Immigrating as a remote consultant

[rndude]

Hi

I work remotely as a consultant for a U.S. company from an E.U. state. I'd like to move to NZ without breaking this contract. I'm not sure if I can get a work visa and get the kids into primary school as well. Perhaps getting employed by an NZ umbrella company would allow me to pull this off. As far as I can tell, I can't set up an Ltd and employ myself.

Any advice is appreciated,
rndude

[JandM]

You're right that you can only get a work visa if you get a qualifying job offer from a NZ-based employer. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra.../requirements/ or http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...ce/default.htm There's no visa you can start with that would allow you *just* to be a freelance - the entrepreneur/business visas all require one to have a bigger enterprise that would create jobs.

[rndude]

So that indeed rules out the Ltd path. Can an umbrella company give a "qualified job offer" and are there such companies in NZ?

[JandM]

You can see from those links what the requirements are to qualify for a visa. The job has to be skilled, and you have to show that you have the qualifications and/or experience to do it. The employer would have to have a demonstrable need for someone with that skill-set. I don't know from anyone's experiences on the forum about umbrella companies in NZ, but a quick Google shows that they're out there. https://www.google.co.uk/#q=new+zeal...brella+company