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Thread: applying for PR after being granted a work visa??

  1. #1
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    Default applying for PR after being granted a work visa??

    I have a few doubts about some things, hope someone can help me out.

    I´ve read in the NZIS that after 2 years of being in NZ on a work visa one is able to apply for PR...is that really so? do I really have to wait 2 years?

    I have a job offer and was thinking of applying for a regular work permit (so I can be in NZ faster) and after say 2-3 months apply for PR (I meet criteria, 165 points)....Is this "do-able"?? Does PR take longer if one is already in NZ??

  2. #2
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    You apply after two years if you are on a two year WTR (work to residency) visa under the talent stream.

    I'm assuming you are talking about a GWV (general work visa), in which case this offers no option for residency but as far as I know you can apply for residency at any time regardless of what type of visa you are on if you have enough points. Providing you are legally in the country that is

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Papias View Post
    I have a few doubts about some things, hope someone can help me out.

    I´ve read in the NZIS that after 2 years of being in NZ on a work visa one is able to apply for PR...is that really so? do I really have to wait 2 years?

    I have a job offer and was thinking of applying for a regular work permit (so I can be in NZ faster) and after say 2-3 months apply for PR (I meet criteria, 165 points)....Is this "do-able"?? Does PR take longer if one is already in NZ??
    If you have been in NZ for 2 years then yes you can apply for PR.

    If you have enough points to submit your EOI then you can also do that at any time i.e. you do not need to wait the 2 years.

    I can't say if there is any definitive information regarding speed of processing, but can say that I am confident that we would have been granted our PR from the UK much quicker than it took from within NZ.

    I assume that you are just going to get a short work permit so you don't also need to do medicals. If you are planning on doing medicals then waiting 2-3 months before applying for your EOI will almost certainly mean that you will need to re-do the medicals again.

    Ian

  4. #4
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    Thankyou for the answers....I´ll tell a bit more...

    I´m a midwife (listed in the long term shortage list....) and am currently sending all my documents to the Midiwfery council....and I already have a job offer pending succesful certification from the council. I´m travelling with OH and our son (21 months old)....

    We are very interested in getting PR, I will be the main applicant and OH will be getting Masters and PhD studies (so we need the PR to pay domestic fees!!! on the Masters at least...). But we are also intrested in getting there as soon as posible so OH can take an Academic English Course before starting his studies in 2010, that is why I thought about the option of applying for residency while already working in NZ (say on a 1 year work visa?).......I think we could apply for PR immediatly upon arrival... (or a month later)....

    Where can I find "official" information on this??

    thanks!!

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Papias View Post
    ...
    Where can I find "official" information on this??

    thanks!!
    You would need to talk to NZIS if you want something official.

    I know of friends who arrived on 12 month work permit so that they didn't need to do the medicals and then applied for PR just after they arrived without any problems.

    We arrived on a WTR and applied in the first year for PR as well, so your 'plans' are definitely an option.

    There is definitely nothing stopping you applying for a PR at any time as long as you have sufficient points.

    Personally I would apply for PR as soon as possible and if it isn't soon enough then ask NZIS to issue a work permit whilst you wait (hopefully they would just push your PR through more quickly).

    Just a reminder if you don't know, but if your work permit isn't for 2 years or more then you won't be covered by healthcare.

    Ian

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanW99 View Post
    ...
    I know of friends who arrived on 12 month work permit so that they didn't need to do the medicals and then applied for PR just after they arrived without any problems.

    We arrived on a WTR and applied in the first year for PR as well, so your 'plans' are definitely an option.
    Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a question for Ian. So, your friends did not have to the medicals at all OR you meant to say that they did not have to do the medicals for the 12 month work permit, but later they had to do it while going through the PR process?

    Did you have to do the medicals before you got your WTR? What about after you arrived to NZ and while going through the PR process? Did they ask for new medicals? Thanks.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by np2nz View Post
    Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a question for Ian. So, your friends did not have to the medicals at all OR you meant to say that they did not have to do the medicals for the 12 month work permit, but later they had to do it while going through the PR process?

    Did you have to do the medicals before you got your WTR? What about after you arrived to NZ and while going through the PR process? Did they ask for new medicals? Thanks.
    They didn't need the medicals for the 12 month work permit, they of course needed medicals when they submitted their ITA.

    For us, yes we did medicals in the UK for the WTR and then again in NZ for the PR and yes they did ask for new medicals as we didn't apply for PR straight away.

    Ian

  8. #8
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    we arrived in NZ and hubbie got a 2yr work permit (within 2 weeks) from Hamilton office - he had his medicals done here for it and we had police certificates etc ready and with us.

    we then applied for PR for all of us (the rest of us had our medicals done, hubbies was still valid)

    we were selected immediately and got our ITA within a few weeks of that.

    we've sent it back and been assigned a case officer but don't know now how long the actual PR will take to go through.

    hope this helps

  9. #9
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    Thanks Ian and vixxann.

  10. #10
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    Hi,

    I obtained a WTR visa and then immediately applied for my PR before I left the UK (was already selected from the pool as I'd submitted EOI based on the job offer I had) reusing the same medicals BEFORE they expired. The extra costs were therefore:

    1) Cost of WTR visa which was 95GBP I believe
    2) Second lot of postage/delivery of material which was mainly the same as for WTR anyway in my case.

    The WTR got processed faster than the expected timeline for the PR application so I was out in NZ faster. That meant a bit less stress at an already less stressful time. London passed my paperwork to NZ for the purposes of the blue stickers after approval there, and it all went fine.

    Kate

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