Hi folks,
I'm looking for a little advice. I've been planning a move to New Zealand for a while, and I'm finally ready to go. I'm hoping you might be able to help me with what might be my best path. So first, a little about my situation:
I'm 33 years old.
I'm born and bred in the UK (Northern Ireland, so I could also get an Irish passport if that'd matter) and a native English speaker.
I have an undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of Nottingham (on the list of approved institutions) gained about 10 years ago, but I've never worked in that field.
I have a Masters in Information Management from the Robert Gordon University, which is also on the approved list, gained July 2010. This qualifies me as a professional librarian (a skilled category job), which is the field I've been working in, doing professional or semi-professional work for perhaps 5 years, leading up to February 2011. This is the area (or corporate information management, which I'd actually prefer but don't have any experience of as yet) that I'd like to work in.
Since then I've been working as an admissions officer.
I don't have any criminal convictions or any other barriers to me going, that I know of.
I'm single, no dependents.
All this added up to 95 points, when i was looking at the expression of interest calculator, which is shy of what I'd need, I think. So it seems to me that I need to get whatever VISA i can to get over there, and look for work out there, but from what information I can find, it doesn't seem like there's any way to do that.
So the advice I'm looking for is really, what would be my best path to getting to live and work in New Zealand, medium to long term? I have friends in Christchurch, and I know the place is a bit of a mess at the moment after the earthquakes, but that's where I'd like to go if that has any impact, but I'm not picky!
Many many thanks in advance for the help, if I can provide any more information please don't hesitate to let me know!