This week the NewZealandBuyingGuide.com spoke to readers Wendy and Bernard Hinde, a couple in the process of applying for a Parent Visa to join their daughter and grandchildren in New Zealand’s North Island.

Here Wendy kindly tells us all about why they want to make the move and how they are finding the application process…

“Our daughter, Jacqueline, went travelling to New Zealand when she was 23. She returned after six months but hadn’t had enough and jetted back not long after. When she was there the second time, she met and fell in love with her first major boyfriend, Scott. On the eve of Jacqueline’s birthday, Scott called Bernard and asked for her hand in marriage!
“Our first visit over there and our first meeting with Scott and his family was in January 2007 for their engagement party. They were married in March 2008 – which was the same month as our Pearl Wedding Anniversary.

“It wasn’t long after that Jacqueline and Scott had their first baby, Eve. We went to meet her when she was just three weeks old. It was then that we both decided that we wanted to be around to see her grow up. We lodged our application in January 2011.

“We are being sponsored by Jacqueline and Scott for a Parent Category Visa, as we are too old to move over there with a job – I am 53 and Bernard is 57. The visa application has cost around £1,000 each. The medical examinations that we had to undertake were around £700 each and police checks were £60.

“We will sell up before we move so we plan on buying a property outright – we will be cash buyers. There will be some money left over as well, which will help us to pay for the move and get us on our feet. “When we first began the application process we were advised that it would take 18-24 months for us to even be assigned a caseworker to deal with us. This has since reduced to 12 months now. After you are assigned your caseworker it takes a couple of months to find out whether you have been accepted or declined.

“We just can’t wait to spend more time with our grandchildren and to see them all grow up. We didn’t want to just see them once a year – we would miss so much. I do hope we hear soon about whether we have been assigned a caseworker. I check every morning before work to see if we have received the long awaited email!”

For details of property for sale in New Zealand, visit the NZ listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when emigrating or NZ, buying property there or repatriating income from rentals is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into NZ dollars, or vice versa. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in New Zealand, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘New Zealand Property Buying Guide’