- Joined
- May 13, 2015
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I will share my experience with readers and will be happy to answer questions in this thread. If you are not interested to emigrate or find the advice unpalatable, please do not read on. Spend you time more productively somewhere else than leave disparaging comments. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I am not an emigration / immigration specialist or agent. I am not providing professional advice, rather I am sharing my personal experience which interested readers who are considering migration may find helpful.
If you’re thinking about emigration, my advice is to save as much as money you can. That means, not using agents if you can help it. I completed my emigration paperwork myself and saved tens of thousands in agent fees. It is not impossible nor is it difficult. It just takes some time and effort, but definitely manageable.
First off, visit the immigration page of the country you are interested to emigrate to. In my case, it was New Zealand.
The immigration pages usually offer clear advice. Forms also provide clear instructions. They are not difficult to follow. People who are short on time, too lazy to read through paperwork or just plain dislike completing forms will end up paying tens of thousands in agent fee. It is not necessary unless you have money to spare. For me, I had preferred to save my money so that when I start my new life in the new country, I would have some cushion. Most importantly, I was not rich, with cash to spare.
If you read the instructions and you do not meet the criteria, paying an agent will not help you meet those criteria. Agents cannot work miracles. They also don’t have special privileges over the country’s immigration department. If they tell you they do, they are probably lying. Any first world country will not have such non-transparent “backways”.
So, if you do not meet the criteria, find out what is needed and use your money to upgrade yourself to meet the criteria. This could include taking recognised courses with recognised institutions. The immigration page would usually have links that will tell you. You can also check the immigration pages for links that tell you what skills are in short supply in the country therefore would give priority to immigrants with those skills.
In New Zealand, skills in short supply include secondary school teachers, university lecturers, shepherds, plumbers, the health sector etc. There are too many for me to list here but look here to find more (link).
If you meet the criteria, congratulations. Now you just need to take the time and trouble to sit down and complete the forms. They are lengthy and thorough. That’s because the government does its homework to make sure they are letting in good quality immigrants. I suggest you set aside about 4 hours to complete the forms. Have your NRICs, birth certificates, marriage certificates, qualifications, and family’s information all at hand.
The hardest part is probably completing the form. Once that’s done, the rest are less tedious.
Once you are accepted to proceed with the application, the next step would be to get your health checks done. I did mine at SATA. Make sure you get a doctor who is helpful and sympathetic. My brother got one who tried to sabotage his application. Although he has no health problems, we have a family history of diabetes and heart disease. The doctor I saw did not give any problems in my report. The one he saw wrote the report in such a way that the Immigration office rejected his application on grounds of health. He then had to re-do his health checks with another doctor, who cleared him.
The health report and x-rays have a limited validity. If yours is older than three months by the time you submit it to immigration New Zealand, you will have to re-do the tests. Timing is everything so plan carefully during your application process to decide what needs to be done in what order, and what can be done concurrently, taking into consideration waiting times for reports, certificates etc.
You will be required to submit a police clearance report, called certificate of clearance, as part of your application. You can get that done at Police Cantonment Complex. Make inquiries before you go. The first time I went, I made a wasted trip because the police department only carried out the finger printing checks in the mornings. The results usually take about two weeks to be sent to you. Remember the timing I was talking about earlier.
By the time you clear these stages, you would have cleared the most onerous parts of the application. It is then sitting and waiting for the immigration department to assess your application which takes anything between 6 to 24 months. You may also be called up for an interview where the interviewer will want to find out whether you are likely to adapt to the country. This includes being able to speak English, having some savings, knowing the place you are wanting to settle in (which you can research after you have submitted your application. The interview is pretty casual so don’t fuss or panic. Being relaxed (not arrogant) helps you portray confidence that you can settle into the country well. During my time, I bothered to learn the names of the whole NZ Cabinet (typical Singaporean mugging style) but that question didn’t come up :-) Remember, it’s not an exam so don’t stress.
So, if you are thinking about migrating, take the time to research, find out about the process, the costs, bother to fill in the required forms and read instructions carefully, know which takes how much time so you don’t end up sitting on your medical reports while waiting for police clearance to come through by which time your medical reports had expired, for example. Planning is important.
I will write again tomorrow on application fees and how much I set aside to migrate.
Disclaimer: I am not an emigration / immigration specialist or agent. I am not providing professional advice, rather I am sharing my personal experience which interested readers who are considering migration may find helpful.
Other readers may be able to provide advice for emigration to other countries.
My family decided to migrate when we realised our children are being disadvantaged in school. Our children were struggling with second language at school even with tuition. Learning the second language became such a fearful experience that they would cry and stress on days they have tuition hours before it would start. Even though they were doing fairly well in other subjects, they were being ridiculed at school for their poor performance in the second language. Every now and then, they get called into the principal’s office for a “talking to” for pulling down the school’s grade. My children hated school! Just getting into the uniform was a daily fight with them. We felt so sorry for them, they were so highly stressed even at a young age.
Learning and gaining new knowledge, is supposed to be exciting and fun. If we want to nurture life-long learners, learning should be enjoyable. We also realised that with the style of teaching in Singapore, our children were unlikely going to “make it” by Singapore standard. We felt a good education should open their minds to important life skills like being able to critique, question, analyse, be resilient, and to articulate their thoughts well. Alas, it was not to be in the Singapore education system. We were a middle class family that relied on dual incomes, like many families. If our children could not pursue higher education in Singapore, there would have been no way we could afford to send them overseas to study.
Moreover, we felt the family could have a much better quality of life if we uproot. We wanted more family time, more hobby time, and more time to attend our children’s special events, basically, a better work / life balance (even though LHL said there is no such thing).
Thus, we made the decision to migrate.
We were lucky. At the time of application, my job was considered a “short term skill shortage” in New Zealand. Going through the EOI (Expressions of Interest), which you will find on www.immigration.govt.nz, we had sufficient points to apply for immigration to New Zealand.
Use the free online EOI test on the page to check if you have sufficient points to apply for immigration. You would need to set up a free account to do that.
If you have sufficient points , which is 140 at the moment, congratulations. Complete the online EOI form and submit it with your payment which is about $500.
Information about the various fees cann be found here – link.
It takes about two weeks for the NZ immigration department to come back to you to formally invite you to apply. That means you have cleared the first stage of checks.
You will then be sent forms to complete. These are the ones I talked about in Part 1 of this article published yesterday. Accompanying this set of forms will be your Certificate of Clearance from Singapore police and your medical reports. There will be instructions on the form about which doctors you can go to to get the medical checks done.
When you submit this set, you will submit with your fees of about $2000 plus. At the time of our application, this fee was not per person, so if you are applying as a family, the fee is about the same and NOT multiplied by the number of people in your family. This fee will include your visa fee once your application is approved, so you would not need to pay for visa fees again (unless the process has changed).
Costs of move and settling down
We paid about $9,000 to ship a whole container of our household belongings to NZ. We wanted to avoid buying new furniture and the works here. It is not necessary. Now, you could buy stuff cheaply here, especially if you do not mind second hand stuff. Second hand shops are very popular here. That’s how people recycle and live cheaply.
We brought all our savings with us, which amounted to what you would pay an agent to help with your application. If we had paid an agent to help with our application, we would not have the money to start life here.
If you are willing and not fussy, casual jobs are easily available. With a minimum wage of $14.75 per hour, you seriously won’t starve. An average 8-hour work will earn you $118 per day. After tax, which is taken straight out of your salary each pay day, you would still take home over $11 per hour.
I started work within a week of landing. I signed up with an agency upon landing and got casual work daily. Some days, I got 2-3 calls for work and had to turn them down.
We started like that, doing casual work. Within a month, we were offered permanent jobs.
Employers here always ask for NZ experience but if they have worked with you and you have proven yourself, they are happy to hire you. Employers want to know they can communicate with you, that you are reliable and hardworking, you get along with other workers, and you are willing to learn. New Zealanders are laid back and thus dislike arrogant and showy (show-off) people.
Because the labour law is clear and strict, you don’t have to worry about being taken advantage of. If you are, there are clear avenues for you to pursue justice and fair treatment.
Rental homes at the moment cost about NZ$350 per week and above. There is no need to go for expensive and big if you are on a budget. Don’t commit long term (more than a year) to a rental home until you know the neighbourhood.
If you want to get a car for ease of moving around, an old, beat-up one would cost you less than $2000. However, if you are not adept under the hood, you can get a reasonablly good second hand car for about $10,000.
School fees at state schools generally cost less than $100 a year. Schools would also ask for donations which are optional. There is no textbook to buy as these are supplied by the school and returned at the end of the school year. You buy stationery and exercise books. Each year, these cost me under $100 for two children unless your children keep losing their stuff. Uniforms are expensive because there is summer and winter uniforms, on top of PE gear. Quality is good. You can also buy less expensive ones since most schools would have a second hand uniform shop.
I will write a part 3 tomorrow to share about what to expect and more on cost of living. Emigration takes time, money and effort, you should know what you are getting yourself into before you commit.
SGean in NZ
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/10/09/costs-of-emigration-nz-part-1/
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/10/10/costs-of-emigration-nz-part-2/
Disclaimer: I am not an emigration / immigration specialist or agent. I am not providing professional advice, rather I am sharing my personal experience which interested readers who are considering migration may find helpful.
If you’re thinking about emigration, my advice is to save as much as money you can. That means, not using agents if you can help it. I completed my emigration paperwork myself and saved tens of thousands in agent fees. It is not impossible nor is it difficult. It just takes some time and effort, but definitely manageable.
First off, visit the immigration page of the country you are interested to emigrate to. In my case, it was New Zealand.
The immigration pages usually offer clear advice. Forms also provide clear instructions. They are not difficult to follow. People who are short on time, too lazy to read through paperwork or just plain dislike completing forms will end up paying tens of thousands in agent fee. It is not necessary unless you have money to spare. For me, I had preferred to save my money so that when I start my new life in the new country, I would have some cushion. Most importantly, I was not rich, with cash to spare.
If you read the instructions and you do not meet the criteria, paying an agent will not help you meet those criteria. Agents cannot work miracles. They also don’t have special privileges over the country’s immigration department. If they tell you they do, they are probably lying. Any first world country will not have such non-transparent “backways”.
So, if you do not meet the criteria, find out what is needed and use your money to upgrade yourself to meet the criteria. This could include taking recognised courses with recognised institutions. The immigration page would usually have links that will tell you. You can also check the immigration pages for links that tell you what skills are in short supply in the country therefore would give priority to immigrants with those skills.
In New Zealand, skills in short supply include secondary school teachers, university lecturers, shepherds, plumbers, the health sector etc. There are too many for me to list here but look here to find more (link).
If you meet the criteria, congratulations. Now you just need to take the time and trouble to sit down and complete the forms. They are lengthy and thorough. That’s because the government does its homework to make sure they are letting in good quality immigrants. I suggest you set aside about 4 hours to complete the forms. Have your NRICs, birth certificates, marriage certificates, qualifications, and family’s information all at hand.
The hardest part is probably completing the form. Once that’s done, the rest are less tedious.
Once you are accepted to proceed with the application, the next step would be to get your health checks done. I did mine at SATA. Make sure you get a doctor who is helpful and sympathetic. My brother got one who tried to sabotage his application. Although he has no health problems, we have a family history of diabetes and heart disease. The doctor I saw did not give any problems in my report. The one he saw wrote the report in such a way that the Immigration office rejected his application on grounds of health. He then had to re-do his health checks with another doctor, who cleared him.
The health report and x-rays have a limited validity. If yours is older than three months by the time you submit it to immigration New Zealand, you will have to re-do the tests. Timing is everything so plan carefully during your application process to decide what needs to be done in what order, and what can be done concurrently, taking into consideration waiting times for reports, certificates etc.
You will be required to submit a police clearance report, called certificate of clearance, as part of your application. You can get that done at Police Cantonment Complex. Make inquiries before you go. The first time I went, I made a wasted trip because the police department only carried out the finger printing checks in the mornings. The results usually take about two weeks to be sent to you. Remember the timing I was talking about earlier.
By the time you clear these stages, you would have cleared the most onerous parts of the application. It is then sitting and waiting for the immigration department to assess your application which takes anything between 6 to 24 months. You may also be called up for an interview where the interviewer will want to find out whether you are likely to adapt to the country. This includes being able to speak English, having some savings, knowing the place you are wanting to settle in (which you can research after you have submitted your application. The interview is pretty casual so don’t fuss or panic. Being relaxed (not arrogant) helps you portray confidence that you can settle into the country well. During my time, I bothered to learn the names of the whole NZ Cabinet (typical Singaporean mugging style) but that question didn’t come up :-) Remember, it’s not an exam so don’t stress.
So, if you are thinking about migrating, take the time to research, find out about the process, the costs, bother to fill in the required forms and read instructions carefully, know which takes how much time so you don’t end up sitting on your medical reports while waiting for police clearance to come through by which time your medical reports had expired, for example. Planning is important.
I will write again tomorrow on application fees and how much I set aside to migrate.
Disclaimer: I am not an emigration / immigration specialist or agent. I am not providing professional advice, rather I am sharing my personal experience which interested readers who are considering migration may find helpful.
Other readers may be able to provide advice for emigration to other countries.
My family decided to migrate when we realised our children are being disadvantaged in school. Our children were struggling with second language at school even with tuition. Learning the second language became such a fearful experience that they would cry and stress on days they have tuition hours before it would start. Even though they were doing fairly well in other subjects, they were being ridiculed at school for their poor performance in the second language. Every now and then, they get called into the principal’s office for a “talking to” for pulling down the school’s grade. My children hated school! Just getting into the uniform was a daily fight with them. We felt so sorry for them, they were so highly stressed even at a young age.
Learning and gaining new knowledge, is supposed to be exciting and fun. If we want to nurture life-long learners, learning should be enjoyable. We also realised that with the style of teaching in Singapore, our children were unlikely going to “make it” by Singapore standard. We felt a good education should open their minds to important life skills like being able to critique, question, analyse, be resilient, and to articulate their thoughts well. Alas, it was not to be in the Singapore education system. We were a middle class family that relied on dual incomes, like many families. If our children could not pursue higher education in Singapore, there would have been no way we could afford to send them overseas to study.
Moreover, we felt the family could have a much better quality of life if we uproot. We wanted more family time, more hobby time, and more time to attend our children’s special events, basically, a better work / life balance (even though LHL said there is no such thing).
Thus, we made the decision to migrate.
We were lucky. At the time of application, my job was considered a “short term skill shortage” in New Zealand. Going through the EOI (Expressions of Interest), which you will find on www.immigration.govt.nz, we had sufficient points to apply for immigration to New Zealand.
Use the free online EOI test on the page to check if you have sufficient points to apply for immigration. You would need to set up a free account to do that.
If you have sufficient points , which is 140 at the moment, congratulations. Complete the online EOI form and submit it with your payment which is about $500.
Information about the various fees cann be found here – link.
It takes about two weeks for the NZ immigration department to come back to you to formally invite you to apply. That means you have cleared the first stage of checks.
You will then be sent forms to complete. These are the ones I talked about in Part 1 of this article published yesterday. Accompanying this set of forms will be your Certificate of Clearance from Singapore police and your medical reports. There will be instructions on the form about which doctors you can go to to get the medical checks done.
When you submit this set, you will submit with your fees of about $2000 plus. At the time of our application, this fee was not per person, so if you are applying as a family, the fee is about the same and NOT multiplied by the number of people in your family. This fee will include your visa fee once your application is approved, so you would not need to pay for visa fees again (unless the process has changed).
Costs of move and settling down
We paid about $9,000 to ship a whole container of our household belongings to NZ. We wanted to avoid buying new furniture and the works here. It is not necessary. Now, you could buy stuff cheaply here, especially if you do not mind second hand stuff. Second hand shops are very popular here. That’s how people recycle and live cheaply.
We brought all our savings with us, which amounted to what you would pay an agent to help with your application. If we had paid an agent to help with our application, we would not have the money to start life here.
If you are willing and not fussy, casual jobs are easily available. With a minimum wage of $14.75 per hour, you seriously won’t starve. An average 8-hour work will earn you $118 per day. After tax, which is taken straight out of your salary each pay day, you would still take home over $11 per hour.
I started work within a week of landing. I signed up with an agency upon landing and got casual work daily. Some days, I got 2-3 calls for work and had to turn them down.
We started like that, doing casual work. Within a month, we were offered permanent jobs.
Employers here always ask for NZ experience but if they have worked with you and you have proven yourself, they are happy to hire you. Employers want to know they can communicate with you, that you are reliable and hardworking, you get along with other workers, and you are willing to learn. New Zealanders are laid back and thus dislike arrogant and showy (show-off) people.
Because the labour law is clear and strict, you don’t have to worry about being taken advantage of. If you are, there are clear avenues for you to pursue justice and fair treatment.
Rental homes at the moment cost about NZ$350 per week and above. There is no need to go for expensive and big if you are on a budget. Don’t commit long term (more than a year) to a rental home until you know the neighbourhood.
If you want to get a car for ease of moving around, an old, beat-up one would cost you less than $2000. However, if you are not adept under the hood, you can get a reasonablly good second hand car for about $10,000.
School fees at state schools generally cost less than $100 a year. Schools would also ask for donations which are optional. There is no textbook to buy as these are supplied by the school and returned at the end of the school year. You buy stationery and exercise books. Each year, these cost me under $100 for two children unless your children keep losing their stuff. Uniforms are expensive because there is summer and winter uniforms, on top of PE gear. Quality is good. You can also buy less expensive ones since most schools would have a second hand uniform shop.
I will write a part 3 tomorrow to share about what to expect and more on cost of living. Emigration takes time, money and effort, you should know what you are getting yourself into before you commit.
SGean in NZ
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/10/09/costs-of-emigration-nz-part-1/
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/10/10/costs-of-emigration-nz-part-2/
