Frequently Asked Questions: NZ Immigration & Our Services

• Will I be supported by a Licensed Immigration Adviser?
• How will using New Life New Zealand help me? 
• Do you only do work visas?  What about family, business or other visas?
• How can I work with you when you're in New Zealand and I'm not?
• All the prices on your website are in British pounds.  Do you work with clients from other countries?
• How are you different from other immigration or recruitment agencies?
• I know I'm eligible to migrate so why should I do an eligibility assessment?
• My job isn't on a skill shortage list – does that mean I can't migrate?
• How much are your fees? Do I have to pay everything upfront?
• Why do you charge a sign on fee on your full service?
• What happens if my visa application fails?
• How long does the whole Immigration process take?
• Do you guarantee me a job?
• Do I have to apply for jobs through your website only?
• If I find a job myself do I still have to pay your Visa/permit fees?
• Will you arrange interviews for me?
• Do I have to come to New Zealand for an interview?
• What is an Economic Development Agency and why are they important?

Will I be supported by a Licensed Immigration Adviser?

Yes, your Immigration Adviser will be licensed by the New Zealand Immigration Adviser's Authority, as required by law.

In order to qualify for a licence, our advisors have had to go through a rigorous process examining their knowledge and understanding of Immigration law and policy, and have had to submit actual case files so the Immigration Adviser's Authority can examine the quality and accuracy of her advice and communications with clients. 

In addition, the Immigration Adviser's Authority has scrutinised the company's contracts and financial management to verify that you will be dealt with ethically, fairly and honestly as our client.  This is your guarantee of quality and security.

How will using New Life New Zealand help me? 

We will provide you with two incredibly valuable benefits – peace of mind with a guaranteed successful visa application, and on the spot assistance here in New Zealand.

The sad reality is that up to 1 in 3 people who apply for a visa are declined. Most are not declined because they are not eligible, but rather because they misinterpreted the requirements, didn't represent themselves properly and said the wrong things in their application.

We like to think of it as being like a court case: you know you are innocent, but would you go to court without a lawyer? It's not so much a question of eligibility as knowing the system. If you do it yourself and get it wrong you don't get your money back.

If you use our full service and we get it wrong you get the whole lot back including your Immigration fees. You can have a guarantee of confidence working with a Licensed Immigration Adviser.

Second, if any part of your visa application requires liaison and contact with people in New Zealand (such as employers) then it will really help you for them to have a point of contact who is physically in New Zealand and available during New Zealand business hours as that removes a lot of psychological and physical barriers for them.

Do you only do work visas?  What about family, business or other visas?

Our Immigration Manager Catherine Neazor Brady has a full licence enabling her to advise clients in all areas and for all visa types. 

This includes Family visa applications for parents, siblings children and partners of New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, Long Term Business Visa applications for people wanting to set up or buy a business in New Zealand and Investor applications for people with enough capital to migrate to New Zealand as an investor and who do not necessarily want to work full time once here.

By choice we refer refugee applications to specialists.

How can I work with you when you're in New Zealand and I'm not?

We work successfully with clients in different countries and time zones all around the world. 

Remember that our location in New Zealand is your biggest advantage in dealing with employers if your visa is dependent on a job offer, as it gives them a local point of contact they can talk to during business hours.

You can also rely on the local expertise of our business planning expert if making a Long Term Business Visa application.  We are easily contactable by email, phone and Skype (time differences permitting), and will get you to scan documents across to us for us to check before getting you to send anything physically. 

For callers based in the UK there is the added convenience of a freephone number to call us.  If there are particularly important issues that need to be worked through over the phone as a case progresses it is not unknown for a Licensed Immigration Adviser to call clients from home in the evenings or weekends to work around time differences. 

All the prices on your website are in British pounds.  Do you work with clients from other countries?

We work with clients from other countries all around the world, however historically the majority of our clients have been British.  Apart from the Eligibility Assessment fee which is paid online in British pounds, clients in other countries will receive contracts and invoices with fees in NZ dollars.

How are you different from other immigration or recruitment agencies?

We are different from other agencies because we have looked at all the issues faced by migrants and employers, and by linking up with some key partners have come up with a system that removes the barriers.

Other agencies will refer you to recruitment people or immigration consultants outside of their organisation (depending on their specialities) and this can lead to a breakdown in communication. We provide a “one stop shop” service so have control over the whole process. Also:

• All employers on our site are willing to employ people from overseas who come through us
• All of our job vacancies are current and updated regularly
• We are there to help you and the employer through the whole process
• We can get around the catch 22 scenario of "Can't get a visa without a job/ Can't get job without a visa"

Our qualified and experienced recruitment specialist/Licensed Immigration Adviser team works to bridge the gap between employers and skilled migrants. Most people are moving to New Zealand for a better lifestyle so we are also addressing the issue of settlement for you and your family to ensure that you adjust to your new life as quickly as possible and can help set up a support network for you to tap into after you have arrived in New Zealand. 

I know I'm eligible to migrate so why should I do an eligibility assessment?

If you feel confident you're eligible to migrate to new Zealand chances are you looked at the Immigration New Zealand website, you may have even completed the points indicator for the Skilled Migrant Category, which is good but it doesn't tell you the whole story.

The points indicator only covers the Skilled Migrant Route. It also doesn't explain what a "Recognised qualification" is, what a "Skilled" offer of employment is and it doesn't look at health issues, character issues, rights to schooling and healthcare for family members etc.

Just the other day we were contacted by someone who had given themselves 155 points on the Immigration New Zealand website calculator and submitted an Expression of Interest.  Immigration New Zealand evaluated them as having only 80 points when they looked at the facts...

If you are looking to invest in a new life in New Zealand we think it make sense to start off on the right foot and know exactly what you're up for. 

You could take our Free Preliminary Assessment as a first step, or go straight to the Full Visa Eligibility Assessment which will give you a written report containing a full analysis of your visa options, a recommendation of the best visa type(s) to apply for, an evaluation of your job prospects includes a ½ hour consultation with a Licensed Immigration Adviser.

If you aren't currently eligible to apply for a New Zealand Visa but could be, the Full Visa Eligibility Assessment report will also identify what you may need to put in place to improve your chances.

My job isn't on a skill shortage list – does that mean I can't migrate?

There are common misconceptions about the Skill Shortage Lists.  The Long Term Skills Shortage List (or LTSSL) contains the occupations that Immigration New Zealand considers will be in long term demand.

If your occupation is on the Long Term Skills Shortage List your qualifications and/or work experience must exactly meet the requirements for you to benefit from that.  So must your job offer. 

Meeting LTSSL requirements can open up a special type of Work to Residence application and give bonus points for a Skilled Migrant application, but you DON'T have to be on the LTSSL to be able to come in to New Zealand as a Skilled Migrant. 

You do need to have skilled work experience and/or qualifications that match up to Immigration requirements and may need to have a skilled offer of employment to gain enough points to qualify as a Skilled Migrant.

If your job is on the Immediate Skills Shortage List (or ISSL) and you exactly meet the requirements it will allow an employer to sponsor you for a Temporary Work Visa without proving there are no New Zealanders available to hire or train for the job.  Meeting the ISSL will not allow you to apply for permanent residence.

How much are your fees? Do I have to pay everything upfront?

We are very transparent about our fees and we tell you exactly what it's going to cost you before you sign up so there are no surprises.  If you engage our services from overseas you are exempt from paying VAT of GST which is already a huge saving. You don't have to pay the whole amount upfront, a service retainer will get the ball rolling with further payments due according to the progress of your application.

Why do you charge a sign on fee on your full service?

We charge a sign on fee so that we can start working with you to fully prepare you for moving to New Zealand and to make you more appealing to potential employers in New Zealand if you need a job offer.

Employers here have clearly told us that they really want to know people they are hiring from overseas will be well prepared and that their visa applications will go through smoothly and quickly once a job has been offered.

Once you have paid the sign on fee you will have access to a Licensed Immigration Adviser to prepare your application up until the point of getting a job offer. You will also receive a package of books and DVDs that will help prepare you for the move to New Zealand including a fantastic practical manual with hundreds of pages of information on the practical aspects of living here which you cannot buy in the shops.

We will get you ready to make the move so that when a job is offered we will be able to submit your visa application quickly, and the process of making your visa application and moving can happen as easily as possible. The more prepared you are the more successful the move will be, and staged payments as your application is prepared and lodge smoothes out the payments and makes the financial side of migrating that much easier.

What happens if my visa application fails?

We guarantee that if your application fails due to any errors or omissions on our part we will refund you our fees and your Immigration New Zealand application fees.  Having said that, we limit client numbers to offer a high standard of service, and have a 100% success rate on visa applications.

How long does the whole Immigration process take?

Every application is different and it depends ultimately on the workload at Immigration New Zealand but generally the whole process from Eligibility Assessment to arrival in New Zealand and permanent residency is about 6-8 months plus for the Skilled Migrant Category, and 1-2 years for the Family Category depending on the type of application. 

Business Visa applicants could expect to be in New Zealand running their business within 6-12 months of starting the process with us.  Visa processing times are often different depending on the branch where your application is lodged, and we will need to lodge it at the assigned branch for your physical location or visa type.

Do you guarantee me a job?

We have networks with recruiters, employers and Economic Development Agencies across New Zealand and have our own dedicated in-house Recruitment Specialist. As a full service client, once your visa documents are ready we will transform your CV into a New Zealand format, and include information on there to say that you have been assessed as eligible to migrate by a Licensed Immigration Adviser who will be handling your visa application, and helping the employer with any visa formalities required on their side. 

We will also provide our local contact details on the CV, and can contact employers to support your job applications.  We have had feedback from many candidates that this is a powerful approach to job search that has hugely increased interest from employers, for example someone who made over 100 unsuccessful applications before signing up with us (often without even a response) who started getting employer interest and interviews once they were applying our CV. We cannot guarantee you a job, but we can dramatically improve your chances of success!

Do I have to apply for jobs through your website only?

All of the vacancies listed on our website are from employers who are genuinely willing to hire overseas applicants and have been screened by a Licensed Immigration Adviser to meet Immigration requirements.  However we can and do support full service clients applying for jobs through any number of avenues including recruitment agencies and other job vacancy websites.  When you sign up for our full service, a Licensed Immigration Adviser will be able to screen jobs you are interested in applying for to make sure they comply with Immigration requirements, and can contact prospective employers to discuss your visa eligibility.

If I find a job myself do I still have to pay your Visa/permit fees?

When you are using our service you are paying us to assist with your visa application and help you make the move to New Zealand. We are providing with the assistance with your job search free of charge as a complementary service, so our fee will still be payable to lodge your visa application, even if you have secured the job yourself.

Will you arrange interviews for me?

If an employer is interested in your profile then obviously the next step is for you and the employer to make contact. We will facilitate this and will arrange phone, video or face to face interviews. We can prepare you for the interview and assist in any way you require.

Do I have to come to New Zealand for an interview?

The first step is usually a telephone interview which we will organise. If an employer is really interested then they may ask to meet with you for a face to face interview. Many employers will insist on this before they employ you, particularly in the current economic environment. Remember that future employers will be aware that you are travelling across the world for an interview which shows real commitment!

What is an Economic Development Agency and why are they important?

There are 62 Economic Development Agencies throughout New Zealand. One aspect of what they do is to ensure the growth of their region and this includes helping employers to fulfil their staffing requirements, and increasingly to attract new businesses and investment to their regions. We work very closely with these agencies throughout New Zealand.

They are our gateway to employers throughout New Zealand, and one of the ways in which we can ensure you have access to opportunities right across the country without being limited by geographic locations.  We have assisted people to migrate to destinations all around the country from Northland down to Invercargill through these links.

Move to NZ the easy way -- with full support.