Working holiday to Permanent residency

[Tony&Kat]

Hi Everyone,

After weighing up our options, it would appear we only have 100 points without a job offer so we thought the best option would be to go over on a working holiday instead and then find work then apply for PR. Has anyone gone down this route before that may have some usefull info as to if it is possible and relatively simple to do? I've read that once you have been rejected from the EOI that you cant apply for a working holiday, would this also mean that if our EOI wasnt selected after the period in the pool then we couldnt apply for a working holiday? If anyone can help clear up a few things up for us it would really be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tony

[jewelsvani]

This is my back up plan, we are waiting for a job offer, but if this doesn't come by jan then we are goig to use our WHV and do it the way you suggest. It is possible becasue I have read a few posts about people doing it this way. Plus, even though it was Aus I had the option to do it there but choose not to.

[Tony&Kat]

This is my back up plan, we are waiting for a job offer, but if this doesn't come by jan then we are goig to use our WHV and do it the way you suggest. It is possible becasue I have read a few posts about people doing it this way. Plus, even though it was Aus I had the option to do it there but choose not to.

Thanks for the info, once you've applied for a WHV does it expire if you dont use it after a certain amount of time or could we apply for it now and go next July?

[NooDleS]

You have 12 months to arrive to activate your WHV after it's been granted (mine took 9 days, a friend of mine had his in a fortnight). It is then valid for either 12/23months depending on the option you chose from the date of your arrival.

[Tony&Kat]

You have 12 months to arrive to activate your WHV after it's been granted (mine took 9 days, a friend of mine had his in a fortnight). It is then valid for either 12/23months depending on the option you chose from the date of your arrival.

Thanks Noodles, v. usefull info - do you know if we would need to have a return ticket back to the uk? Also would we be ok to bring our posessions over with us>? Do you know if NZ immigration are ok with people going down this route to secure PR?

[NooDleS]

You would not be able to bring your possessions with you. You could probably have certain items shipped to your new rental home afterwards nudge nudge!

You either need to show proof of onward travel (return ticket or cheap ticket to Australia ) as well as proof that you can support yourself to the tune of $350 per month of your visa. If you have no onward travel booked then you need to show proof of funds suitable to afford a ticket.

Just tell immigration you're there to travel the islands and pick up work here and there when you like. I'm pretty sure Immigration are perfectly familiar with under 30's using this Visa for this purpose. Remember that the visa terms state the 'primary purpose for the visa is holidaying'.

[Tony&Kat]

You would not be able to bring your possessions with you. You could probably have certain items shipped to your new rental home afterwards nudge nudge!

You either need to show proof of onward travel (return ticket or cheap ticket to Australia ) as well as proof that you can support yourself to the tune of $350 per month of your visa. If you have no onward travel booked then you need to show proof of funds suitable to afford a ticket.

Just tell immigration you're there to travel the islands and pick up work here and there when you like. I'm pretty sure Immigration are perfectly familiar with under 30's using this Visa for this purpose. Remember that the visa terms state the 'primary purpose for the visa is holidaying'.

ok cheers for that - is that what you are doing or are you going purely for a working holiday? My folks are also moving over there so may just put the stuff in there shipping container. Do you know if i apply for PR from the WHV if i'll have to leave the country and then come back?

[jewelsvani]

hey

You don't need a return ticket if you arrive on a whv from the uk. It will state "outward travel waived" or something like that. I have checked (emailed immigration) and I have only bought a one way ticket, you probably will have to show that you can afford a return ticket but you have to have so much funds in your account anyway to have the WHV, they check this at immigration or they might, most I have spoke to say they were not checked.

My WHV took all of 24 hours applied on line it's really easy and quick.

Once the visa is approved as said above you have 12 months to enter, from the date of approval. Got mine in feb 07 so i have until feb 08 to enter, my plane lands 21st jan. This is defenitley accurate as I also emailed NZ immigration about this as well. I also asked about age limits, you can enter the country up until your 32nd birthday (just before) if you time it right. I will be 31 when i enter and just a month beofre my 32nd birthday.

[Tony&Kat]

hey

You don't need a return ticket if you arrive on a whv from the uk. It will state "outward travel waived" or something like that. I have checked (emailed immigration) and I have only bought a one way ticket, you probably will have to show that you can afford a return ticket but you have to have so much funds in your account anyway to have the WHV, they check this at immigration or they might, most I have spoke to say they were not checked.

My WHV took all of 24 hours applied on line it's really easy and quick.

Once the visa is approved as said above you have 12 months to enter, from the date of approval. Got mine in feb 07 so i have until feb 08 to enter, my plane lands 21st jan. This is defenitley accurate as I also emailed NZ immigration about this as well. I also asked about age limits, you can enter the country up until your 32nd birthday (just before) if you time it right. I will be 31 when i enter and just a month beofre my 32nd birthday.

Wow, thanks - that makes me feel a lot more confident about the whole process - the immigration website can certainly be a bit vague at the best of times. Do you know if i would need a medical xray before leaving? MY girlfriend is also coming so i take it she would also need to do her own WHV. The plan is to try and apply for permanent residency after finding a job over there, i'll definately be doing a bit of exploring for a month or so first though!! You sound like your getting in there at just the right time before your 32nd birthday. If it didnt work out would i be able to go to Oz after the 2 years is up and then apply for another WHV for another to years in NZ?

[jewelsvani]

Wow, thanks - that makes me feel a lot more confident about the whole process - the immigration website can certainly be a bit vague at the best of times. Do you know if i would need a medical xray before leaving? MY girlfriend is also coming so i take it she would also need to do her own WHV. The plan is to try and apply for permanent residency after finding a job over there, i'll definately be doing a bit of exploring for a month or so first though!! You sound like your getting in there at just the right time before your 32nd birthday. If it didnt work out would i be able to go to Oz after the 2 years is up and then apply for another WHV for another to years in NZ?

You do not need a medical for a 12 month WHV but for a 24 month WHV yes you will need a medical. I only went for 12 month so I didn't need one. Your girlfriend will need her own WHV. You are only issued one WHV in your lifetime so if you apply for it and use it, you can not get another. This is also true of Aus. They also do 24 months now I believe but you have to do fruit picking then you can extend the 12 month visa, personally I wouldn't bother with fruit picking (leave bananas well alone really nasty stuff live in banana trees, huge spiders, rats etc.) I did fruit picking for a while and the pay was crap and I got stuck for a bit in Coffs Harbour but got out eventaully. In saying that I had a great time there.


There should be no reason why you couldn't do the WHV thing in NZ then get pr with job offer the tricky bit will be finding the job, this depends on your field of expertise.

personally if I were you I would do the whv in the country your not going to settle in first then the one you want to settle in second. In your case Aus first then NZ. you can however get pr in NZ then after 5 years get citizenship and enter aus as well as there is a special agreement between the countries.