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Thread: Work visa to self-employed

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Vermont, USA --> Wellington
    Posts
    159

    Default Work visa to self-employed

    I'm here on a work visa for a specific employer. If I want to leave my job to become a self-employed contractor, how do I do that? According to the immigration website, I need to demonstrate a $500,000 investment in my company. Is that right?

    My field is on the absolute skills shortage list, and I have 220 points on my EOI, if that helps.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    The EOI is part of applying for Residence under the Skilled Migrant Category, which is ONLY for those who are going to be employed. If you intend to go directly for being self-employed, that route is irrelevant to you, and you'll need to look at another category of visa entirely, for instance, this http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...eneurworkvisa/ or the investment one. On the other hand, if you were to go for Residence under SMC, based on your points and current employment, once you become a Resident, you could choose to start being self-employed without all those particular formalities.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Vermont, USA --> Wellington
    Posts
    159

    Default

    The guy at INZ said it would be 9 MONTHS (?!?!?!) to process my residency application. That can't be right?!

    Until then, I can't leave my employer if I want to continue to be here lawfully.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

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    Yes, it can be right. Here's the Wellington branch processing times page, showing how things have been running lately. It's not your ONE visa that would take that long. Your application would join the queue at the back, and have to work its way through the system. How the system is running depends on how many applications have recently been and are still being received, that will be running just in front of and along with yours.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    37,824

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    The person on this thread http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41511 found out that they could have a variation of conditions on their work visa to allow them to be employed by two employers at once, so it might be worth asking INZ to see if you could get clearance to work for yourself part-time, if that interested you.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Whangaparaoa
    Posts
    472

    Default

    Yes, 9 months is the in country processing time for residence at the moment.

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