I am SO sorry, but because of the draconian Immigration Advisors Licensing Act, if I answer your questions then I too could go to jail. The IALA makes it ILLEGAL for me to give you advice, and if I do so I risk 7 years in jail or $100,000 in fines. If you want advise yo now have to pay one of a very small number of “Licensed Advisors” and hope they do a good job (having a license is NO GUARANTEE of competence whatever the IALA would like us to believe, and most migrants still believe they are an utter waste of money).

You can also use a Lawyer, or someone working at Citizens Advise, as they are exempt from the IALA.

What is vitally important, and I have blogged about not just here but in other posts is that whatever you do – you tell the full truth on your application. I cannot tell you whether INZ would view these issues as serious – but then neither can a Licenced Adviser, because often it will come down to who the Immigration officer is.

Have you spoken about this to the person offering yo the job? If not I would consider doing so – I know I would appreciate honesty if I was in their shoes, and I think that fronting up to them about possible issues would go along way to getting them on side if things get difficult with Immigration.

As we noted above – I think getting a load of references off people at the start of the process is a good idea – again this isn’t really advise on the immigration aspect as such – I just think its better to be prepared to say upfront that you know theres an issue and you are willing to accept that there may be a problem becuase of it.

I listed the events when a Character Waiver would be needed here:
http://www.avalonsguide.com/anab/2009/06/emigrate-to-new-zealand-good-character-requirements/
(Copied direct from INZ so thats allowed). Your time in jail does mean a waiver would be needed – so you would end up needing references anyway – may as well be prepared.

I wish there was more I could say to help – this is exactly the kind of problem that the IALA is causing – unfortunately the powers that be don’t really care about that im afraid. I really hope this works out for you. As you said – you made a mistake – I really hope that doesn’t stop your new life.

Good Luck xxx

I wish you the best of luck

I have been in trouble with the police , and i have been to prison .

I have been in prison for 8 weeks for bladed artical in a public place. it was totally out of character as i was drunk at the time . no body got hurt, it was a stupid moment. and the law did deal me with in leanent way . Mitigating circumstances etc.. it was a very difficult issue to deal with as i had never been to prision before.

The police offences are all driving offences,

This job offer is a real oppertunity to re start my life , and forget about my past demons etc.

I am unsure what type of visa to get.

do i go for a temporary work visa, for say 18 months to see how we get on and no police checks?

do i go for a residence visa and ask for a character reference waiver ?

The perfect idea would be to get the job offer in writing, do my meds, and get a temp work visa for 18 months without a police check.

or do all visas have a police check.

The job in itself is a long lasting career.

can i apply for a temp work visa .. stay for 12 -18 months , see how its going and then apply for a residency visa.

or is it better to get it all out in the open and pay a small forune to find out my visa will be rejected ?

thanks