Relocating to New Zealand - take Helper?

My family is Australian and we are relocating to New Zealand from Hong Kong, probably for 2 years . Can we can take our wonderful Filipino Domestic Helper with us?


Will it be difficult to get her a visa? Does the process take a long time? How long would the visa be for?

Do we have a better chance if we use an immigration agent/lawyer to handle the papers etc, if so, does anyone have any recommendations?


Any advice would be very much appreciated as we have 3 young children and 3 dogs who are all very attached to our helper, as am I!


Many thanks in advance,

Nancy8.

Hi Nancy8

Here are some links that might help you.

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New Zealand nationals or permanent residents can be employed as domestic staff without restrictions. However, domestic staff in New Zealand can be quite expensive and limited in availability. If you bring a domestic staff person from a prior assignment to work for you here, you must acquire a visa for the person. Check with the New Zealand immigration authorities for further details.


Read More


and the above is a rather old thread but might be helpful.


If taking a helper to NZ is like taking a DH to Canada, I do know the job description will be very different. Childminding and housecleaning are two different jobs, your DH would do one.


Good luck, hope these help.

Dear cbdc,


Thank you very much for your reply.

It sounds like I might need to get some assistance from an immigration agent in NZ as I have 3 children under 5 years old who were all born in HK and are very attached to our DH. I was not expecting to move from HK for at least 5 years. The move to NZ has come from out of the blue and I don't know that I can cope with 3 children under 5 single handedly in NZ without any family or friends to help. I would also like to be able to work 1 or 2 days a week and don't fancy putting my children in a creche. I would have loved to have made my husband's acceptance of his new job conditional upon our DH getting a visa to stay in NZ for at least a couple of years!

Thank you again,

Nancy8

hi - wondered how you got on as I am in a v similar situation; just moved to NZ from HK with 3 kids under 5 but didn't bring my helper......be very interested to hear how its going and if you are in NZ yet?

Hi Snoozeby,


My family did not end up moving to NZ but given that you have 3 children under 5 it might be worth advertising for a nanny/ live in assistant in your local area in NZ and if none of the applicants meet your needs Immigration might consider allowing you to sponsor your former helper (given that she will know your children well etc) and this might be especially the case if you do not have family/ a social network in NZ to offer your assistance.


If in the course of advertising and interviewing applicants, you do find a local person who you believe is suitable for the job, that's a bonus. You would have to pay minimum wages for NZ but given that you can deduct sums for board and lodgings from the salary, it may not be totally unaffordable. If you don't find someone suitable, I think it would be worth assisting your helper to apply (ie filling out a form you can print from the NZ Immigration website for immigrants who have sponsors) and stating your genuine efforts to employ a local person and explain that there were no suitable applicants (if that's the case) and that in the circumstances you want to apply to sponsor your former Helper/Nanny given the young ages of your 3 children etc.


This method is not tried and tested, but it is worth a try. You could assist your helper to fill out the NZ Immigration sponsorship forms so you/she won't have to incur the costs of a solicitor/ immigration agent etc.


If you manage to get your helper to NZ this way, remember that you should provide her with good medical/ accident insurance coverage, as she won't be covered by the NZ medical scheme.


Good Luck and I am interested to hear how you go, whether you try this suggestion or something else. Please keep me posted.


Nancy 8.