Brian - Anaesthetic Technician, Auckland

My name is Brian Dickinson and I am an Anaesthetic Technician. I arrived in New Zealand from the UK and started my new job in Auckland.

We had been thinking about coming to NZ for about 5 years. I met the staff of Accent Healthcare Recruitment at a Working In NZ expo in Manchester in 2009. The help I received back then was very good, but it just was not the right time to come.

We seriously started to consider coming here in 2012 but did not get started on the paperwork until Oct 2013 when I renewed contact with the staff of Accent Healthcare Recruitment.
My paperwork for the whole process of getting here had to start with a passport application followed by police check and much paperwork to get registered as an Anaesthetic Technician over here. That was sent off in early Feb 2014.I sent AHR my CV for them to start sending out to prospective hospitals. We sold our house at this time (in 3 days), completed on that within 2 months, and had my first job interview at the end of March 2014. Though I was accepted for the job, my wife and I felt it was simply too far away from where we were going to be living to accept the job, so I turned it down.

Within about 3 days I had a call from the Charge Anaesthetic Technician of the Hospital where I now work, he having been sent my CV by AHR.  That call lasted about 20 minutes, and was all very positive. Due to the Easter break, and hold ups at the hospital, a formal interview was not set up until the end of April, then the wait to hear whether or not I had been successful. That was a few weeks, once informed, I sent off for my Annual Practising Certificate, and filled in the remaining parts of my EOI. That was sent off around the middle of June, and on the 21 June we received out invitation to apply for our residency visas. It took about a month to gather the remaining documents together, partly due to delays with my family’s passports. We posted the ITA on the 14 July, and received our passports with our visas inside on the 2 Aug. We flew out on the 19th August, and I started my job on the 1st Sep.

Throughout the whole process, Prue and her team at AHR have been simply brilliant in all that was required, very prompt in responding and making it feel easier than it was. The immigration process went very smoothly simply because we sent everything that was required and missed nothing out.

The hardest part of the process was patience and the seemingly enormous amounts of official documents that had to be provided, it looked very daunting at first, but as each one was sent off for and received, one more item could be crossed off the list. I had a lot on my list, but once it was all complete, and sent off to NZ house, that was a great relief.

First impressions of NZ: Warmer than the UK, even though it was 2330 and winter time here. The next day was beautiful sunshine, so we went to the local beach and paddled in the water no clouds anywhere, and enjoying sushi :) lovely!! Everywhere was clean, the skies were very blue and clear, no pollution anywhere to be seen or smelt :) such a lovely contrast to the UK. No parking fees, free toilets and showers at the beach, free BBQ areas, and parks!!! Wonderful, and the people were lovely and helpful :)

Work has been great, very helpful colleagues many of whom have moved to NZ in the past, so know how things are.

The only things we miss about the UK are our family, friends and the great Yorkshire countryside with its stone walls, quaint villages, and lovely hills and valleys and dales. (We don't miss the long queues of traffic getting to such places though!)

If you are thinking of moving here, plan ahead, don't miss out anything you need to send in for any documents you need to apply for, it just delays things a great deal! Do the EOI over a period of weeks of months and as you get each bit of supporting documentation, fill in that part of the EOI and then you can cease worrying about it. Don't wait until you have all your documentation before you fill in the EOI, it takes some doing and you might well get a headache!! Plus you will have plenty of things to consider as well as the time comes nearer to leaving.
Is my job different here than in the UK' yes, in some respects, but in others no, slightly different processes in some aspects, but nothing difficult to overcome. I am happy here, and loving the work and the country :)"