Living and Working in New Zealand (How to)

369 Pages·2004·15.26 MB·English

by  Joy Muirhead

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Living & Working
in New Zealand
How to build a new life
In New Zealand
6th edition
JOY MUIRHEAD
howtobooks
Cover images by kind permission of Tourism New
Zealand.

Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road,
Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX United Kingdom.
Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone].
e-mail:
Contents
List of illustrations viii
Preface to the sixth edition ix
1 Making the big decision 1
Introducing the country 1
Questions and answers 3
The atractions of New Zealand 4
Climate 6
Some brief facts 9
Multiculturalism 9
New Zealand's main cities 13
2 Imigration 24
More migrants neded 24
Obtaining a visitor's visa/permit 27
Obtaining a study visa/permit 34
Obtaining a work permit 43
Permanent migrants 45
Apeals 54
Immigration fes 54
Obtaining a police certificate 56
Humanitarian category 56
Questions and answers on immigration 57
Inwards and outwards migration 58
3 Earning a dolar 96
Job hunting 96
Labour relations 97
Finding a job 98
Geting started 104
Tackling typical interview questions 105
Choosing your occupation 108
Personnel consultants 130
Meeting New Zealand qualification requirements 133
Seting up a busines 138
V
vi L IVING & W O R K I N G IN NEW Z E A L A N D
Paying tax in New Zealand 142
Banking and 152
Questions and answers 155
Understanding employment conditions and law 156
Your workplace environment 160
4 Education 164
Educational reform 164
The schools 164
Costs of education 173
Universities of New Zealand 173
Student budgeting 188
Training at a polytechnic colege 192
Central Institute of Technology (CIT) 193
Advanced Awards and Trade Certification Board
examinations 194
5 Housing and living 196
Buying a house 196
Housing and furnishing costs 207
Renting 210
Real estate agents 213
The weekly shopping basket 214
Questions and answers 215
6 Health and welfare 216
How health care is organised 216
New Zealand's Health & Welfare Scheme 219
Health service charges for the patient 224
The Accident Compensation Corporation 228
Sunshine camps 229
Questions and answers 231
7 Living under the law 232
How the legal system works 232
Legal aid in New Zealand 235
The rising crime rate 235
Law for drivers 240
Geting through Customs & Excise 247
Questions and answers 252
C O N T E N T S vii
8 The government and the economy 253
New Zealand's constitution 253
A changing economy 259
9 Women in New Zealand 277
The story of an early woman setler 277
Centennial sufrage 1893-1993 279
Equal pay? 281
Current atitudes in New Zealand 284
Life for rural women 285
Women's social opportunities 288
The cost of looking good 290
Some famous New Zealand women 292
Questions and answers 294
10 Leisure opportunities 296
Around and about the North Island 296
Discovering the South Island 301
Sking in New Zealand 304
Backpacking and farm holidays 307
Youth hosteling 310
Visiting New Zealand's island neighbours 310
The great outdoors 313
Dining out 315
1 A final word 316
Becoming a Kiwi 316
Playing the game 317
Some topical issues in New Zealand 318
Hot of the pres 322
Postscript 323
A guide to speaking 'New Zildish' 324
Useful addreses 327
Further reading 349
Index 354
List of Illustrations
1 Map of New Zealand xi
2 The Welington area 12
3 The Auckland area 14
4 The Christchurch area 18
5 Examples of New Zealand visas 39
6 Examples of New Zealand permits 40
7 Skiled migrant category - points system 52
8 Application for a visitor's pass or permit 60-67
9 Application for a student visa 68-73
10 Application for a work visa 74-80
11 Application for a long-term business visa and permit 81-95
12 Some typical New Zealand job advertisements 102-103
13 Sample functional CV 106
14 Sample chronological CV 107
15 Some typical business opportunities for sale 139
16 Some typical farming enterprises for sale 141
17 A New Zealand bank cheque 155
18 Personal grievance claims 159
19 Approximate secondary education costs 172
20 Applying for a place in education 175
21 Auckland University tuition fees 177
22 Lincoln University tuition fees 179
23 Application for admission to the University of
Canterbury 183
24 Victoria University tuition fees 185
25 Houses for sale - typical examples 199
26 Agreement for sale and purchase of real estate 201-202
27 Properties to rent - typical examples 211
28 A tenancy agreement 212
29 A New Zealand driving licence 246
viii
Preface
to the sixth edition
Congratulations, you must have discovered that New Zealand
is not just another part of Australia!
My husband and I brought our three children here in
1972. We had no friends or relations to come to: we just
decided that it would be a good place in which to bring up
our family. The only information we had received from New
Zealand House in London was that we should buy a house
in New Zealand before we arrived! We decided that was
certainly not a good idea.
After poring over maps of New Zealand, we came to the
conclusion that the North Island was going to be sub-tro-
pical, and therefore we wouldn't need our warm English
clothes, and told the children to take their last look at the
pleasure of open fires, because we just would never see one
again. This proved to be wrong; only north of Auckland in the
Bay of Islands area does one find truly sub-tropical weather.
As we settled in the Bay of Plenty, we found it very hot in
summer, but when the temperature dropped to around 10
degrees Celsius after summer highs of 25-30 degrees Celsius,
we certainly felt it cool enough to light a fire.
New Zealand lived up to the clean green image we had, the
skies were certainly blue and the waters clear, and the sun was
so bright we needed sunglasses to cut down the glare.
One day we were travelling from Hamilton in the North
Island to Tauranga, a journey of perhaps one hour. After
about 20 minutes I realised that there were no cars to be seen,
and what's more, there were no people either! It felt as though
ix