I would welcome some advice (and hopefully some personal experiences) on how to tackle our move to New Zealand, as I feel that I am in a world of confusion and uncertainty right now.
Current dates: arrive in Auckland from the UK in two weeks' time, with return flights to the UK booked
Key point: ideally, I don’t want to return unless it’s to pack up our home in a couple of months. However, our trip was originally booked as ‘fact finding’ & family visit.
Employment:
• Applied for job in preferred industry; interviews and assessments done but I am still waiting to hear. The hiring manager was out of the office was out of the office until last week
• Still in the same industry, I have applied for a role with another company. The closing date is today so let’s see if I even make it through the initial selection…
• Have been offered a role with a UK-based company looking to establish themselves in NZ. Part of the role would entail assisting them with developing their UK product, which I can do remotely. However, the remuneration element has so far only been mentioned in passing – shares, equity, salary, commission…all ideas but no actual figures. I have a meeting with an Auckland-based employee (who oversees their quality control remotely – long story) arranged for when I am NZ. This is not in my preferred industry but potentially (!!!) an interim source of income while I continue to apply for jobs in my area of choice. This company is VERY keen to have me on board
• Minor detail – today is effectively the last day for me to hand in my notice in the UK
Visa:
• Work Partner Visa submitted on 19th December, over two weeks past the deadline that I had set. In view of the above, I applied for the ‘up to 12 months option’ in order to remove the need for a medical (for now!). No movement so at this stage, I can’t work in NZ anyway
• Our plan is for me to get the above in order to get my employment in place (or to be able to accept any possible offers) and then go straight into residency within a couple of months
I have been married to a Kiwi for almost 4 years, and we have been living together for almost 6 years so in principle Visa shouldn’t be an issue. In principle…
Should all go well with the ‘waiting to hear’ job and the Visa, our plan is for me to accept it and to start working as soon as possible whilst living with my husbands’ parents – they are very happy with this, by the way. My husband would need to wrap up his job in the UK and I’d then come back in a couple of months or so to pack up our home for shipping – we are to some degree comfortable with the idea of having to be apart for a short(ish) period of time.
Concerns about coming back to the UK – the difficulty of trying to find employment remotely; I am under the impression that being in Auckland would considerably improve my chances.
Concern about staying in NZ – the Visa which of course depends on what happens over the next few weeks, and the fact that it is still to be seen whether the offer from the UK company will prove to be a feasible source of income (even if by no means in the same salary-range as my 1st choice).
This is possibly the highest level of uncertainty that I’ve ever experienced in my life, which is quite remarkable considering that I've moved countries & continents three times!
Thank you in advance and have a great day :-)