Qualifications - 20 Points to make up

[LeeD]

Hi all

This is my first post on here. It would be great to hear from anyone with actual experience in the immigration process.

Our story in a nutshell is that my wife and I have managed to tally up 120 points on the indicator but as you well know we need 140 to definately receive an invite to apply.

Neither of us have any work experience in New Zealand. I have a UK degree but, surprisingly I thought, my wife's occupation of nursery nurse appears nowhere on the list of skilled occupations, meaning her qualification doesn't rack up any points. This would have taken us to 140. She does have a number of close family member there.

I have narrowed our options down to

1. Trying to obtain a job offer before we apply which would give us 170 points but seems quite difficult.

2. My wife undertaking a basic qualfication in something over here over the next couple of years eg HNC in something. And hope that the rules don't change before then (ie go the same way as Australia)

Has anyone any advice?

Regards

[dfer]

Hello, welcome to the forum.

Regarding to your quesions, my personal points are:
1) Yes, it is always difficult to find a job from oversea, unless you are so special to the employer.
2) My suggesion would be you do lodge the EOI as early as possible, nobody know what will happen. It seems the whole world is closing the door slowly for immigrants. OZ and Canada are bad examples so far.

[rogercruse]

...my wife's occupation of nursery nurse appears nowhere on the list of skilled occupations, meaning her qualification doesn't rack up any points...
Regards

We got the required points using my wife's teaching qualification from 20 years ago even though she's never actually took up this profession. Lots of fun & games with NZQA establishing that this was a degree standard.

Had they rejected it then our application would have failed and we would have had to wait until this summer when has gained a MSc in her chosen career (after we got our blue stickers).

[Squiffy]

You don't say what your field is and whether your job description is on the absolute or long term skills shortage list at all.

We got picked out of the pool on 1 July after being in there for 6 months simply because NZIS moved my OHs skill from the long term skills shortage list to the absolute skills shortage list. We only had 120 points.

If your job description is on either of these lists I would suggest you get your EOI in asap as historically NZIS look at those with lower points in the back half of the year.

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

Many people have been picked from the pool with 120 and below, as mentioned above.

[LeeD]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

My "field" is Conveyancer/legal exec. My degree is in law, and I also have a post grad in Surveying/Estate Managment. My qualifications are on the approved list gaining 50 points but not on the absolute shortage or future growth ones. Surveying is on the absolute shortage, but surveying in New Zealand seems to refer specifically to land surveying for Civil Engineering purposes, whereas I am qualified in property managment and valuations.

We do aim to get an application in soon as I will be 30 in 18 months and lose points on that basis.

I would have taken a pot on applying sooner but all of the invites in the past few weeks have been for those with 140 and those with job offers, absolute shortgages etc.

[JandM]

As Squiffy says, historically NZIS look at those with lower points in the back half of the year. All the best.