Residency advice

[Squire29]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a bit of advice before I submit my EOI for PR.

I've been living & working in NZ for almost three years now & instead of getting another work visa, I've decided that I'd like to give give residency a go.

I'm unsure however of a couple of things:

My job is contract based & has been since I started in April 2014, not permanent - will this affect my chances of being successful? My current work visa expires at the end of April 2015. My current contract is until July 2015.

Also, has anyone used an immigration advisor? Are the worth the cost or should I go through the process by myself.

Thanks a mill!

[JandM]

Hello.

See here, http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/30549.htm, at SM7.15 b iii, for the situation when your employment is through contracts. If the job is likely to be ongoing, and the boss will say so, you should be all right.

It's perfectly possible, if your case is straightforward, to put through an application for yourself, working from the information on the INZ website, and their operational manual (this section http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/6954.htm has all the regulations in find detail about the points you can claim). If you get stuck, there are plenty of people on the forum who have gone through this before you who will share experience. LIAs can of course be reassuring, with all their experience of seeing various kinds of application go through, but they can't take the whole burden of finding your evidence off your shoulders - that is still all to be done even when you pay to have them put your application together. It costs, to be shepherded through the process, which some people prefer to do, while others prefer not to spend out.

[Squire29]

Thanks for that! Yeah I saw that alright on immigration. The issue is that it's all very uncertain & I really don't know whether my contract will be extended again past July. I am in the process of trying to find another job but still keen to get the residency application started - I'm just not sure if it will be a waste of time & money?!

[JandM]

Were your previous contracts with the same boss?