Immigrating is a huge undertaking. Especially if you’re doing it as a family! However, most people entering the emigration process do not fully realise what lies ahead.

Is it worth it? Of course! You’re opening doors to new opportunities and a better life for yourself and your family.

But how do you prepare yourself for the journey? A good way to start is by reading the uncomfortable truths (and the good news) below.

1. There’s going to be a lot of admin

Many applicants are surprised by the amount of admin that’s involved in their application.

You have to gather the required documents, complete the necessary paperwork, do the applicable tests, and apply for professional registrations if your occupation asks for it.

Everything has to happen at the right time too and it also has to happen in a way or format that meets Immigration New Zealand’s requirements.

The good news

Our immigration advisers guide you every step of the way. You’ll know exactly what is required of you and when it is required. Our team even go as far as booking English tests for you, leaving you with more time to focus on the other parts of your emigration.

2. You might not be able to emigrate as quickly as you’d like

You can’t wait to pack your bags and get on that aeroplane! And who can blame you? New Zealand is a dream destination.

Unfortunately, your emigration might not always happen as quickly as you want it to.

For instance, Immigration New Zealand might get an influx of applications for a new visa category which means everyone has to wait a bit longer on their outcome of their visas. Or, as we all now know, a pandemic could strike!

The good news

You can rest assured that we always compile your application as quickly as possible. And while we cannot influence Immigration New Zealand’s process or decision in any way, we do undertake to ensure that you’re never left in the dark about what’s happening with your application.

3. Emigration is not cheap

There are a lot of costs to consider when emigrating, from paying the movers to putting down a deposit on a home or importing your pet. You’ll also have to pay government fees and you might need to pay for English tests and registrations too.

The good news

When you deal with us, you’ll know exactly how much your visa application will cost. Simply book a consultation call!

Firstly, and most importantly, you’ll discover during the consultation call if you are eligible to move to New Zealand. You don’t want to spend money on a visa application if you don’t!

If you are eligible to immigrate to New Zealand, our licensed advisor will also discuss your visa options with you. However, if you aren’t immediately eligible, our advisor will discuss the best way forward.

After the call, if you are eligible to apply for a visa, you’ll get a complete quote outlining the costs of your application. Our team can also refer you to reputable pet importers and English language teachers so that you have an even better idea of the costs involved.

4. Emigration is not for the faint-hearted

It is almost guaranteed that your stress and anxiety levels will rise during the application process. Mostly because it’s an unfamiliar process and because it’s such an important step in your life.

The good news

Our advisers will see to it that don’t have to go through it alone. Our team will always ensure that your stress and anxiety is kept to a minimum by seeing to it that all requirements are met and by giving you realistic timelines and expectations.

Here’s what some of our recent clients had to say:

I highly recommend Intergate Emigration.

The team is amazing, they have always answered my question very quickly and understanable.

The whole application process went very well even during the pandemic.

I would suggest every future applicant to Maike’s team.

Thank you for making my dream come true.

~ Marcel Pangerl

We as the Sweeney family are proud to offer our recommendation of Maike Versfeld to whom we have got to known better over the last 3 years as our immigration agent.

During our relationship we have experienced an individual who works hard and carries herself in a polite, respectable manner.

Maike is a highly qualified person, she takes all your concerns in consideration. She listens to your needs and advise accordingly. She plans ahead and prepare you for the next step. She is understanding and took our family’s move very seriously.

We are extremely satisfied with Maike’s service, it is worth every cent. We did not have to re-submit any paperwork , all was done once.

We thank you Maike for your kind words when we were worried. We can not think how difficult it could have been if this was not handled by you.

THANK YOU!

~ Anel Sweeney

We highly recommend Katrin and her team at Intergate Emigration!

It was a long process to organise everything as my husband and I have been married for over 6 years and we had no idea how much information was needed. From the first initial contact Katrin made us feel relieved and confident that they would be available for any information if needed.

A very special thank you to Natanya, she was amazing and if we had any questions she was happy to answer them. Many emails went back and forth. We really felt that we were in capable hands.
What I like best was the personal touch, especially the phone call to inform us that both visas were granted.

We are so grateful and appreciate everything that was done for us and we have no hesitation in recommending Intergate Emigration.

~ Karen Eichinger

Ready to make your emigration easier?

Book that consultation call! Our advisors will assess your eligibility, and guide and support you through your visa application.

Our advice when people ask us where to start is always – “By doing a visa assessment for New Zealand.” We say this because a visa assessment reveals if you’re eligible to apply to for a visa to live in New Zealand.

You can choose to jump straight into a visa application – but that could have disastrous consequences. Imagine, for instance, how gutted you’ll be if you find out that you’ve spent months on an application for a visa for which you don’t qualify.

But ensuring that apply for the correct visa is only one way in which a visa assessment benefits you. Here are five more reasons why you should do an assessment:

1. You do not waste money

Let’s say you want to apply for a work visa or residency through the skilled migrant visa.

In most cases you’ll need to secure a job offer in order to secure the visa or residency. As the job search and visa process go hand-in-hand, there are sections of your visa application that should go ahead – and you should only be paying for these parts.

Yet there are many horror stories of applicants paying immigration companies in full for visa applications, only to see no progress with their planned migration.

Why? Because they didn’t go through an assessment phase where the application process is explained to them.

If you do an assessment, you’ll understand how the pieces of this puzzle fit together – and when it’s a good or bad idea to part with your money.

2. You do not build up false hopes of moving to New Zealand

So you’ve spotted your occupation on a skills shortage list and you’re over the moon. You’re moving to New Zealand!Not so fast. Just because your occupation appears on a New Zealand skills shortage list, doesn’t mean emigration is a given for you.

You’ll still need to meet a long list of other requirements to make it into New Zealand!

That’s where a visa assessment comes in. It measures your skills, occupations and qualifications, plus various other criteria, against what Immigration New Zealand asks of immigrants.

In other words, once you’ve completed your assessment, you’ll know for a fact whether or not New Zealand is a realistic dream for you.

3. You find out if you meet the basic criteria for a New Zealand visa or residency

Doing a visa assessment for New Zealand will ensure that you meet the basic emigration criteria  before you make a visa application.

This means you avoid unfortunate mistakes like:

• An application that fail because it didn’t cover the required details.
• Claiming experience that is not valid.
• Getting an incorrect points score.
• Missing opportunities for visa types.
• Forgetting that all family members must meet certain criteria.
• And the list goes on….

Instead, you submit an application that’s prepared correctly, in the full knowledge that you meet all requirements.

4. You discover the best route forward

A comprehensive visa assessment for New Zealand will reveal how you should proceed with your immigration.

In other words, you’ll know what visa you can apply for and with what parts of the visa process you can proceed. You’ll also know where there are still gaps, for instance documents that you might have to apply for in order to complete certain parts of the application process.

5. You also get to ask any question you may have

It is to be expected that you have a long list of questions about immigration to New Zealand. If you’re dealing with a reputable advisor, he or she will give you an opportunity to ask all those questions.

Don’t be afraid to ask any questions! Immigrating is a huge undertaking and you owe it to yourself to have all the information you feel that you need.

Ready to take a visa assessment for New Zealand?

At Intergate Emigration, our advisors are licensed and registered with New Zealand’s IAA. That means our advisors are authorised to give immigration advice for New Zealand.

You can get advice by booking a consultation call. One of our licensed advisors will assess your eligibility and then discuss your visa options with you. You’ll know exactly what you chances of immigrating is and how to proceed!

There are many stories of people being swindled by unscrupulous New Zealand immigration advisers.

Often people are left without savings in their bank accounts. Even worse – deported, because the visa turned out be fake!

The best way to make sure that the person you are dealing with is the real deal, is to check that they are licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA), or exempted to give advice. If you cannot find the ‘agent’ on here, walk away and do not deal with them.

There are other ways to tell too. Usually the signs come in the form of false promises or, plain and simple, outright lies.

Here is a list of things that unscrupulous operators might say to you:

I can guarantee that you will get a visa to New Zealand.

This is false. No-one can guarantee you will get a visa. Only authorised officers can give you a visa and only when you have met all the visa requirements.

Pay now to register for the migration program.

This is not how things work. You pay your visa application charge when you lodge your application.

Please note: Advisers are allowed to charge for their services, but the charges must be fair and reasonable in the circumstances. You may wish to speak to several advisers before signing on the dotted line with one, as no two advisers will offer the same experience and level service, which also influences fees.

This is a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ or your ‘only’ chance to travel or migrate to New Zealand.

It might be hard to believe, but some fraudulent agents actually call people to offer them visas. It’s then framed as an opportunity not to be missed. All to get money out of you!

IAA licensed agents will never call you first to offer you migration ‘opportunities’. This is a client relationship that always start with the client, i.e. you, contacting the agent.

Only I can pay the charges, give me your money and I will pay the charges for you.

False again. You can pay your own visa application charge. However, you might still choose to let your migration adviser do it for you – but only if you are sure you are dealing with a licensed adviser!

I have a special relationship with INZ.

No-one has a ‘special relationship’ with Immigration New Zealand (INZ). INZ treats all visa applications in a fair and impartial way.

I am a skilled migration service provider/New Zealand government registered/department registered.

The only New Zealand immigration advisers you should deal with, are IAA licensed immigration advisers. Do not take any adviser on their word only! Ask to see an IAA license number.

Don’t worry, INZ is still processing your visa.

Do not just accept this. Ask for a copy of the confirmation letter to ensure that your application was submitted.

Keep in mind though that some applications do take longer than others, so there will be times that your immigration agent won’t have any feedback for you.

Want to know if you can trust our New Zealand immigration advisers?

We have two licensed immigration advisors for New Zealand –  Maike Versfeld and Katrin Maja O’Flynn. You can get to know them better on our website or go straight their profiles on the IAA website:

• Maike Versfeld
• Katrin Maja O’Flynn

Please feel free to contact us to discuss your immigration journey!

It’s the question on the lips of many hopeful future New Zealanders – “What are my New Zealand immigration options?” Wonder no more! Today we’re going to tell you exactly what your options are by discussing these key immigration matters:

• Residence options
• Visa options
• Application options

Let’s start at the beginning – your residence options.

Your residence options

New Zealand offers immigrants two residence options – temporary residence and permanent residence.

Some visas grant permanent residence straightaway, others serve as a pathway to residence, and there are visas that only offer temporary residence.

Your individual situation will determine for which visa and type of residence you qualify, as all of New Zealand visas each has a unique set of requirements to meet.

Your visa options

New Zealand has 6 categories of immigration visas:

1. Work

There are five visas that enable you to immigrate to New Zealand to live and work there:

• Skilled Migrant visa: The skilled migrant visa is for individuals who meet certain requirements in terms of their profession, experience, skills and qualifications. If you’re granted this visa, you receive permanent residence.
• Accredited Employer Work visa: The Accredited Employer Work Visa is for migrants with job offers from accredited New Zealand employers. It is a visa for temporary residency, but eligible candidates can qualify for straight-to-residence or work-to-residence pathways.
• Partner visa – if your partner is a New Zealander: This visa enables you to apply for residence if your partner or spouse is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident. If granted, you’ll be entitled to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely. In addition you can include dependent children, aged 24 and younger, in your visa application.
• Partner visa – if your partner is a New Zealand work visa holder: If your spouse or partner has secured a job offer in New Zealand, you’re eligible to apply for a partner visa on the basis of your spouse or partner being your sponsor. If granted this visa, you’ll be able live in New Zealand. As a resident of New Zealand, you’ll also have the option to work.
• Entrepreneur visa: The entrepreneur visa is for persons who want to work in their own business in New Zealand. In terms of what the visas allow, this could mean either buying into a company or setting up a new business. In both instances, you’ll be eligible for permanent residence.

2. Partner

New Zealand has three visas that enable you to join your spouse or partner in the country:

• Partner visa – if your partner is a New Zealander: This visa enables you to apply for residence if your partner or spouse is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident. If granted, you’ll be entitled to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely. In addition you can include dependent children, aged 24 and younger, in your visa application.
• Partner visa – if your partner is a New Zealand work visa holder: If your spouse or partner has secured a job offer in New Zealand, you’re eligible to apply for a partner visa on the basis of your spouse or partner being your sponsor. If granted this visa, you’ll be able live in New Zealand. As a resident of New Zealand, you’ll also have the option to work.
• Partner of a Student Visitor Visa: This visitor visa enables you to join your partner in New Zealand during their studies. You’ll be able to explore the country as a tourist and also study but only for up to three months.

3. Relative

New Zealand appreciates that families don’t want to split up and thus offers five relative visas:

• Parent Retirement Visa: The parent retirement visa enables you to join your adult child in New Zealand. As this visa grants permanent residency, you’ll be able to immigrate permanently. To be eligible to apply for the visa, you must be able to meet Immigration New Zealand’s financial requirements.
• Parent Residency Visa: The parent residency visa enables you to join your adult child or grandchild in New Zealand provided he or she is a citizen or resident. Legal guardians are also eligible to apply. Unfortunately, you can’t apply if you have dependent children but you can include a partner in your application. Please note that the parent residency visa is closed to new applications until further notice.
• Child of a Worker Visitor Visa: This visa is open to temporary work visa holders and allows you to bring your children with you while you work in New Zealand.
• Dependent Child Student Visa: This visa is meant for the children of temporary work visa holders and it allows the child to attend school.
• Child of a Student Visitor Visa: This visa allows foreign students to come to New Zealand and bring their dependent children with them.

4. Investor

You can invest in New Zealand through one of two visas:

• Investor visa: The New Zealand investor visa requires an investment of at least NZ$1,5million for four years in New Zealand. You must be 65 years old or younger to apply for this visa.
• Investor Plus visa: To apply for the investor plus visa, you must invest at least NZ$10million for a period of three years in New Zealand. There are no age restrictions on this visa.

5. Study

The study visa is for persons who want to study in New Zealand for longer than 12 weeks. Your partner and dependents can also accompany you to New Zealand by applying for a partner of a student visitor visa and child of a student visitor visa.

Your application options

When talking about your application options, we’re referring to how you choose to handle your application. Your options here are doing it on yourself or with the help of a licensed immigration advisor.

Doing your application on yourself

There is nothing that prevents you from completing your visa application on your own. Many people initially take this DYI route because they think applying for a visa to New Zealand is as easy as filling in a form.

This is not true, unfortunately.

For starters, most people can’t make heads or tails of the New Zealand points system. This leads people to rely on online points calculators only to realise much later that these tools aren’t accurate.

In general, the problem with online applications is that the programme you’re dealing with can’t ask you all of the questions that need to be asked. This means you’ll miss information or perhaps provide the wrong information. The reality is that the smallest of mistakes can be the difference between getting a visa and your application being rejected.

At the end of the day, taking this route will depend on two factors: how much patience you have, and whether or not you’re okay with risking a possible rejection of your application.

Applying with the help of an licensed immigration advisor

Your second option is to make use of a licensed immigration advisor. One of the benefits of this is that a proper licensed immigration advisor for New Zealand is knowledgeable, experienced and has studied. They do this for a living, which means that they have tons of experience in helping people just like you with visa applications.

Here are four specific examples of how working with a licensed immigration advisor can benefit you:

• A licensed advisor can explore all your New Zealand immigration options with you. This person will leave no stone unturned to uncover any visas for which you are eligible.
• Your advisor will know of regulation changes long before these changes become news. He or she will thus be able to course-correct immediately if necessary or offer alternatives should it no longer be possible to continue with your visa application.
• A licensed advisor will be able to provide you with support, advice, encouragement and of course their expertise and knowledge which can prove invaluable.
• Licensed advisors for New Zealand are registered with the IAA (Immigration Advisors Authority), which means advisors are held accountable by a professional body for the advice and service they give. This affords you peace of mind and comfort during a time that can be extremely difficult and stressful.

Recapping your New Zealand immigration options

When immigrating to New Zealand, there is the option of obtaining permanent or temporary residence. Although, which type of residence you can obtain does depend on your visa eligibility.

Further to this, there are six categories of visas. These visas give you the option to work, join a partner, join a relative, start a business, invest, or study in New Zealand.

Lastly, you have two options when it comes to how you do your application. Your first option is doing it yourself, which is only recommended if you have a lot of patience and don’t mind costly mistakes. The second option is working with a licensed immigration advisor. Doing this can benefit your application in numerous ways which could increase your chances of success. In other words, your chances of getting your visa.

Do you want to further discuss your options with a licensed immigration advisor?

Please do not hesitate to book a consultation to discuss your chances of immigrating to Australia with a licensed advisor. Our advisors assess your eligibility, and discuss your visa options and the way forward with you. If you choose to work with us on your application, our team will be at your side every step of the way!