BritishExpat New Zealand - British Expat Forum

Posted: Sat 9 Jan 2010 16:00 GMT Post subject: Just wanted to say Hi!!!

I am new on here and just wanted to introduce myself.
We have been thinking about moving for some time and started getting paperwork sorted in 2007.
Then I had second thoughts, I have a horse and couldnt bare to part with him and was told I would be better off not taking him with me. So I put the breaks on and so wish I hadnt.
So here we are again, only a little step closer to moving as we have just sent paperwork off.
So we are sitting here looking out the window at the snow that we have had for nearly 3 weeks now and could really do with some sunshine, wondering what it will be like to have a hot christmas again. Its been some time since we had Christmas in Australia with my sister. She has been there for many years.

We will keep you posted on how things are going, and would love to here from anyone who has some words of wisdom...........

Posted: Sat 9 Jan 2010 17:44 GMT Post subject:

Hi MadMare (funny name!)

Welcome and thanks for introducing yourself. I hope you'll make some new friends and find the info you seek on here.

Best of luck!

Kay Smile

Posted: Sat 9 Jan 2010 19:46 GMT Post subject:

Hi MadMare!

Welcome to the forums Very Happy

Good luck with your application - I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

It is very important to the whole process that you are both happy with it - it is stressful enough without you having even more doubts (some doubts are to be expected as you are making a major leap into the unknown!) - so it was probably a good thing that you didn't keep going with the application in 2007 if you weren't sure about it.

What sort of points levels are you at with your EOI?

Also - quick check - you say that you are using an agent - have you made sure that they are formally registered with the NZ Immigration Service? A new law was passed last year regarding agency and advisers, and if your application is submitted from an unregistered agent, it will be rejected out of hand.

Best wishes,
Jo

Posted: Sun 10 Jan 2010 08:00 GMT Post subject:

Thanks for your reply. Yes we were kept informed with the new legislation and they are registered agents.

With my qualifications and experience I think my points were 120. Our agents guarantee we get in or we get a refund on their fees, although nothing is every guaranteed.

What was the time scale from you lodging your application to being accepted. I have been reading some of the older posts and I am feeling quite excited now.
I applied to migrate to Australia many years ago when my sister first move and it was almost a year and it is quite daunting waiting for such a long time by form what I have heard NZ is quite different.

How long have you been in Wellington now, have you lived anywhere else.
Thanks Again
Dionne

Posted: Sun 10 Jan 2010 09:03 GMT Post subject:

Phew

We lodged our application at the beginning of December 2008 - I was very lucky, as we have a points total of 115, and got pulled out of the next draw, and that was then the last time for about 8 months that it went down to 115! We submitted the ITA in April 09, and I got an email from our case officer at the end of June asking for a phone interview. The day after the interview, we learned we had PR Very Happy

So pretty much 7 months all told - which I know is very quick! We were very lucky in that the job that I was doing matched a job in the LTSSL, and we did a heck of a lot of research (on a number of forums, going to trade shows, having a holiday, talking to family out here etc etc etc), so I was able to convince the Case officer that we would make a good go of it and not just turn back at the first hurdle!

The timescales from application submission to being given a case officer are given on the INZ London pages, as it does vary from month to month depending on the pile of submissions that they have waiting:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/branch/londonbranchhome/tipsandprocessingtimes/skilledmigrantprocessingtimes.htm
They seem to be quite long at the moment

INZ London wrote:As an example, for the week ending 04 December 2009 we are allocating applications submitted up to and including 07 August 2009.

almost the full four months...

We've only been here in Welly since the beginning of November 09, though honestly I can say that it feels like so much longer- we feel so at home here Very Happy

Hi Dionne
I feel so excited for you! Was just wondering how you've resolved the horse situation? I am in a similar boat to you, both my husband and I own horses, we love them so much, but a) can't afford to take them with us and b) like you, I've also been told it would be unfair to put them through the stress of such a journey. It's a real difficult one isn't it. The dog isn't such a problem because for him it will be just be 24 hours in a crate and the main stress will be not being able to have a wee for that length of time, but I know he'll manage ok. The horses, what with quarantine etc., woud be a whole different thing.
Aaah! Why do we do it to ourselves?? Rolling Eyes

xxx

Posted: Sun 17 Jan 2010 12:05 GMT Post subject:

When we originally started our application in 2007, that was my biggest concern and the reason I put things on hold.
My horse is 16 years young, as mad as a hatter but wouldnt change him for the world. He is ID x TB so they tend to age quicker although you wouldnt think he was 16. I had originally decided if he couldnt come then I wasnt going.
Since then he had some back problems and I havent ridden since the summer so I am slightly detached from him. But I have a friend who is in the process of buying a house with land to have her horses, she has offered to have Mario for me as a companian horse for hers because she takes her out competing and doesnt want the other horse left on her own.

I looked into taking him with me and was told in this day and age it is quite safe to send horses, they travel all around the world for competitions. I think the hardest thing is the tests they have to have done before they go. I got in touch with DEFRA and they sent me information. Seems quite complecated and very expensive.

I love my horse like one of my children but cant help thinging if something did happen I would never forgive myself is anything happened to him. So I am going to enjoy the time I have with him here until I get confirmation of what is happening then make the final decision.
Razz

Posted: Mon 18 Jan 2010 09:37 GMT Post subject:

Hmm, that sounds like an ideal situation with your friend wanting a companion, at least you'll know he'll have a good home for life. I have a Welsh Sec D who is 16, like your Mario - he's mad as a hatter too, and my husband's mare, an ID X Appaloosa, who is lovely but not a novice ride. I have a friend who moved to Adelaide in Oz a couple of years ago, she had a very old TB m are who she'd had as a foal and had evented with etc., she was a nutty mare and my friend knew she would either have to have her shot or take her with her. Obviously, the shooting option was never really considered, so she undertook the enormous task of taking her with her. I know she was quoted £7000 for the move, but it cost her a lot more than that because we had an outbreak of foot and mouth here in the UK, which meant she had to be quarantined at Newmarket for 6 weeks (full quarantine livery - I'm guessing more than £100 per week!) and then when she got to Oz they'd had an outbreak of equine flu so she was quarantined there for 6 weeks too! Having said all that, she made it ok, and wasn't too bothered by the whole experience, despite being a really flighty mare, unfortunately, after all that stress and hassle, she was kicked by another horse in the field and had to be put down... can you believe!
But, anyway, there's no way we could afford that much money. So, it's a difficult one for us at the moment...
xxx

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Just wanted to say Hi!!!

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