work Not enough Express entry points so plan B how to get a work visa ?

[tripwireza 0]

Our Story so far

So my Wife and myself have done our IELTS exams , we did our degree equivalency via WES both are 4 year Degrees. But Due to age , myself being 41 and my wife 32. Our EE points are 310 for myself as primary or else 350 if she was. Then if we have more than out 7.5 average in IELTS to a max of 9 , we will only get 40 point more thus < 400 Points in general.

So that means I need to get a Work Visa, but cannot go looking for work. What can we do ?? Time is ticking and doing more studies is worth less than the years etc loss via age ?  I feel totally powerless , stuck here unable to get my wife and kids out. I have lots of work experience as a Developer for Big Government Projects , Universities etc . but the system is rather impersonal and only looks at a number not your story

 *We looked at NZ also but you cannot get in with out work and you may not go look for work. Aus rules to get in is also hard with a very high IELTS expected and we don`t like Aus even if it could be a spring board to NZ after x years

 

Thanks for your help

Edited January 28 by tripwireza

[GrantM 397]

9 hours ago, tripwireza said:

 *We looked at NZ also but you cannot get in with out work and you may not go look for work.

Not true. You can go in with a visitor visa, look for work and even attend an interview but you cannot work while on a visitor visa.

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/already-have-a-visa/my-situation-has-changed/visit/can-i-come-to-nz-as-a-visitor-to-look-for-a-job

[Lizelle 569]

And once you get a job offer in NZ, it generally takes you all of 1 week to get a work permit.  I would look on the NZ work sites if I were you, and apply for work (https://www.seek.co.nz/ is the most used one, I think).  If it looks like there's a lot of vacancies, apply for work.  

NZ don't generally have the "Canadian Experience" problem that you have here.  Companies assume that whatever work experience you have from South Africa counts pretty much the same as NZ experience.  Plus, there are lots of SA people there (plus they know SA from rugby, unlike Canadians which may or may not know that South Africa is different from Africa).  

So, apply for work from SA.  Most of the bigger companies are fairly experienced in getting people in on visas (plus, the process is really easy).  If your job is in demand, they will be more than willing to do it.  

[tripwireza 0]

Thank you for the replies, I`ll contact the employment companies there and hopefully I can organize work from here , else I`ll need to go do some meet and greet on holiday. I see there is a skilled migrant resident visa that I can achieve if I get 160 + points , unfortunately I am at 145 . So I need to get the 50Point work offer and I can achieve a resident visa. I am in the express queue for Canada as well with lower than 400 points (if I get a work offer I get a additional 200 making me tip over the 450 acceptance draw) . So I`ll put my self in the NZ queue as well and start applying for jobs remotely before deciding which one will have a actual visit if unsuccessful.  Such a stressful process as I am the only person working and have a wife and 2 kids (one in high school) to plan and support if I do go looking for work overseas.

Any other tips you might be able to give me ?

[Lizelle 569]

It greatly depends on the job market in NZ.  A lot of times the companies also want to see you there.  Plenty of times companies have appointed SA people in NZ, only for them to not show up, so people get a little weary.  But again, it depends on your particular skill set, and the job market.

When my brother was looking for work in NZ (about 2 years ago now), one year there was just a few jobs here and there.  They applied, but nothing really stuck.  The next year they decided to go to NZ (it's just him and his partner) for a few months to talk to companies and see where they want to be.  She was a planner on a mine.  That year, there was a big shortage of workers.  A mill in NZ contacted them (I don't know if they applied for something there, presumably they did), and she did a few Skype interviews.  

The company eventually paid for the move to NZ, paid for a month of housing and lease of a car for a month.  It is a lot easier to get a job in NZ than it is in Canada.  Because work permits only take a week to get.  

The point system in NZ is sort of set up with exactly that in mind.  If you can get a company to give you work, then you qualify to get PR (assuming it’s full time work and for a minimum salary). But it is not such a massive barrier as what it is in Canada.  

It is frustrating for people trying to get PR and then move over, but it is actually pretty smart immigration policy. It ensures that you are always bringing in people that will add to the economy, and that the policies are responsive to the need. You don’t sit with the situation as you do here where doctors are driving taxi cabs because they cannot get licensed. Just make it easy for companies to appoint someone from overseas if there is a need, and there you go.

I know that the “getting a job in NZ from SA” step feels massively daunting, but assuming that there is a proper amount of job vacancies for you position on that side, it is fairly simple to do.

Edited January 29 by Lizelle

[tripwireza 0]

Thank you for the advise 😃 Hopefully this year will be a good one

[Dragyn 35]

16 hours ago, Lizelle said:

Just make it easy for companies to appoint someone from overseas if there is a need, and there you go.

Now if only Canada would realize that.

Coincidentally, my brother and his family are leaving for NZ this afternoon. He got a job offer within a month of starting to look, whilst I've been trying for Canada for 3 years now. Employers are super keen, but once you start pointing them in the direction of what is required from them, you never hear from them again.

[tripwireza 0]

23 hours ago, Dragyn said:

Now if only Canada would realize that.

Coincidentally, my brother and his family are leaving for NZ this afternoon. He got a job offer within a month of starting to look, whilst I've been trying for Canada for 3 years now. Employers are super keen, but once you start pointing them in the direction of what is required from them, you never hear from them again.

That`s my fear. I have a family to support as I bring in the only income and I have a home and things to sell. I am fortune to be debt free at 41 (made some really hard decisions in the past to do it) so the idea to loose it for a broken promise is scary.  The timing of everything is important and to be left in the dark while those companies abort the process would have a severe knock on effect.

[Dragyn 35]

On 1/31/2019 at 10:04 AM, tripwireza said:

That`s my fear. I have a family to support as I bring in the only income and I have a home and things to sell. I am fortune to be debt free at 41 (made some really hard decisions in the past to do it) so the idea to loose it for a broken promise is scary.  The timing of everything is important and to be left in the dark while those companies abort the process would have a severe knock on effect.

You don't sell anything until you have confirmation of visa/ITA/PNP etc.