Nab That Job in New Zealand!

I am excited to share information about a new visa programme in New Zealand that has been developed to attract highly skilled, young people to work long-term in New Zealand.

The new visa is called the "Silver Fern Visa", a scheme that will be launched in April 2010, and is aimed at foreign nationals who want to live and work in New Zealand.  To qualify for the Silver Fern Visa scheme, the requirements are as follows:

• Must be aged between 20 and 35 years
• Must hold a national diploma, bachelors degree or trade qualification
• Must have at least two years work experience

New Zealand will only be issuing 300 Silver Fern visas per year, and therefore, you will need to apply early to increase your chance of being successful for this New Zealand visa scheme.

The initial visa awareded will offer the visa holder nine months in which to enter the country and obtain relevant skilled employment.  Once you have this employment in place, you can then move towards permanent residency in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Silver Fern Visa scheme consists of two sub-policies, offering a two-stage pathway to permanent residence in New Zealand:

1. The Job Search policy; and
   
2. The Practical Experience policy.
   

The Silver Fern Job Search Policy allows foreign nationals to enter New Zealand for nine months, while they seek skilled employment. As mentioned above, there will only be 300 visas issued per year.

To be successful for New Zealand's Silver Fern Visa, applicants must:

• Make the application using the online system set up for this purpose

• Be outside of New Zealand at the time of lodgement

• Have a recognised qualification which is either a:

            - bachelor or higher

            - trade qualification and a minimum of two years’ work experience in that trade

• Be able to meet English Language requirements
• Have funds available to support their stay in New Zealand

New Zealand's Minister of Immigration, Jonathan Coleman, states:

"The new Silver Fern policy enables young people with proven potential to come to New Zealand for up to nine months to seek skilled employment. Once they find skilled employment, they will be able to stay for a further two years, while they apply for residence. This will create a pathway to residence for young skilled people, who want to come to New Zealand to further develop their careers, and potentially to settle permanently.

For more information on the New Zealand Silver Fern Visa, click here.

If you qualify for New Zealand's Silver Fern Visa, and would like assistance securing skilled employment in Australia, send your CV to our consultants by clicking here.