So... A little background. I met someone that I really like, and we decided that I should somehow come live in NZ ... I really want to. Not just because of this lovely person that I've been with, but I have always wanted to get away from denmark and move to an english speaking country. NZ, UK and Canada was on my list(australia tries to kill you and USA has messed up government/politics).
After getting to know my LDR partner and having been introduced to NZ culture and pop culture and all that, I am simply in love. I wanna move to NZ no matter what it takes :)
Now.. As for my current situation... It's complicated. I need help with this, so please stick with me here. I have have considered the many various roads to take. Silver fern, work holiday, work visa, residence visa, studying....
At first I was leaning towards silver fern, but then I investigated a bit and.. things might not be that simple. I hold a degree that we refer to as "professional bachelors". It's Professional Bachelor of Web Development to be exact ... They are not university studies. You gain them in profession-oriented academies. However they are nationally regarded as the same level as normal bachelors(even though personally I do not think they are). In any case. I have seen many threads about such 'dodgy' degrees that are there but not quite there. And usually the forumite replies later saying "Boo it was only accepted as level 6 :(" or lower even. I am not holding any high hopes that this one would be accepted as level 7 equivalent(because it really isnt). Scratch the surface, and you find that the education is unfocused and too "easy" in a way. I have both good and terrible grades though, which is annoying. Because I devised a perfect plan. That doesn't need the silver fern visa. I am currently employed as a web developer. I probably have a little over a year's worth of work experience with web development from jobs and internships.(Do internships count as work experience btw?).
Anyway. My plan is simple. I would like to apply at a university in NZ for a level 7 diploma or certificate of one year. I can work and save up just enough that I can afford that year and whatever costs that comes with it. So it's perfect. However in this regard, I would like to know... How hard is it get into university in NZ when you dont have a particularly good school record(i foolishly jumped directly to the professional bachelor before I finished high school equivalent. Meaning I have a degree in a higher education but no high school diploma). And the bad grades stem mostly from the fact that all exams were oral, and I had presentation anxiety. You can imagine all of them with me standing there, stuttering out all my words while forgetting half of them. I know I hold the knowledge and intelligence to complete a diploma of level 7. No problem there, but I have to convince the university of this. And if anyone has any advice regarding that, I would be extremely grateful :)
oh... So lets assume that I got into university and complete that one year diploma(my preference is Computer and Information Sciences). This degree would be within the skilled migrant category in immigration as well, right?
Then I saw that people who successfully complete a degree or certificate in NZ can gain the work after study visa which seems to work much like the Silver fern visa. Would my plan so far grant me this visa?
Anyway, so based on this visa, I find a job, work and then extend it to 2 years(i can do that, right?).
So I have worked for about 2 years in NZ doing ICT stuff, which is conveniently in the skilled migrant category :)
My next step is to gain a Masters degree(I always wanted one) ... Only now I have both my dodgy web development degree of 3½ years. the certificate in Computer and Information Sciences and i have basically 3+ years of work experience. My thought is that surely that would be enough to gain access to a masters degree... And if not, I will simply do a one or half year certificate that will prepare me for one :) No problem there as I have saved up for 2 years due to the study work visa. It is also convenient that the danish government will pay a lot of my tuition fee.
So assuming I complete the masters degree... Would it be possible to do the study to work visa twice? I have seen nothing that indicates that you cant... cos if so, then I would totally do it. The rest would be history as All this combined would surely give me the 140 points that I need... maybe.
In any case... Thank you SO much for sticking all the way through. And I have a question to all of you experience immigrants and immigration-know-it-alls: Is this plan way too farfetched? Is my dream to be accepted in to a proper university, or nay.. even an institute, too farfetched? What would your general experience tell you? Or gut...
Any answers are appreciated... even if they burst my bubble and break my dreams ._. (an leave me whimpering for weeks)