I super appreciate that the FBI says in bold that just because I don’t have a record with them does not mean I am not a wanted felon on the state and/or local levels. Cheers, guys. Thanks for that.
My FBI background check came back clean! 🕵🏼
One of the things New Zealand Immigration requires you to submit with your visa application is a “police certificate,” which in the States means an “Identity History Summary” from the FBI, which you can order here. It cost $18 and took two weeks to process. You have to fill out and print off the form and mail it along with your fingerprints, which I had taken at my local police department The whole thing was thrilling and I would be lying to you if I said that I didn’t picture Clarice Starling or Fox Mulder opening my application.
Mulder and Scully making some calls about my rap sheet. PS: This is literally the best photoshopping I’ve ever done.
I had no idea, until I floated a list of possible blog name ideas on social media last month, that the term “washashore” is unique to Cape Cod. A washashore is anyone who has moved to the Cape from somewhere else, as opposed to someone born on the Cape (a native Cape Codder). I’ve heard the word washashore my entire life and never knew how specific and local it was. I love learning surprising new things.
And while we’re on the subject of funny words in my blog’s subtitle, “Kiwiland” is not an actual nickname for New Zealand. I made it up because it’s whimsical…like “washashore.”
I’m making this its own post since a lot of people have asked me what my plans are. Here is a synopsis of the hopeful trajectory of my life for the next few years. I’m going to emphasize that none of this is guaranteed.
I land in Auckland on January 2, 2024. As an American, I’m allowed to stay for 90 days on a tourist visa.
Towards the end of those three months, I will apply for a Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa. The reason I’m not applying for the visa immediately is so that I can establish a paper trail (of sorts) to submit as evidence that my Kiwi partner and I are in a committed and lasting relationship. Stuff like opening a bank account together, adding my name to the lease, and receiving official mail at my NZ address.
When I submit my Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa application, it will be reviewed to ensure that it has all of the required documents, which takes about a week. Because I will be submitting it a few weeks before my 90-day Visitor Visa is set to expire, I need to stay on top of things to made sure my Interim Visa is issued before my Visitor Visa expires or else I will be here without a valid visa.
If my application is deemed satisfactory, I will be issued an Interim Visa, which is good for six months or until they make a decision, whichever comes first. In the unlikely event that they have not made a decision within six months, I can apply for an Interim Visa extension.
If I leave NZ while on my Interim Visa, it becomes null and void and I’d have to start all over again (which means paying the application fee all over again).
The turnaround time to process work visas is currently 11 weeks. So I’ll apply for the work visa in late March 2024 and should hear back from Immigration early to mid June 2024. If approved for a work visa, it’s good for 1-2 years depending on how long you’ve been living with your partner. For me, based on how long we will have lived together, my work visa would be good for one year.
Towards the end of my one-year work visa (which in theory would be around June 2025) I’ll apply for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa, which lasts for two years. After that, I will apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. The difference between the two is that Resident Visas have travel conditions that only allow you to re-enter New Zealand as a resident for those two years, whereas a Permanent Resident Visa allows indefinite re-entry to New Zealand. If I am granted a Permanent Resident Visa it will, as the name suggests, allow me to live and work in NZ forever, which is my goal. 😊
After five years of being in NZ on the Permanent Resident Visa–so long as I have spent 240 days of each of those five years living in NZ–I am eligible to apply for Citizenship, which would give me a NZ passport. The US allows dual citizenship, so I will still legally be American and won’t have to surrender my passport.
As I mentioned at the top of this post, no part of this well-laid plan of mine is a guarantee. It all depends on whether or not Immigration NZ thinks I have a viable case. And it also depends on any unforeseen circumstances that may arise, like (god forbid) another pandemic. I do know that being very organized and very determined go a long way with immigration, and I’ve got organization and determination in spades. So fingers crossed.🤞🏼
Here are all of the clothes I plan on bringing with me to New Zealand. Huge thank you to my sister Gillian for sitting there while I tried on every single piece of clothing I own to help decide what I’m bringing, what I’m leaving, what I’m donating, and what needs to be thrown away immediately.
I was planning on starting this blog when I actually arrived in New Zealand, since who the heck wants to read a blog chronicling some American’s wild adventures in another country while they’re still in the States. But since I created this blog with the intention of chronicling *all* of my adventures, I wanted to start now. Because preparing to move to another country is absolutely bananas and I want to share the experience with you.
I am a very organized and efficient human being. I rarely forget to do something I need to do, or do it later than I’m supposed to. I have a good memory and I am constantly making to-do lists. But holy cow you guys. I’ve never used the “exploding brain emoji” as much as I have these last few months.
I have also never, ever had this many reminders constantly popping up in my iPhone calendar. A few examples, and please excuse the AGGRESSIVE CAPS LOCK and excessive use of !!!! but that’s exactly how I put these my phone:
“GET FBI BACKGROUND CHECK!!” “CALL T-MOBILE/DBL CHECK OVERSEAS PLAN??” “PICK UP NZ$ @ AAA!!” “MAKE SURE AIR TAHITI FLIGHT INCLUDES CHECKED BAG????” “HAVE I RECEIVED FBI BACKGROUND CHECK??” “ORDER COMPRESSION BAG THINGIES FOR PACKING???” “PUT ETSY SHOP ON VACATION MODE!!” “GET CAR INSPECTED!!” “DOWNGRADE CAR INSURANCE??” “GET TAX STUFF READY FOR HAZEL!!!” “SEND INT’L STAMPS/NZ ADDRESS TO PENPALS!!!” “MED REFILLS MID-DECEMBER!!!”
And I keep a notepad and pen on the passenger seat of my car since every few days I think of even more things I have to do.
It’s a lot. Preparing to move abroad is a lot. There’s the practical side of it, such as what to do with my car (I’m keeping it because I love it) and what to do with everything I’m not bringing with me (neatly packing up and storing it in my parents’ attic). Then there’s the fact that I need to see as many of my friends as I possibly can, knowing that I won’t be seeing them again for another 6-7 months, which means going off Cape nearly every weekend but I’m still working full time so I’m just exhausted when I come home to start my work week. And then there are all of my AGGRESSIVE CAPS LOCK phone reminders and the scrawled notes on my passenger seat notepad. Yeesh.
I truly don’t know how people with real jobs, families, homes, pets, and all of those other grownup things move to another country. I really don’t. I’m overwhelmed, and I don’t own property, I have no kids or pets, I have a seasonal landscaping job that doesn’t require me to train a replacement or transfer all of my files over or attend exit interviews or whatever the heck other stuff happens when you leave a “real job”, and I don’t own anything that needs to be shipped overseas.
On top of all of that, there’s quite a lot of things I’ve had to do this year to prepare to submit my first visa application. I needed to order an original copy of my birth certificate. I needed to get updated passport photos. I needed to get what Immigration NZ calls a “Police Certificate,” which meant getting fingerprinted at my local police station (oooooo!) and then ordering my official background check from the FBI (it was VERY exciting to order my own rap sheet and I can’t wait to see what kind of dirt the Feds dig up on me!). Then, because I am hyper-organized and somewhat neurotic, I also got copies of my contact lens and eyeglasses prescription, a letter from my PCP stating that I’m in good health, and the past ten years of my medical records in case Immigration needs to see them. And yes, I went out and bought a bunch of international postage stamps to send to all of my penpals (I’m a lifelong avid letter-writer).
But all in all, I’m fine. A little “exploding head emoji,” but fine. I’m all packed and ready to go, though I will inevitably unpack and repack at least three times because…..I don’t know; just because I tend to do that. I have two more weeks left of work. I only have a few little things I need to buy before I go. I managed to see a boatload of my friends this year. I got a haircut. I think I’m good to go. 🙂
