking to become self-employed, you must apply for an Entrepreneur Work Visa.
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us If you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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If you are looking to get immigration advice regarding New Zealand, Licensed Immigration Advisers are the people with expertise in this area who can help. To legally be able to provide immigration advice, they must be licensed under the Immigration Advisers Authority.
There are many benefits in using the services of an Immigration Adviser. These individuals are legally obligated to follow a code of conduct that require them to act in an honest, professional and respectful matter. They must provide you with continuing updates on your matter and charge fees that are fair and reasonable.
What do Immigration Advisers do? They help you explore all visa opportunities that are available to you and help you choose the one most suitable for your circumstances. They prepare and lodge all documents to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) so that you are able to settle in New Zealand. If and when there are issues with your application, the advisers are able to evaluate whether you are able to appeal a declined visa, as well as options moving forward if you are in New Zealand unlawfully. Find out more about New Zealand Migration
It is extremely important that you make sure the person you are receiving immigration advice from is indeed a Licensed Immigration Adviser. There are many risks involved if you are using someone who is unlawfully providing immigration advice. Your visa application could be returned by INZ as they do not accept applications from unlicensed people acting unlawfully, and it is highly likely that they are being dishonest with you and INZ. If it turns out you have submitted a visa application with the help of an unlicensed individual, you risk being rejected and jeopardising future visas or jobs.
There are some instances where you can receive legal immigration advice from someone who is not licensed. These people are referred to as “exempt” and it is okay to consult with them regarding immigration to New Zealand. Some entities that are exempt from being licensed are New Zealand lawyers holding a current practising certificate, education agents outside NZ (providing immigration advice on student visas only), employees of INZ, foreign consular or staff, members of Parliament, volunteers at Community Law Centres or Citizens Advice Bureau, and government employees.
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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If you are looking to invest and gain residence in New Zealand, the investor business migration visas may be right for you. There are two different types of investor visas for New Zealand, the Investor Plus Visa (Investor 1 Category) and The Investor Visa (Investor 2 Category); both with different criteria that you must meet in order to be eligible to apply.
The Investor Plus Visa may be an option for you if you are looking to invest more than NZ$10 million for three years. To be eligible to apply for this visa, you must spend 44 days in New Zealand in each of the last two years of the three-year investment period. In terms of business experience, age, settlement funds, and language ability of you and your family members, there are no requirements for these categories regarding the Investor 1 Category visa, although you must meet the health and character requirements. You must also be able to show significant evidence that your investment funds and/or assets are owned by you, jointly by you and your partner or dependent children. Find out more about New Zealand Work Visa
If you are looking to invest a minimum of $NZ1.5 million in a four year period, then the Investor Visa would suit your circumstances. This category has many more requirements in order to be eligible to apply. You must have a minimum of three years business experience and not be over 65 years old. You must be able to meet the $NZ1 million settlement fund requirement (transfer not required). For this visa, you must meet the English language requirement which is an IELTS test score of 3+, or be of English speaking background/competent user of English. Family members must also have the same level of English language ability as the principle applicant, or pre-purchase ESOL tuition in NZ. You must spend 146 days in NZ in each of the last three years of the four-year investment period.
Both of these visa pathways require that your investment funds be transferred over into an acceptable investment in New Zealand no more than 12 months after your residence is approved. The funds that you transfer must be from the exact funds/assets that you nominated in your application.
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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If your business needs to regularly recruit skilled workers from overseas, it would be an option to become an Immigration New Zealand Accredited Employer. This means that you’re able to employ skilled migrant workers without first checking if New Zealanders are able to do the work. It is important that you recognize that you will accept direct responsibility for the workers you employ and that you must pay them a minimum of $55,000.
What criteria must be met in order to apply to become an accredited employer? You must be in a sound financial position to be considered by Immigration New Zealand (INZ). INZ will ask you to provide relevant documents such as business plans, annual reports, company profile and registration, as well as financial statements to support these claims. You must also display good human resource practices and be able to back this with documents outlining your policies, health and safety, structure and nature of employment, and copies of standard employment agreements. As long as you follow the above mentioned, as well displaying good workplace practices and a commitment to training and employing New Zealanders, you may be eligible to become an accredited employer in NZ.
The benefits of becoming an accredited employer are the shorter processing times for work to residence applications, as well as not having to provide an Employer Supplementary Form in support of your candidates. The first step in the process is the application to become an accredited employer. Next, you will support a work visa application, a residence application, and then must maintain your accredited employer status. Find out more about New Zealand Work Visa
Once you receive accreditation, it is valid for a period of 12 months and you must renew this annually to make sure you are able to continue employing overseas workers. You are able to employ these workers, initially, for a period of 30 months to work in your core area of business activity and be included on the “Accredited Employers List’ for NZ. After 24 months of working for you, your employee may be eligible to apply for residence under your support.
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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Are you considering applying for a Partner Visa for New Zealand? If so, there are a couple things you need to know before proceeding with your application. If you and your partner plan to apply for a visa to come to New Zealand together, or if your partner is already in New Zealand, you may be eligible for a visa based on your partnership.
In New Zealand, partnership is defined as two people of the opposite or same sex, who reside together in a stable and genuine relationship in either a legal marriage, civil union, or de-facto relationship. If you apply for a visa based on your relationship with a New Zealand citizen or visa holder, we define that person as your supporting partner.
In order to be able to apply for a partnership visa in New Zealand, you and your partner must be over the age of 18, or have the consent of your parents or guardians if you are aged 16 or 17 years old. You must have met each other before applying for the visa based on your partnership, as well as not being close relatives.
The New Zealand government requires some evidence that your partnership is genuine and stable before you can be granted this visa. You must be living together and sharing the same house. This arrangement does not include sharing accommodation while on holidays, having separate homes but spending time at one another’s place of residence, or any type of flat mate arrangement.
The government is going to evaluate your relationship in terms of longevity of the relationship, how long you’ve been living together, and what type of living arrangements and financial support with one another. They will ask you about your commitment to and the future of the relationship with one another, whether you own/share property together, and if you have children or when you plan to have children. New Zealand will also question whether you share common household tasks and if others recognize your relationship as being genuine and stable. They may ask many more personal questions during the interview process to assess whether they feel your relationship would qualify for a partnership visa.
In regards to the evidence required by the New Zealand Government, it will be much more credible if it comes from official sources. Some examples would be joint lease documents, joint bank accounts/bills, invitations addressed to both people in the relationship, photos, marriage certificates, birth certificates of children, as opposed to written statements from friends regarding your relationship. The more evidence you provide to the government, the easier it will be for them to come to a conclusion regarding your visa status.
It is also important to include whether you and your partner have spent any time living apart, such as the reasons, time frame, and if you kept in touch during the separation. Keep in mind, they will use the evidence you provide regarding your separation to analyse its effect on your relationship. The supporting partner will also have to meet character requirements. There cannot be any domestic violence or sexual offence convictions in the last 7 years before applying. Police certificates will also need to be provided in your visa application.
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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On Tuesday, 11 October 2016, important changes were made regarding resident visas in New Zealand. This includes the Skilled Migrant Category, including the English language requirements, as well as the Parent category.
For the next two years, the New Zealand Resident Programme is being lowered to between 85,000 and 95,000 applicants. The automatic selection mark for people applying under the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) has also been raised from 140 to 160 points, regardless of if the applicant has been offered a job. As New Zealand has become an extremely popular destination in recent years, they need to make sure that the demand for places under the Skilled Migrant Category are being managed effectively. Find out more about New Zealand Migration
From November 2016, New Zealand will be able to accept a wider range of English language tests, but there have been new changes to the way SMC applicants are to show evidence that they have met the requirements-which ultimately means more people will have to undergo the formal tests. The new tests that New Zealand will be able to accept are the TOEFL iBT, Occupational English Test, Cambridge English Test: First and FCE for Schools, and the Pearson Test of English: Academic.
Another important change that was made is in regards to the number of places for the capped family categories has now been reduced to 2,000 per year. Furthermore, the Parent Category is officially closed for new applications while this is being reviewed. No Expressions of Interest (EOIs) will be selected from the Parent Category Pool as of 12 October 2016. Why has the Parent Category been closed? This is because there is already a sufficient amount of people who have applied/been invited to apply, and the cap has been met. The NZ government says that by the end of 2017/2018 financial year that the applications in the system should be cleared.
Although there have been many changes to the New Zealand Residence Programme, these changes are only temporarily and will be reviewed in the years to come.
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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Are you a business owner or thinking about starting up your own business in New Zealand? If so, you may be eligible for an Entrepreneur Work Visa! This is a visa designed for people who are interested in buying or setting up their own business in NZ. There are a few requirements to be able to apply for this visa, such as providing a detailed business plan, having at least NZ $100,000 to invest into your business, and be able to claim 120 points on the points scale. If you are granted this visa, you are able to setup or buy a business in NZ without actually living there permanently. This may also be a step towards residence in NZ. Find out more about New Zealand work visa
Once you have been granted the Entrepreneur Work Visa, you will spend 12 months in what is called the “start-up stage” which will let the government know that you are following the conditions of your visa. After this 12 month period once you have proven that you have successfully setup your business, you be granted another 24 month duration to continue with running your business in NZ. This visa allows you to live and work in NZ for a total of 3 years. You are also able to support your partner and dependent children under 19 years old on your visa application.
Some important things to know when applying for this visa are, if your business is in the IT or science sectors and shows a high level of promise for innovation and export potential, the government may waive the NZ $100,000 capital investment requirement. If you have declared bankruptcy or experienced a business failure in the last 5 years, you will not be eligible to apply for this visa. Your visa will not be granted if you have been involved in any type of business wrongdoing or fraud.
To get the ball rolling, you must first use the points scale to determine if you are eligible for this visa (120 points). Once you have done this, you must complete the “Entrepreneur Work Visa Application” and attach all supporting documents and fees to it. The next stage will be the processing of your application, which usually takes around 90 days from lodgement. If your application is approved, you’re granted your 12 month visa to start up your business in NZ! Towards the end of your 12 months, the government will get in touch with you and then determine whether you will be granted another 24 months to continue running your business.
Our experienced team of New Zealand Migration Agents are here to assist you throughout this process! Feel free to reach out to us If you have any questions regarding migrating to New Zealand under a working visa category.
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Sydney Migration finished in November a number of Migration Seminars in Germany and Switzerland which were aimed at skilled professionals and business and investor migrants with an interest in living, working or investing in Australia.
For several years running our European conferences aimed at skilled professionals and business and investor migrants with an interest in living, working or investing in Australia have been also recognized by the Victorian Government as strengthening the ties between the countries.
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08. February 2025
22. February 2025
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