Final Project

Final Project

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Interview with a New Zealand Resident!

This week I had the privilege of interviewing Terri Palmer, an American who emigrated to New Zealand 22 years ago, she also happens the be Kinsey Waylander’s aunt. She told me that the emigration process takes about three months and is very difficult; she had to fill out various forms with different pieces of background information and then she went to the Immigration Office. Once there, she said that there were a ton of people there in line and they had to wait for days. It took about three trips when all was said and done, but that is how she obtained her residence permit which grants all the normal rights of Kiwi’s except that she can’t be a member of Parliament. She also has a returning residency permit which allows her to come and go as she wishes. She said that the most difficult part of the process was leaving her family and moving all the way to the other side of the world, and knowing that she can’t hop in the car and go visit her family and friends. She informed me of some funny differences between the U.S. and N.Z., the main difference was that they drive on the opposite side of the road and the opposite side of the car, which was very difficult for her to adjust to. The culture is very different and it was a challenge for her to understand all of the peoples’ accents at first. She said that the light switches work the wrong way, the toilet actually does flush the opposite direction and that everyone in New Zealand eats with the fork in their LEFT hand, which is hard to do (I tried it), and Christmas is during their summer so they have Christmas on the beach! She lives in Auckland and one of her favorite thing is being so close to the water and all of the beautiful scenery.

It was amazing for me to be able to talk to someone who has actually made the move to New Zealand, everything she told me was very encouraging and I love learning about the culture and social customs of different countries. She was able to provide me with insight that would have been very difficult to obtain from reading a book or an article on the internet, and it was entertaining to hear how she adjusted to life in New Zealand.

Palmer, Terri. Telephone interview. 3 May. 2010.

"Emigrating to New Zealand"

My book Emigrating to New Zealand by Steve Horrell explained every aspect of relocating to New Zealand. It starts out with a basic overview of the country: history, geography, economy, climate, lifestyle, people and other vital information. Horrell then described the reasons to emigrate, they ranged from quality of life to taxation and then to politics. Once the reader has decided it is in their best interest to emigrate he next outlines the visa application process. He tells about the various types of jobs/visa options and then clarifies all the regulations on some of the paperwork that is required. Once the visa application has been accepted he moves onto the preparations before you leave, he has advice on selling you house, vehicles, insurance, credit cards and bank accounts. He then mentions how to transport pets to New Zealand and the items you will need with you when you first arrive and are waiting on the rest of your belongings. He provides insight into the process of buying a house, the education system, health care and insurance as well as cars and driving in New Zealand. He then describes more in depth generalization about the climate, entertainment, and lifestyle of New Zealand. Major cities and regions are outlined in detail to help the reader decide where in the country they want to live and he even included a handy section on ‘Kiwispeak’, New Zealand slang. In the Final Thoughts section Horrell said “What you may be asking yourself now is exactly how we feel after deciding to emigrate and making New Zealand our home. The simple answer is we have no regrets”.

This source was tremendously helpful, it described every possible aspect of the emigration process from deciding to go to getting settled. The visa application chapter was exceptionally helpful because of it’s specific nature. I loved how it was written as a recollection of his own experiences because it made it real and nothing fell through the cracks. The city/region outlines were highly detailed and helpful and the Kiwispeak was as informative as it was entertaining. If I were to actually emigrate to New Zealand this book would be indispensable to my journey.

My only negative about this book is that it was written for someone wanting to move from the UK to New Zealand. Luckily, all dollar amounts were listed in dollars as well as pounds so there was no discrepancy there. However, the driving section was a little vague, in New Zealand they drive on the left side of the road, like they do in England, so it was not described exactly how strange that was because the book was designed for people who are used to that. I would have liked to have heard what it was like to have to adjust to that, but other than that this was a great book that I would recommend anyone considering emigration to read.

Horrell, Steve. Emigrating to New Zealand. Oxford, UK: How To Books Ltd, 2006. Print.

Living in New Zealand

Michelle Waitzman’s book Living Abroad in New Zealand features a chapter entitled “Making the Move”, it outlines the different ways to obtain Residence Permits. Which are skilled migrant category, active investor category, entrepreneur category and family category, and it explains how to become a citizen. Waitzman says, “Be prepared for several months of work to gather everything you need for your residency application, and be patient”. The first category is the skilled migrant category, it evaluates the applications based on a point system which is derived from many different factors, including age (under 55), genre of work experience, qualifications, work opportunities, if the job is offered in places other than Auckland, if you have relatives residing New Zealand and if they can meet the necessary prerequisites. You begin by filling out an Expression of Interest form which is considered for around six months (to be considered you must have at least 100 points but 140 increases your chances) but the cut-off numbers are adjusted depending on a variety of circumstances. The fee for the Expression of Interest form is $300 online and $460 on paper. Once selected you will then fill out the piles of paperwork for the residency application consisting of medical, police and birth certificates. There will also be an interview either in person or via the phone and the final application fee is $1,400 (as of when this book was published) plus, if accepted, a $300 charge per person. If accepted you will receive a permanent residency visa and a returning resident visa, which allows you to come back into the country and expires in two years. The active investor category in split into three sub-sets: global investor (invest at least $20 million and must reside in the country 20% of the year), professional investor ($10 million and must be in the country 30% of the year) and general investors ($2.5 million with 40% of the year spent in New Zealand). The general investor age limit is 54, the professional investor is 64 and global investors have no limit. The entrepreneur category is for those who have primarily been operating under a long term business visa for a minimum of two years. You must own 25% of the business and will be examined on your experience and you must be doing the same thing that your business visa was granted for. The family category is if you have permanent residents or citizens of New Zealand as relatives however the number of these they take each year is based on a government quota and sometimes none are available. The relative must be in a financial position to take responsibility for you and they must have been a resident for three years. The relative must be a parent or an adult child, grandchild, brother or sister. To request citizenship you have to have been a resident for five years and have been present in the country for 240 days of each year. They do not require that you give up your original citizenship, but your original country may require you to do so (the U.S. does not).

This chapter was tremendously helpful about residency, however it was quite vague on citizenship. I wish it had gone into more detail on that but everything else was well organized and relevant to my topic and will be a great asset for my project. I find it very entertaining to learn about the similarities and differences between the two processes.


Waitzman, Michelle. “Making the Move.” Living Abroad in New Zealand. 1st ed. Berkeley, CA: Avalon Travel, 2008. 87-90.  Print.

House Hunters International

This episode of House Hunters International featured a man, named Ira Leifer, searching for a large country home in the French countryside. His real estate agent Matthew Barry showed him two country houses and one town house. They showed the various, gorgeous aspects of each house and weighed the pros and cons. Although Ira had his heart set on a country home, he ended up choosing my favorite house, the house in the city. He said “I’m excited about leaving the United States, I’ll miss my friends, I’ll miss my family, obviously but this is a new beginning for me”, and I enjoyed watching him reach his dream.

I enjoyed this episode immensely because I’ve always loved the look of the wonderful old French homes. I wish he had been looking for a small apartment in the city, because that is what I would want if I were to move to France, but it was still informative about the house buying process in France. And the fact that he was looking for such a large house made it a bit difficult to see what it would be like for myself, because we are looking for such different things. But it did give me a taste for what houses in France consist of and provide a general understanding of what they are.


"House Hunters International." HGTV.com. Scripts Networks, 2010. Web. 15 Apr 2010. .
link to video:
http://www.hgtv.com/videos/falling-in-love-with-france/41869.html

Emigrating to New Zealand!

   This Chapter “Making the Move” from the book Living Abroad in New Zealand by Michelle Waitzman, talks about all the various visas you can apply for.  They include, student visas, working holiday visas, work visas and long term business visas.  Student visas are required if you are going to reside in the country for more than three months.  You must pass a health and character test (no criminal record), prove you’ve been accepted by a school and prove you have enough money to support yourself (typically $10,000 per year).  Each student visa only lasts a year, so it must be renewed annually.  Also, you are only allowed to work part-time (20 hours max) while in the country, and must prove that you will have valid medical insurance while you’re there. Once approved you must attend classes and receive passing grades.  Working holiday visas are granted to people who are going to do temporary work, NOT permanent jobs.  It is required that you have $4,200 for the trip and you can only do it once.  You also must register with the Inland Revenue Department to set up your income tax.  You cannot bring children and your passport must be valid for an additional three months after you plan to depart from the country.  Work visas are the most common, but you must have an employment offer for at least six months and not all job offers will make you eligible to live in New Zealand, it depends on what sorts of jobs they need at the time.  The types of jobs that are included are the ones listed on the Long Term Skills Shortage list, which is online and always up to date, if the employer is accredited to hire workers from overseas or if you have a skill in the arts (sports or acting ect.)  The long term business visa allows you to start your own business in New Zealand.  You must have a good business plan, along with the health and character requirements just to receive a nine month work permit.  During those nine months you will set up your business, so that you can apply for the long term business visa.  To apply you have to have proof of your business, audited accounts, GST records and other documents from your business.
               
This book was REALLY helpful because it described in detail the numerous different ways to enter the country.  I enjoyed reading it and having this more in depth look at what it takes to emigrate will be essential for when I make my decision between New Zealand and France, and it was encouraging when she said “the New Zealand Immigration Service would rather bring you in than keep you out”.  After reading this chapter I feel as though I am much more informed and that this information will help me very much, not only for this project but also later in life.

Waitzman, Michelle. “Making the Move.” Living Abroad in New Zealand. 1st ed. Berkeley, CA: Avalon Travel, 2008. 82-87.  Print.

Basic New Zealand emigration rules

This video was made by the Migration Bureau, a company that helps people migrate. He split the process into four steps: immigration assessment, residence visa processing, job search, and settlement. You fill out an immigration assessment for them to see and decide if you have a good enough chance for them to take your case, and if you do they will explain the process more in depth. He said that “At that stage you’re not committed, and it’s confidential and you and your family can decide whether or not you proceed with the application process”. For step two you are assigned a consultant to help explain and go through the visa process with you. The process is basically get your qualifications and paperwork in order, like the residence applications, all together there could be 200 different forms and documentation. The company will then send the applications to the New Zealand Immigration Service for you, then you will have medical, police and character checks. Once approved they have placement companies that will help you with step three, job placement. In step four they help you set up everything from bank accounts to flights to shipping your belonging to New Zealand. The Migration Bureau is a full service agency that is there every step of the way.

This was a decent source, it didn’t go into detail because it assumed you would be using their company and they could explain everything to you once you contact them. It didn’t really provide information about how to do it on your own so the application process wasn’t outlined well. However, it was able to convey a sense of difficulty in emigrating to New Zealand, it made it very clear that there were many forms and processes required to complete the entire undertaking.
Link to Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Nh08HJwWw

"Migration Bureau - how to emigrate ." Web. 8 Apr 2010.
.