I know, I know, I’ve already shifted once (I was born in NZ), but the reality is that (when I moved here) the legal formalities involved in moving to Australia from NZ basically involved having a passport.
I’ve been here seven years now, and I’m not happy with the way things have worked out. I don’t want to go back to NZ, and I want to move somewhere else- ideally the UK, Canada, or the US.
The problem is, I have no idea how to go about doing it. I know I can’t just front up at LHR, YVR, or LAX and announce my intention to remain in the country permanently, but beyond that, I’m a bit lost.
Any advice, tips, or pointers would be greatly appreciated…
The U.S. would be the hardest, I think. You can get a green card from a lottery (check INS) or you could find an employer that is willing to swear that no American citizen can perform the work you do (which I think is how actors and musicians across the world get to work in the U.S.)
Canada and the U.K. are part of the commonwealth, and you being a ctizen might make things easier. I know some territories in Canada are happy to sponsor immigrants.
And for a discussion of the merits of different locations within Canada, check out the replies to the thread Frank] started a few months ago, when he was musing about moving to Canada: Halifax? Toronto? Calgary?
Not sure how old you are but if you are under the age of 30 you can live and work in the UK or Canada on a Working Holiday Visa. I’ve just finished my 2 yr WH visa in the UK and was lucky enough to find a company to sponsor me for an additional 5 years.
There must be some reason you want to move, so given that there must be some places you don’t want to move to? What would the difference be between rural Canada and rural Australia? Aside from the weather I don’t see what you are gaining from this. Are you just experiencing the peculiar Australian “travelling” phase?
If you want to move, move somewhere radically different, like Japan, or Guatemala. At least you’ll have something to show for it if you survive.
Yes, i know loads of aussies who have European passports. Also, remember that an Irish grandparent will get you an irish passport. I can’t believe you don’t know of the working visa situation. I think, as a kiwi that’s your best bet. Go for a year (or two depending on where) and try to parlay that into some kind of permanent situation. The US will be hard. Illegally, of course I imagine it’s pretty easy as you are allowed to enter without a visa. Of course you won’t have a SSN, so you won’t have a bank account, and you’ll have things much harder that way. Canada seems pretty open to immigration from professionals.
Looking into it- my Grandfather was Scottish, but we’ve been unable to track down his birth certificate, and since my Mum was adopted there’s some debate as to whether or not adoptive Grandparents count for the purposes of this.
It’s something I’m working on, though.
As for why I want to move overseas rather than somewhere in Australia? Well, I spend a fair bit of time in rural Queensland as it is anyway, and I know from previous experience that the amount of work involved in shifting to the next state is almost exactly the same as the amount of work involved in shifting to a foreign country.
As it is though, the plan at this stage is simply to wait until after the wedding, work until we’ve got enough cash to buy the flights, sell or store all our stuff, and then for me and my (by then) wife simply to head for the Northern Hemisphere and see how things go from there…
I’m not Mexican, and I’d prefer to migrate legally, in the interests of not having to spend the next several years taking a series of odd jobs under the assumed name “Mr. Pilkington” in order to avoid deportation…
Calling yourself “Mr. Pilkington” would be a dead giveaway that something is amiss. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to pinpoint that it was your immigration status immediately, but that name just automatically sounds fishy to any American authority figure. Especially if you were Mexican.
Personally, I would go with “Polonius Bartleby III”.
