ORC:
The airline won’t let you board without an onward/return flight booked, unless you can show them a visa that allows you to stay in NZ.
I wasn’t aware that truck driver had been added back to the skills shortage list yet. There are proposals to regionalise the skills shortage lists which might make it easier to get in, but they’re only proposals at this stage.
Accredited Employer is definitely the way to go right now I believe. Get to the NZ immigration website, pull up the list online and search for companies in the transport sector. Make a list, find their depots on Google, get on over here, hire a car and go door knocking. If you’re presentable and your face fits then you’re likely to land a job without too much trouble.
Incidentally, forget Mainfreight even though they’re big. Although they’re accredited their drivers are all owner drivers and they don’t employ any direct.
Forget DHL too, they don’t run a fleet here, just warehousing from what I can gather.
Bidvest are rigid local delivery trucks only, no class 5 vehicles at all. The linehaul work is done by other established NZ haulage operators.
Thanks for decent info.
Bidvest NZ is on that list and they have hired few agency-immigration b… who recently visited UK scavenging for bidvest standard victims offering 2 year contract via their agency - contract… without actual residency benefit in it from the beginning just looking for meat for bidvest NZ
I’ve been emailing Aussie haulage firms regarding sponsorship, although slightly different from the NZ visas, and have got absolutely nowhere with it. I’d love to drive some trucks in NZ and ultimately live there permanently.
Does anyone know of any companies that may consider sponsoring a UK truckie by only viewing their CV and some FaceTime/skype calls?
Don’t think I could leave my current job and uproot my wife and son in the hope of getting sponsored.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks fella’s!!
I’ve been emailing Aussie haulage firms regarding sponsorship, although slightly different from the NZ visas, and have got absolutely nowhere with it. I’d love to drive some trucks in NZ and ultimately live there permanently.
Does anyone know of any companies that may consider sponsoring a UK truckie by only viewing their CV and some FaceTime/skype calls?
Don’t think I could leave my current job and uproot my wife and son in the hope of getting sponsored.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks fella’s!!
Be careful, I have heard some real horror stories over the years involving ruthless company’s who ‘sponsor’ overseas applications.
In short, you need to do the hard yards all by yourself and it’s a struggle.
Interesting read. Although I’m sure there are plenty of decent companies to work for. It seems that this is focusing on all the bad firms, as we know you get them everywhere!
I know they put some hours in over there, much more than you would generally do here in the UK. Saying that I know of some people that manage to do 80+ hours a week!
You don’t have to uproot your family, just go on a tourist visa and spend a few weeks travelling around NZ, knocking on doors, talking to depot managers and suchlike. You’ll see the bigger firms’ trucks on the road and that’ll give you an idea where to knock. There are several trucking firms on the Accredited Employers list - and several more who are accredited but are not listed as such.
If you can’t visit in person, use the Accredited Employers list to target known companies with emails and your CV. Search also for other larger trucking firms and email them too - they might be accredited, but you won’t know without asking. Roadranger experience would be well received, and if by some miracle you have acquired truck & trailer and/or B train experience that’ll be great too. Forklift, hazardous goods and other relevant skills will also look good…a driver in NZ is expected to do more than just driving in most instances.
NZ is easier than Australia to get a visa, but hurry - the government has proposed changes to the employer sponsored visa classes which will make it almost impossible for truck drivers to meet the new conditions. Notably the salary threshold is going from $55,000 to $78,000.
Many thanks for the reply, I’ll look at the accredited companies and send off my CV in the hope of getting some sort of response.
I have good experience here in the UK, and I’ve already done my homework regarding the NZ heavy goods license. I just need to look more at the visa’s and what permanent residency visa we could get after working on a temporary visa for so long. I’ve only really looked at the Australian visa system and know that inside out up to now!
Out of interest, what would be the best places to go to for jobs? We’d be quite happy living in the country or city so anywhere you can recommend?
Fudd44:
Many thanks for the reply, I’ll look at the accredited companies and send off my CV in the hope of getting some sort of response.
I have good experience here in the UK, and I’ve already done my homework regarding the NZ heavy goods license. I just need to look more at the visa’s and what permanent residency visa we could get after working on a temporary visa for so long. I’ve only really looked at the Australian visa system and know that inside out up to now!
Out of interest, what would be the best places to go to for jobs? We’d be quite happy living in the country or city so anywhere you can recommend?
Thanks again for the info.
Spent all last December in New Zealand, hired a car and did a good bit off travelling, based in Christchurch, I never got to the other island but there is no motorways once you leave the city
The scenery is spectacular there is no words or photos that could really explain it you have to see it yourself
And I did envy the truck drivers seeing them sights every day and getting paid for it
Fudd44:
Many thanks for the reply, I’ll look at the accredited companies and send off my CV in the hope of getting some sort of response.
I have good experience here in the UK, and I’ve already done my homework regarding the NZ heavy goods license. I just need to look more at the visa’s and what permanent residency visa we could get after working on a temporary visa for so long. I’ve only really looked at the Australian visa system and know that inside out up to now!
Out of interest, what would be the best places to go to for jobs? We’d be quite happy living in the country or city so anywhere you can recommend?
Thanks again for the info.
Spent all last December in New Zealand, hired a car and did a good bit off travelling, based in Christchurch, I never got to the other island but there is no motorways once you leave the city
The scenery is spectacular there is no words or photos that could really explain it you have to see it yourself
And I did envy the truck drivers seeing them sights every day and getting paid for it
Sounds amazing! Was it a holiday you went for or were you scouting out the island for employment reasons?
I’ve spoken to a few Kiwi truckers in Australia and they also said how beautiful the country was and the thing they missed was the scenery. Especially when you’re driving through the Northern Territory desert!
I’ve sent quite a few emails off to Accredited employers although I’m doubting I’ll get a reply. Would be great to go out there like you did and visit some companies.
Sounds amazing! Was it a holiday you went for or were you scouting out the island for employment reasons?
I’ve spoken to a few Kiwi truckers in Australia and they also said how beautiful the country was and the thing they missed was the scenery. Especially when you’re driving through the Northern Territory desert!
I’ve sent quite a few emails off to Accredited employers although I’m doubting I’ll get a reply. Would be great to go out there like you did and visit some companies.
Just a holiday, if it was 20 years earlier I would not have come home
I’ll echo pretty much all of what’s been previously said but if you have never been to NZ, it would be far better to go for trip and experience the country.
It is an outstanding place in many ways but it does have its bad points and the life is not for everyone.
If its money your going for, NZ is definitely not the place to go.
It is getting much harder to get in (for truckies anyway) but persevere, particularly with accredited companies.
You can do the visa process yourself, it is relatively straight forward, but if you have any doubts or children are involved (especially with a WTR visa) I would suggest enlisting the assistance of an immigration advisor (INZ registered), (I can recommend a company if needs be). It does cost a bit but will ensure every I is dotted and T is crossed and everything is done in the right time frame.
I’m grateful for the responses and it has given me some information I needed.
Anisboy, if you wouldn’t mind passing on the contact details of the immigration advisor I’d be grateful, as my son is starting primary school in September, so if we are lucky enough to be offered employment, he would be able to start the following year, which is when the other kids his age would start as far as I’m aware.
Really we would be going for the lifestyle as I’m aware the money isn’t the best, probably not much different to what I currently earn. Saying that there must be certain jobs that pay more like here if you have the required licenses and experience?
Traffic around Auckland is horrific, and to be avoided unless you enjoy sitting in jams. Tauranga is getting bad too. The rest of the country is fairly ‘normal’. Most of the population is on North Island, so South Island is the place to go for unspoilt miles upon miles of open roads, rolling hills, sheep and cattle country mostly, and spectacular mountains, lakes, glacial rivers etc.
North Island is probably easier to find a job, though, as there is obviously more demand here. If you’re lucky you might land a job doing inter-island work on the ferries and get to see the best of both islands. However, that does mean a lot of time away from home.
Everything in NZ is scaled to about one twelfth of what you have in the UK, reflecting the population difference. There are no RDCs with hundreds of bays - in fact docking bays are quite uncommon. Most places will have canopies and forklifts for loading/unloading via side curtains. The majority of trucks - the truck & trailer outfits - don’t even have rear doors. They’re a handful to reverse too, as they have both the ringfeeder and the dolly pivot points. Semi-trailers are in the minority.
If you choose a city with a port then you can probably find plenty of jobs running containers - swinglift or skelly. Tauranga, Auckland and Christchurch are probably the big three, but there’s also Timaru, Dunedin, Napier, New Plymouth and others.
NZ is predominantly an agricultural economy so much of the work will be seasonal, with peaks and troughs through the year. Time your approach for maximum demand (harvest time, fruit picking season, avocados and kiwifruit centred on the Te Puke area near Tauranga).
