Our Immigration and Jobs in Wellington New Zealand

What to do in New Zealand

2011-05-09T01:44:00.000-07:00

What is it that you can do in New Zealand, this website gives you alot of places and thing in New Zealand what to do and what to visit

Trip to Castlepoint and great lookout

2009-10-04T00:49:00.000-07:00

Here a great movie fo the lookout on the way to Castle point

At last received my PR more later

2009-10-04T00:33:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I really got the letter with the approval of my residency (and family) so I can look for a new job now!!!!

Also really good newsd my mom and niece came to visit me :)) and below a video of one of the trips we made while they were here.

I wanted to visit the Wairaapa region and go to Matinborough but instead we ended in Greytown because of the car giving up and we had to be towed back to Wellington.My mom
and I went back in the truck, my wife and niece ( Linda) took the train back to Wellington.

It was a nice but unexpected train ride bak for Lena and Linda but worth the money.

Mom and I drove back in the truck over the Rimutaka hill and met bad weather in Wellington but were glad to be back.

South Wairarapa Auto Service Ltd & Tow/Salvage Carterton brought us back to GT garage in Wellington and still I'm waiting for my car.

I hope it will be back by Tuesday othterways it will be the last time I've been there.

All cuddles go to John of
South Wairarapa Auto Service Ltd & Tow/Salvage Carterton

and the gas station in grey town and the corner cafe in grey town!!!, all thanks for your HELP!!

More pics from the Marlborough Sounds

2009-05-23T03:16:00.001-07:00

Some beautiful pictures taken by Angelique during our sail weekend in the Marlborough Sounds NZ

and dolphins were there as well

and bigger dolphins as well :) as you can see if you have a chance to go to the Marlborough sounds you should it is marvelous

New Zealand Marlborough Sounds

2009-05-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

We spend a weekend sailing in the Marlborough Sounds and it was fantastic just beautiful nature. We had some pinguins and dolphins swimming around.

It was cold but great fun see the video and pictures

Opened For Inspection New Zealand Customs Service

2009-05-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing special in this post just that I just opened my second package of Dead Sea Salt, the package had 2 bags of bath salt and I found a note from New Zealand Customs Service that they opened it for inspection.

I scanned the note you can see it below, it just says "No items have been removed by Customs" not sure what the note will say if they do take something :)

cheers
Marco

Applying For Permanent Residency New Zealand Part 2

2009-05-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

After 3 months the New Zealand Immigration send us a letter they wanted a repeat of Marco's blood tests because of high sugar levels and high cholesterol. So I went to see my general practitioner (GP) and asked him to give me a form for the blood tests as it is free when the GP sends you. Also asked for the tests my dermatologist asked for and he did put that on the same form.

After a week I got the results and forwarded those to immigration after 4 weeks I received an email and letter that our application is on hold till August 1st. Quote from the letter "The Medical Assessor has stated advised you will need to submit the following medical information:"Defer 3 months to allow time for medication & lifestyle changes to take effect & re-submit with...HBA1c, eGFR, creatine, fasting lipids, BP measure, BMI...smoking status".".

All this means I have to continue as I'm doing now(went on a diet :))and do the blodd tests again and send it of to immigration again and see what the medical assessor says. Now I did send a letter asking what they meant with "smoking status" as I quite smoking 2.5 years ago. I will write the answer in my blog here.

Farmers Market Wellington

2009-01-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

Every Sunday we go to the farmers market in Wellington on the car park close to Chaffers Marina and Te Papa. With fresh fish sold directly from the boat and all meat , vegetables, eggs, sweets and more available it is a nice trip every Sunday. We really like the farmers market Wellington

Seals New Zealand Nursery Cape Passiser

2009-01-26T22:49:00.000-08:00

Have a look at this video of the seals at Cape Palliser NZ nice baby seals on the video don't think so?

Police Clearance Saudi Arabia

2009-01-19T01:29:00.000-08:00

NZ Immigration processed our permanent residence application but did let me know they needed a Police Clearance for Saudi Arabia since we did live there for 2 years. But I knew this was close to impossible to get that is why I put in the pr application that late because that way we only spend 11 months in Saudi Arabia the last ten years and immigration wouldn't need a police clearance.

I wrote a letter to NZ immigration with these details and they just let me know the Police Clearance from Saudi Arabia is not required :) lets see what they come up with now. Wish me luck ;)

Wellington Harbour on Guy Fawkes night, 5 November 2008

2009-01-19T01:23:00.000-08:00

Wellington Sky Show fireworks display from lighting up Wellington Harbour on Guy Fawkes night, 5 November 2008.
This fantastic free display started at 9pm and ran for about 15 minutes.

Embedded Video

Going for Permanent Residency in New Zealand

2008-10-08T00:26:00.000-07:00

Well we like life here in NZ and we decided to go for permanent residency. I did put in our EOI ( expression of interest) and after paying the NZ$400 after 1 week we received a letter that we were selected and would be eligible to apply for permanent residency we just had to wait for the invitation to apply from the Wellington branch.

Now we received the whole information pack and it is like doing the whole procedure which we already did for the 3 year visa all over again. So in 2 days we will go for our medical check again and we will see what they say about the psoriasis this time. Also police certificates are required again but all good fun just keep smiling.

After all the paper work is ready we can submit it again and pay an initial NZ$ 1400 and if approved another 300NZ$ per person so NZ$1200 so quite expensive as well but we will save on school fees and other privileges available this makes up for it.

To be continued.........

New Zealand facts

2008-07-17T00:27:00.000-07:00

Here a little list with facts on New Zealand

fact on NZ:
Estimated resident population At 31 March 2008
All ages 4,222,700
Under 15 years 887,900
15–64 years 2,811,700
65 years and over 523,200

more facts about new zealand:
* Visitor arrivals (140,500) were similar to May 2007 (140,800).
* There were more visitors from China (up 700), but fewer from the United States (down 1,000) and Thailand (down 600)
* New Zealand resident departures (174,000) were up 2 percent from May 2007 (171,300)
* There were more trips by New Zealand residents to Australia, the Cook Islands (both up 900) and China (up 800).
* Permanent and long-term arrivals exceeded departures by 1,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis.
• The number of people employed increased by 1.9 percent to 2,126,200 in the year
ended March 2007 – a record high.
• The number of people unemployed increased by 2.0 percent to 82,200 in the year
ended March 2007. The unemployment rate remained flat at 3.7 percent.

for more facts about new zealand please visit or call
Email: info stats.govt.nz
Phone toll-free: 0508 525 525
Phone international: +64 4 931 4600
Fax: +64 4 931 4610
Post: P O Box 2922, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Website: .stat.govt.nz

You will find all the New Zealand facts you need!

Bring family including dog to New Zealand

2008-07-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

I hope in 2 weeks all my family will be here in New Zealand with me. Lena and Angelique are here since the 4th of July and the dog Carlo is in NZ since the 3rd of July but not with us yet. He is still in quarantine in Shadow Lans Levin.

I will write a lot more useful information about immigrating to New Zealand. I think useful because it will be my and our experience of moving to New Zealand.

talk soon
Marco

Office Close Down Wellington

2008-01-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

Well my last day of the Christmas holidays is almost finished and on Monday I'll go back to work. The company closed down for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year so I had a lot of time to go around.

My colleague even left me his car to drive around and I did we (I took a friend whom met in the bar :-)) we went to the south end of Wellington to see the coast line there and it was very nice to be there plus I didn't make any accidents driving on the wrong ...oops left side of the road. Now I am used to driving on the left and it really doesn't make a difference on the right or left it's all the same.

Today we went up to Featherston and on to Lake Ferry and had a look at the Pacific Ocean really great and my friend told me just to wait and see the South Island it is breath taking he says, so I am looking forward to go there but I'll wait for the rest of the family to arrive.

We also went to see the Dutch Shop in Petone on Jackson Street just for the fun of it, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised of what they all had to offer :-) I don't have to miss any bad stuff :-) from Holland.

Also had a look at the future High School my daughter wants to visit looking good on the outside but will ahve to make an appointment with Hutt Valley High School to check it out properly.

cheers

Immigration New Zealand Wellington branche.

2007-12-24T14:28:00.000-08:00

Hi,

its been a while since my last post but I've been rather busy exploring my new home country, my new job and of course preparing and submitting my papers for a 3 year visa / permit. But I did manage to get the papers in time to the Immigration office in Wellington just before my medical was due to expire.

Same goes for the application of Angelique and Lena but their paperwork was more stress than mine. They planned to go to Russia on the 21th of December and they submitted their paperwork (including passports with Russian visa) on the 12th of December we did ask INZ (Immigration New Zealand) Berlin to return the passports as soon as possible because of the trip to Russia. And I have to say they really did a marvelous job, the INZ Berlin lady called on the 14th of December and told my wife she would send the passports back on Monday the 17th of December. She did what she said and the 18th the passports were back 3 days before departure to Russia.

Now if you ever get in such a situation try to have a bigger timeframe just for your own nerves it will certainly help.

cheers
Marco

PS Wellington is great and I just love the weather (a bit windy though :-))

I made it to my job in New Zealand

2007-11-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long time before posting :-)

Well After a flight from Frankfurt to Heathrow onto Hong Kong and onto Auckland where a flight was waiting for me to go to Wellington. I left the 1st of November and arrived the 3rd of November, not bad hey.

Anyhow I went to my new work place in Wellington New Zealand on the 5th of November and was as at any new jobs overloaded with a ton of Information. At work you have to arrange your own PC, email, telephone, mobile etc. etc.

Did most of that and what isn't arranged yet will be in the near future.

Jill the person who was assigned to help me with my relocation and paid by my employer called to make an appointment and so she drove me around Wellington on Wednesday the 6th of November and we discussed my budget for housing. Now since I still have a mortgage to take care of in Germany my budget for a flat in New Zealand wasn't huge, she promised me to make some appointment for some apartments and she did and I was shown 7 flats within budget and I even took one them.

So as of the 1st of December I will go and live in Manners street Wellington New Zealand, it's a small 1 bedroom apartment and furnished though so I don't have to buy all the appliances and furniture for just the half year I'll be alone.

The main reason for my late update is the rate they charge me for internet access here in the "hotel" 10US$ a day with a cap. of 100 MB which is pretty much filled up with phone calls to the family with voipbuster.

Enough for now I#ll keep you informed. weather is nice the last couple a days 20°C but windy though.

cheers

Off to my new job in New Zealand without family

2007-10-31T03:57:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow I'll be flying from Frankfurt to London Heathrow and from there to Auckland with a stop over in Hong Kong and then a domestic flight to Wellington ;-)
Departure 1st Nov. 6PM arrival 3rd Nov. 2 PM nice time frame isn't it

So on Saturday I'll know if they turn my visa into a permit so I can start working.

My employer arranged for accommodation for the first month so I've got some time to find me something reasonably priced. I mean I don't make enough to have me a summer house in Germany ;-)

So the next post will be from Wellington New Zealand and how the flight and all the official things like customs etc. went. Still didn't pack anything but I did send out cancellations on all insurances here, so by the time Elena and Angelique come over (next year July :-( ) no insurance will have my name on it.

I also collected all the papers I'll need in New Zealand to extend my permit/visa to a 3 year one and will do all the medical checks hopefully in Wellington.

OK wish me a good journy and talk to you later

New Zealand Visa is here after some more paperwork

2007-10-29T01:34:00.000-07:00

Well the Ukrainian police certificate arrived and looks fine thank god for that.
My visa officer in Berlin was not completely satisfied with all the papers so she wanted a "Meldebescheinigung" a paper that says I'm registered in the city here in Germany further she wanted a translation of my diploma from Holland and another letter from my employer showing they really tried their best to get local people. The next day I gathered all the required papers and had it send there by fax and I must say the visa officer must have looked at them and put in the visa right away and posted it because my passport including 5 month visa arrived the next day. We also had a little farewell party last Friday with some friends and it was pretty good we had a nice time. The company booked me a flight now for the 1st of November and I'll be arriving in Wellington the 3rd in other words I only have a couple of days left to arrange the last bits and pieces. And I have to pack some stuff as well :-) I'll keep you updated!

More stuff to arrange for New Zealand

2007-10-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

GREAT news the Ukrainian police certificate is on it's way with DHL which is more expensive than the police certificate itself though :)
But at least we've got it (well almost). Now I've bought a new laptop so we can sell all the older stuff and Lena and Angelique can work on the new laptop. Installing everything so they can communicate to the world and me ones I'm in wellington, I installed VoIPbuster just because I prefer it over skype. Papers should be at the embassy now and being processed. Lets see :-) Have to make a DVD from our analog video camera with the old computer before it leaves the house. It's all those little things that keep me busy. Had to get a s-video cable because I gave the other one with the beamer I sold. Anyhow I'm happy the laptop is fine and not that expensive so everybody is happy. Hope to see what my job is about in 2/3 weeks

Immigration papers for a New Zealand visa are almost at the embassy

2007-10-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well today the 16th of October I mailed all papers to the New Zealand Embassy.
To avoid waiting for a medical assessor in London I applied for a 5 month work visa, couldn't ask for a longer period since I spend time in India which is a high risk TB country, which meant I had to hand in my chest X-ray results but these are sealed with my other medical papers. So now you know why.

Now lets wait for my passport to arrive back with a work visa. And do some more selling and arranging stuff at home.

Sold one of my cars today so we're stuck with our Smart for 3 people but hey I should be leaving in 2 weeks so that's fine.

Will make a nice documents package to take with me to NZ so I can apply for a 3 year visa in Wellington. This will be one of the first things I do is apply for a 3 year permit and hand in my medical and hope I will be referred to the medical assessor in Wellington so I can take additional test in Wellington medical centers as well.

One other good thing happened today my wife's family arranged a police certificate from the Ukraine which was impossible to get according the Ukrainian authorities in Germany and Belgium, so we hope the family can pick up the certificate on Thursday the 21th of October.

So more later

cheers

Diabetes and a New Zealand Visa

2007-10-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

So I saw my GP today and he told me the sugar values were not that bad, if I would lose 5 to 6 Kg my blood sugar would be fine and I wouldn't have anything to worry about :-)

So now I'll go for a 5 months visa and will do all the additional medical checks in NZ.
I was in India for a longer period so I can't go beyond 6 months.

Lets see how this will work out.

will keep you updated in the mean time I will be reading this book

Medical tests for New Zealand

2007-10-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well we did our medical checks and for my wife and daughter everything was fine but not for me :-(
The doc found sugar in my urine (and my waist was a bit over) so I had to make an appointment for additional tests which indicated I have diabetes.

I came home 4 days after the tests and a big envelope came from the doctor which contained the results for the 3 of us in a sealed envelope for the New Zealand Embassy and a piece of paper informing me I have diabetes and should see a doctor. Not a pleasant way of bringing this info to me but hell I've got to live with it.

Anyhow went to see my GP and he did a new test and he had to admit the blood sugar is a bit high so I have to go and see him tomorrow and see what we can do.

Now for my visa application this would mean a possible and likely delay of 6 to 8 weeks which sucks because I quite my current job already as of the 1st of November so I need to be in New Zealand around that time as well to commence my new job.

So I will try to get a visa for 5 months (no health checks required) and will go for an extension immediately after arriving in Wellington.

Will keep you updated!

Found a job in New Zealand now what

2007-09-29T02:42:00.000-07:00

Hi,

This will be my blog on how my family and I are going to live in New Zealand after I've been offered a job there.

My name is Marco and I'm dutch but living in Germany for the past 8 years, in between I was in India for 2 years without family and before Germany the family and I were in Saudi Arabia for 2 years. I guess some people will call us globe trotters and that's fine I kind a like that title :-)

As you can read I talk about my family which means my beautiful wife Lena and beautiful daughter Angelique(in 2007 14 years old). Lena and Angelique came along to all the places work brought me and we have no regrets what so ever.

Now it's a job offer I've got in New Zealand and we are all looking forward to get there. But to get a visa for New Zealand there are a lot of things to take care of.

I will post everything here on my blog so may be other people will gain something from it and or enjoy the journey my family and I will make.