The first thing to realize is that most house rentals in New Zealand are payable per week, but you will sign an agreement for a certain amount of months. Landlords all have their own reasons for renting, eg., it may be an investment property that they are looking to rent on a long term basis or the owner may be working overseas for a few months and is looking for a reliable tenant that will essentially look after the house and pay the mortgage while they are away.

This is great for the new immigrant as it allows you to look out for just the correct rental term that suits you.

When renting a home in New Zealand you will be required to provide a few things :

1)      A bond – usually 4 to 5 weeks rental. This amount is held in trust and not held by the landlord themselves.

2)      One to two weeks rent in advance. All rent is payable in advance with usually an extra week held by the landlord to protect against non payment or fly-by-night tenants.

3)      References. As you will have no Kiwi references yet, it is highly recommended that you bring along previous references from your country of origin. Ideally that would be references from your previous rentals or if you owned, a reference from the bank. Luckily New Zealand has a huge immigrant population, so if you have just arrived, the landlords will realize that you may not have local references.

Probably the biggest reason for renting a place to stay shortly after arriving is the fact that you will already have so many pressures on you from uprooting your entire life that you will most probably find it all a little overwhelming in those first few months. You have so much of your life to piece back together that still trying to make one of the biggest investment decisions of your life at that time is probably not the wisest decision.

Rather find a small, comfortable place to rent first.

Give yourself time to settle and adjust to your new surroundings and country. Give yourself enough time before your container arrives – at least 4 to 6 weeks. Then you can drive around after hours or over weekends to go hunting for shopping centers, suitable schools, nice neighbourhoods, etc.

The next reason to  renting for a while after is due to how the schooling system works. Each school is “zoned”. This means that you can only send the kids to a school within the zone in which you live. By choosing a short term rental in the beginning allows you time to go and visit the different schools in the area where you plan to settle. You can then decide which school is best for the kids in an area which suits your lifestyle and budget.

A small tip : once you child is enrolled in a school within the zone you currently live, you can move to a different area and not have to move your child to a different school. This can enable you to get your child into a good school in a different zone to where you will finally stay.

Despite previously owning a home in their country of origin, most immigrants choose to rent a property when they first arrive in New Zealand. There are a few good reasons to do this, let’s take a look at them.

When first arriving in the country, you may not have a job yet, so we advise that you look out for a short term rental in the area where you have chosen to settle. This allows you some leeway with the job hunt as you know you can move within a short period of time if needed. Then once you have secured that vital employment you will be able to look out for something a little more permanent closer to your work.

Even if you have employment it is still best to rent for a while as it gives you time to ensure you are happy with the area in which you are staying before committing yourself. Remember that you will not only be here for the rest of your life, but New Zealand also has it’s own little intricacies and pitfalls when it comes to purchasing a home. So rather take the time to ensure you are comfortable and have had the time to learn some of these intricacies before you find yourself stuck with a home you paid too much for and can’t easily sell again.

New Zealand has a slew of different tertiary  education options and a well established infrastructure to provide that education with 8 major Universities, 25 Polytechs as well as teachers colleges situated around the country.

Entry into the Universities is via an entrance exam, called the University bursary exam, which the students sit in their final year at school. Each University offers their own specialized range of degree courses as well as the common degree courses like BSc. The best way to decide which Uni is best for you or your child is to visit each University’s website and have a look over the courses on offer.

The Polytechs (which you may know as a Technikon, Institute of Technology or University of Technology in your country) focus on a more hands on approach to learning than Universities do. At a Polytech the split between theory and practical would tend to be around 60/40 where at a University it would be around 90/10. As the amount of Polytechs in the country suggest, it is the most popular and accessible way for students leaving school to further their education. Many of the Polytechs also cater for those that have left school many years ago and now have families to juggle.

There are 6 teacher colleges around New Zealand, called Colleges of Education, which specialize in the training of school teachers.

From age 13 to 17 students attend Secondary School in New Zealand, though it’s only legally required up to age 16.

After year 12 (age 16) students take their University entrance exams. At that point they are then able to move on to Uni or choose to remain and complete Year 13. Most students prefer to remain for the final year.

Secondary schools are also often referred to as High Schools and Colleges in New Zealand and some of them can be quite huge and more resemble a University campus than a traditional school. To take a look at one of the newer Colleges around Auckland to get an idea of what it looks like you can click HERE

Throughout the child’s schooling years there is a big focus on learning to do things for yourself, yet also being able to work in a group situation. Children are taught, in true Kiwi fashion, the value of protecting the environment and this shows in the high level of recycling and environment protection in New Zealand.

Children are encouraged to participate in sport and the schools have some of the best sporting facilities in the world. Common sports are athletics, cross country, netball and of course rugby, but many other lesser known sports are also catered for at the schools. Sports like Lacrosse, sailing and Ripper.

Schools in New Zealand are also not that strict on hair styles so for many immigrants it will be unusual to see boys in school uniform with shoulder length or longer hair.

To supplement their income or to raise money for various projects schools also have an occasional “mufti” day. Children can then wear regular, civilian, clothes to school for that day in exchange for a gold coin (one or two dollar coin).

In New Zealand students attend secondary school from age 13, so you will notice that there is a “gap” between ending primary school and starting secondary school of 2 years. This is the time that children attend intermediate school.

The ideas behind intermediate schooling is to prepare the student for secondary school. Often the student will then attend a separate intermediate school, but many schools also offer the intermediate curriculum. So you may find that your child will do their intermediate phase at the primary school or their chosen secondary school.

To know whether the primary school you are looking to send your child to offers the intermediate part of the curriculum you can look out for the designation of the school. The school will either be a “contributing” primary school or a “full” primary school. If the primary school is designated as “contributing”, then your child will not be able to complete their last two years of primary school there and will have to go to an intermediate school in the area.

There are of course pro’s and con’s to sending your child to a contributing primary school, then to intermediate school, then to secondary school as opposed to full primary, then secondary school. These are :

Contributing primary, then intermediate, then secondary : Your child will learn to adapt to a new environment at the intermediate school, so when they move on to secondary school, they will be able to adapt into their new environment sooner. On the other hand children that are not good at adapting to change may find this double disruption unsettling.

Full primary, then secondary : This scenario offers the least disruption to the child routine as they only have to adapt to a new environment once, but you may find that they are less prepared for the change as contributing schools tend to be more focused on assisting with the adaption process as they specialise in the transition process

Children start primary school at the age of 5 in New Zealand, but it is only compulsory from the age of 6. Most children start school on their 5th birthday, or the next school day after that.

A full school year has 4 terms. Each school has their own start and end dates for each term, but they are generally :

Term 1 : late January to early April
Term 2 : late April to late June
Term 3 : mid July to late September
Term 4 : mid October to mid December

School class times are from 8:30am to 3pm, but can also vary from the one school to the next.

Schools are zoned in New Zealand which means you need to send your child to the nearest school in your area and that school must accept them. You can however still send your child to a school in another area if that school has place for them.

School fees are state funded, but expect to still pay a yearly “donation” of around $100 per year to the school per child. The schools also like to allow a certain amount of “international” students to attend the school as their fees are very high, which supplements the school’s income.

Schools are also rated on a decile system from 1 to 10. 10 being the best. It is important to note that this decile rating has nothing to do with the quality of the school and the teachers, but is based off the socio-economic status of the surrounding area.

Finding a job in New Zealand is often not only a key component of being able to successfully immigrate and settle into New Zealand, but can also be your ticket to being able to immigrate to the country. We will chat about your options in this article.

Finding a job in New Zealand can be an uphill battle if you are not aware of how the job market and recruiting system works, so let’s look at that first.

Your Curriculum Vitae (CV)

When an employer advertises a vacancy, they will typically receive many applications for the job from hopeful candidates. Especially in the current economic climate. This means that the employer can end up with a huge pile of CV’s on his / her desk and can pick and choose whom they want to employ. If your CV doesn’t stand out or is not in the correct format, then the chances of it ending up in the bin unopened is high.

The format for CV’s in New Zealand is to provide a very short one to three page condensed version of your work history. The employer doesn’t have time to read about every single project you have undertaken. They are rather more interested in what value you can add to the company, so you will need to rework your CV to highlight this. Here are a few pointers :

1)      Include a short cover letter highlighting your key strengths and achievements. Do this bullet format so that it is quick and easy to scan. Don’t forget to include the position you are applying for.

2)      The first page of your CV should start with your personal details first, ie., your names, address and contact details. If you have permanent residence or a work permit already, it would be a good idea to include this fact too.

3)      List latest your work experience first and work backwards.

4)      Show the position held, time held, very short description of the main duties, then also your main achievements you have attained in that position. Employers are very achievement conscious, so if you have increased your department’s turnover by 10% in the past year, then mentioning that in your CV will gain you a lot of points with your potential employer. Again try and lay out the info in short bullet points or table format to make it quick and easy to scan / read.

5)      You can list a few interests and extracurricular activities if there is place on the CV as it does show the employer that you lead a balanced lifestyle, but if you are running out of space, rather leave it out. It is more important to keep the CV short and concise. If the CV becomes too long and bulky, the employer may not even look at it.

6)      It is important to list a few, around three, references in your CV, preferably the latest ones. Employers do contact your references, even if they are overseas companies.

Where to Find Job vacancies in New Zealand

There are many employment agencies in New Zealand. Most of them have websites which you can visit to scour for jobs in your area of expertise. The two most well known being Trade Me Jobs and Seek. But don’t limit yourself to just these two sites as there are many other smaller companies that will put in a lot more effort and personally take charge of helping you find work. Many of the smaller companies also specialise in certain niches so they have their ear to the ground in those fields and are often in the position of having to head hunt on the employer’s behalf. If they have your CV on record then you stand a great chance of making the short list for that position.

When searching for work though it is important that you don’t be shy. New Zealand is a tight knit community so relationships are important. You will need to visit the various employment agencies yourself. That way you get to chat to the people and they get to know you a bit better. Remember it is a lot easier to drop a faxed CV in the bin, than a CV from “that nice person I spoke to yesterday”.  We work with a few of those smaller companies to assist our clients in finding work. You can visit our website for more information on how we can assist you in your search for a job in New Zealand.

Depending on the employer, the interview process can be quite rigorous or a very short and informal affair. It often depends on the amount and quality of the applicants for that job opening.

If there is very tough competition for that job opening, then you may find yourself going for multiple rounds of interviews and even being sent for testing. Smaller employers tend to take a more relaxed approach to employing. They will often not even advertise a position, but rather just ask around for referrals and potential candidates from their employees and fellow business friends.

For that reason it is also very important to network with those in your area of expertise when looking for work in New Zealand. That may mean climbing in your car and visiting potential employers. Ask to speak to the HR manager and hand them your CV.

It is important to note that not all jobs in New Zealand will qualify for points when immigrating to the country, or even obtain you a work permit. The job needs to be considered skilled.

If you would like more information on which jobs in New Zealand will qualify you for points when immigrating or about immigration to New Zealand, then please contact us.