Table of Contents

Success Story #1: David and Helen Chen, immigrants from Taiwan Success

Success Story #2: Sanjay and Sandhya Akolkar, Indian immigrants

Success Story #3: Shohei Deguchi and family, immigrants from Osaka, Japan

Success Story #4: Fernando Gutierrez--an immigrant from El Salvador

Success Story #5: Ilkka Havukkala and Jiaxin Zou, Finnish and Chinese-born immigrants

Success Story #6: Safa Ramadaan and family, immigrants from Iraq

Success Story #7: Emily and Bobson Tsai, immigrants from Taiwan

Success Story #8: Sharon and John Martin, immigrants from Britain

David and Helen Chen

A land of Opportunity

Moving to New Zealand provided the Chen family a lot more challenges than expected.

Today, David and Helen Chen run a successful travel company, Kiwi Holidays, promoting New Zealand worldwide as a destination for Asian, Australian, and American visitors.
The couple and their two children immigrated to NZ from Taiwan under the then Business Immigration Policy. David was a trader, an importer-exporter, and after a holiday touring NZ decided to find out if they could live there. He is President of the Hwa Kwang Society (Taiwanese immigrants' organization) and a member of the Business Migration Advisory Group formed by Wellington Mayor Mark Blumsky to encourage overseas investment in the city. David also has a variety of business interests outside his travel company. The couple's two children Thomas, 21, and Judy, 19, have done well at school and are now at university.
The couple learned some English at secondary school in Taiwan, but without opportunities to practice, none of the family spoke English well when they moved into their new home overlooking Wellington's harbour. Daily lessons were a high priority for the whole family for their first three years. They have two children, Thomas and Judy, just 11 and 9 years old when they came to live in New Zealand . Thomas in his final year at Scots College was top of the school and won $4000 scholarship. Today, Thomas is completing his studies in commerce and Music at Auckland University, and is a talented cellist. Judy, a talented pianist, is a second-year tourism student at Victoria University, in Wellington, and on the telephone it's difficult to tell she did not speak any "Kiwi" English until she was nine.
David says that later on a friend, who works for the New Zealand Tourism Board, suggested he start up a travel business aimed at the Asian market. He studied tourism papers and researched the market, then several months later started "Kiwi Holidays".
David has received considerable recognition for his achievements. He was a finalist in the Wellingtonian of the Year Award and received the Model of Overseas Chinese Youth Entrepreneur from Taiwan...
Will the family stay in New Zealand? David says "definitely yes," they like the country very much. They feel very comfortable in "friendly and beautiful" New Zealand. The family members have become New Zealand citizens and this is now their home.

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Sanjay and Sandhya Akolkar

Becoming Kiwis

A hold-up at gunpoint triggered Sanjay Akolkar's decision to migrate to New Zealand

Driving home from work one night in Zambia, a group of armed robbers stopped his car, demanding he hand over the vehicle.
"They would have killed me, so I was about to get out...I was so frightened after that. I decided this county was not for me."
Sanjay and his wife Sandhya had been considering a move for some time. Their aim was to emigrate to a developed country with a low crime rate and a quiet lifestyle. Also important to them were good health and education systems -- especially for their children. Reading some library books helped inspire them to come to New Zealand. The family moved to Auckland, gaining residence under the General Skills category.
The Akolkars are originally from India. They moved to Zambia in 1991 in search of "overseas exposure and better money". As an electrical engineer, Sanjay soon found a job in the textile industry.
Sanjay currently has a job with an electrical contracting company, but with far fewer responsibilities than he is used to, so he is striving to upgrade his professional knowledge and qualifications. Within the next few years, he would like to start his own business.
The Akolkars didn't know anyone in New Zealand when they first arrived. However, they say they found Kiwis friendly and welcoming. As speakers of the Marathi language, they joined the Marathi Association as well as the Indian Association and through both groups they now take part in many social and cultural activities.
Sanjay's brother is planning to immigrate to New Zealand from Kenya under the General Sills Category. His son, 18-year old Suraj, arrived earlier this year and now lives with the Akolkars. A student at Mt. Albert Boys' Grammar this year, Suraj says he likes the school's multicultural flavour and New Zealand's very practical approach to study. For now, the Akolkars are renting a two-bedroom house in Mt. Roskill -- a suburb with a large Indian population, a 15 to 20-minute drive from downtown Auckland. The cost of living in New Zealand is higher than they expected -- especially the housing accommodations. For that reason, they may eventually move from Auckland to a cheaper city within the North Island.
As for the future, the Akolkars are definitely here to stay, convinced that the move was well worthwhile. "We're settled now," says Sanjay.

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Shohei Deguchi and family

Seeking a better lifestyle

Shohei Deguchi travelled to 16 countries seeking a stress-free rural lifestyle for his family.

He found exactly what he wanted on the outskirts of Christchurch city. It is an incredible contrast to the life the Deguchis once knew. They are from inner Osaka which, with a population of eight million, is the second biggest city in Japan.
Shohei and his wife, Shoko, both hated Osaka's pollution, traffic congestion and hot, humid summer weather. However, the Deguchis disliked Japan's education system most and the pressure on their three children - Shonosuke, now 14, 12-year-old Kana and 11-year-old Ayako.
Over the course of 15 years, Shohei travelled throughout Europe, North America and Asia looking for a new home. Shohei had first visited the country on a five-day vacation. Christchurch seemed a friendly, safe and easy place in which to achieve the family's goals. They wanted to live somewhere rural, but handy to the city and airport. "The living and housing costs are much cheaper here and the bank interest rates better than Japan," Shohei says, "so I knew we could live off the interest earned from my redundancy money." The Deguchis own a four-bedroom house on a four-acre property where they grow flowers and vegetables and dote on their two tame sheep and pet goat. Deguchis gained Permanent Residence under the General Skills Category. After that, Shohei found work as an international marketing manager for a golf driving range, patronized mainly by Japanese students and tourists.
Shohei and Shoko will continue to study English. They are frustrated by their lack of fluency and cite communication as the only real difficulty they have encountered since immigrating.
Meanwhile, all three of the Deguchi children have adapted well to their new lifestyle. Kana and Ayako now attend an intermediate school in Christchurch and relish all the free time they have to enjoy hobbies such as tennis, netball, flute and drawing. Shonosuke goes to a private secondary school that offers a six-month intensive English course to foreign-born students before they are immersed in regular classes. He belongs to a cycling club in summer and plays rugby in the winter.
Shohei plays golf, belongs to a Karate club and occasionally referees karate tournaments. However, much to his wife's relief, he still has far more time to spend with the family than in Japan. So on weekends, they can all enjoy activities such as fishing.
As for the future, the Deguchis are already looking for more land for a bigger house and possibly a new business venture.
"My dream is to build a golf course, combined with an English language school," says Shohei. One issue the family is now pondering is whether to get New Zealand citizenship."We would lose our Japanese passports," say Shohei,"but we are thinking about it. We hope to stay in New Zealand forever."

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Fernando Gutierrez

Love and a mobile qualification

It was love, not politics, that drove a young El Salvadorean engineer, Fernando Gutierrez, to leave friends and family to immigrate to New Zealand.

When Fernando first came to New Zealand, his tiny homeland El Salvador, in Central America, had been wracked by civil war for over a decade and a shaky peace had been in existence for only two years. He was sponsored to come here by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to conduct post-graduate studies in geothermal energy technology at Auckland University.
While he was at a university Spanish language camp, Fernando met his true love. What began as a 10-month stint to study a highly specialized field of engineering ended up being a permanent lifestyle choice.
A graduate of Virginia Tech University in the U.S., Fernando jumped at the chance of further study in New Zealand. " I'd always wanted to come to this part of the world," he says. "It was somewhere different, I'd been to Europe several times, but never to the South Pacific so it interested me."
Cupid struck when Femando was invited to the Coromandel peninsula as a native Spanish speaker, to help Auckland University's students who were learning Spanish language. It was there that he met Jackie, a young New Zealander studying Spanish language, who became his girlfriend.
In October of that year, he left her behind and went back to El Salvador. The cost of airfares and long distance phone calls mounted, and it became clear one of them had to move. From a pragmatic viewpoint that was Fernando; his engineering qualification made it easy for him to be internationally mobile.
Around the middle of the following year, Fernando began looking for a job in New Zealand. In October, he came back to New Zealand for interviews and accepted a position at the consulting firm of Kingston Morrison. Then came the task of resigning from his job in El Salvador, packing and getting the paperwork in order. Fernando set out to apply for residency, but after several weeks, it became clear that navigating the paperwork would be a slow process.
Under New Zealand immigration regulations, anyone applying for permanent residency must have a police clearance from every country in which they have lived. For Fernando, this meant getting a police clearance from the U.S., where he had studied-- a process that took three months.
He admits it was easier to find a job having already been there a year before and he had a good idea of the employment landscape in his field. Fernando believes it is important to do your homework before immigrating. For Fernando, the absence of a significant El Salvadorean community in New Zealand is not a problem. He knows of only two fellow El Salvadoreans there and he hasn't met them. And he does not miss places back home, just people.
As a Latin American, Fernando says his six years studying in the U.S. gave him a good grounding in the more methodical and cool nature of the Anglo-Saxon culture. It's one he doesn't find difficult to cope with, although he agrees many others from his native homeland might.
"New Zealand is very much like the U.S. and Australia in the way the business environment operates. Business systems, banking and so on are all similar and work well. On the other hand, El Salvador is more chaotic and disorganized."
For Fernando, New Zealand's space and outdoor lifestyle appeal to him most. He now rates his new home of Wellington as being among the best cities in the world in which to live. He intends to be there a long time. For him, the next step is New Zealand citizenship.

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Ilkka Havukkala and Jiaxin Zou

From a global point of view

The chance to help create a new generation of "super trees" drew one of the world's top DNA scientists to New Zealand.

Finnish-born Ilkka Havukkala immigrated to New Zealand after being head-hunted by the Auckland-based Genesis Research and Development Corporation.
At the time, Ilkka and his Chinese wife, Jiaxin Zou, were living in Tsukuba, a small Japanese city near Tokyo. Since the early 1990's, Ilkka had been working on the hi-tech Rice Genome Project, aimed at sequencing rice genes for improved plant breeding.
However, Ilkka says, the work Genesis offered was even more fascinating. Set up in 1994, Genesis recruits personnel globally and is breaking new ground in developing vaccines - mainly for Tuberculosis - and genetically modified trees that will grow faster and produce better quality timber.
"Super trees is what really attracted me because it's a new field," says Ilkka."Nobody else is doing it. We are the world leaders and at this time it's quite a big lead."
While Ilkka gets a lot of satisfaction from his job, Jiaxin has experienced much frustration. Because Genesis wanted Ilkka to start as soon as possible, he entered New Zealand on a Work Visa, and Jiaxin on a Visitor's Visa. As a spouse, she expected to soon be granted permission to work at least part-time or study. However, that only became possible after the couple gained residency under the General Skills Category, two years after moving to New Zealand.
"Before that, I could not even look for part-time work here and I could only study if I paid four times more than a New Zealand resident," says Jiaxin. She felt it was unfair to be termed an international student when her husband paid taxes and they were long-term residents.
Jiaxin used most of her spare time improving her English at local classes, in preparation for the immigration language test.
On the plus side, Jiaxin and Ilkka are enjoying the lifestyle in New Zealand and say they are impressed by how kind and helpful people are. Through a local church, Jiaxin attends a "Welcome to New Zealand" group for new immigrants. Jiaxin and Ilkka now speak English in their home, rather than Japanese.
The couple rent a small flat in Mission Bay, a central Auckland suburb by the sea. They enjoy Auckland's environment and climate-- "except the winter rain"-- and say they also love the clean air and beautiful scenery throughout the rest of New Zealand. Jiaxin likes the way Kiwis cook and eat outdoors, in their own gardens. Meanwhile, Ilkka was surprised to see people walking barefoot in the city.
The cost of living is on a par with where they were in Japan, although food and running a car are far cheaper here. Ilkka says they hope to be in New Zealand long term and perhaps one day use what he has learned there to contribute to Finland's forest industry.
"There is always scope for technology transfer," he says. "I have a global view of things."
"I have the opportunity to do the kind of research here that goes into real practice--sustainable forestry-- and to do something that really helps improve the environment. What we are doing will help revolutionize the forestry industry. It's exciting to be a part of that."

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Safa Ramadaan and family

A lasting destination

The anguish of not finding jobs as fast as they hoped for has not altered one Iraqi family's determination to make New Zealand their final home.

"Our daily agony is how to get work," says Safa Ramadaan. Yet he and his wife Tagried Ahmad, have no doubts that immigration was the best alternative, especially for the sake of their three sons.
"Two and a half million people have fled Iraq since the Gulf War," says Safa. "A lot of friends emigrated illegally, but I wanted to keep things legal. I wanted to start a new life, honest and quiet."
Safa met Tagried in the United Kingdom, where they both studied for their PhDs. Safa's PhD is in computer application for chemical engineering and Tagried has a doctorate in fish nutrition. The family came to New Zealand after gaining residence under the General Skills Category.
"... beautiful scenery and a clean country... I thought it was a paradise-- so quiet and no pollution, no acid rain and the climate looked good. We also like a quiet life," Safa commenting on his first impressions of New Zealand.
While they were prepared to live anywhere in New Zealand, Safa and Tagried opted for Auckland initially because they felt work prospects would be better in a bigger city. They spent eight nights in a motel before finding rental accommodation in Manurewa, a multicultural suburb of South Auckland, about 20 minutes from the city centre.
The couple went all out applying for jobs. They followed up vacancies advertised in local newspapers and on the Internet, and went to the New Zealand Employment Service. Nothing materialized quickly.
"It is very frustrating. People say we are over-qualified, I think that's the problem," says Tagried. Recognition of their qualifications was not an issue in their case because they had academic degrees from the United Kingdom.
However, their situation has improved recently. These days, Safa is helping a friend with research at Auckland University. Meanwhile, he keeps up with latest happenings in the computer world by reading books from the local library and via the Internet.
Safa and Tagried say they are more than happy with the lifestyle in New Zealand.
"Sometimes, we miss our family," says Safa. "Phone connections [to Iraq] are difficult. Because of the sanctions, people can't direct dial us. They have to go to a post office. It is better for us to make calls ..."
They have many Iraqi friends in Auckland . They are also enjoying short excursions in and around Auckland such as fishing , bush walking and strolls through the Botanical Gardens. With time to spare, they also spent two months working on their home garden and built a deck to enjoy the outdoors.
The children say they love New Zealand. Ihab, aged 13, Annis, aged 11, and 8-year-old Ayman have done well academically and are popular with their teachers."I like the way in which schools here mix fun with education," says Tagried. She finds teachers very positive and encouraging."They treat them very well. There is no hitting."
The children spoke little English when they first arrived in the country, but have learned quickly. The two youngest sons attend a multicultural primary school with a high percentage of immigrant children and an emphasis on helping students learn English.
Safa says he talks to his children every day about how to behave."I tell them how to get involved and mix, how to act, to try to speak in English and Arabic at home...I say be good for society, try to be active and benefit from education."
"This is our last destination. This is the end of the line. So you have to make it a good place to live," Safa remarks.

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Emily and Bobson Tsai

Aiming for Success

Emily and Bobson Tsai immigrated to New Zealand from Taiwan under the General Skills Category.

In the short time since, they have forged a busy, fulfilling and exciting life for themselves and their two children. The couple are both world-class shooters, Bobson specializing in the air gun and Emily specialising in the air gun and sports rifle. Their skills are reaping huge rewards in terms of personal satisfaction and new friendships.
Since arriving in Auckland from Taipei, Bobson and Emily have represented New Zealand in the Oceania Championships in Adelaide and in the Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia.
This relaxed, gentle couple are highly modest about their achievements, and Bobson will only jokingly admit that Emily is famous in Taiwan.
However, the New Zealand Shooting Federation's Executive Officer, Graeme Hudson, says the couple have been a real asset to the sport in New Zealand and that they have helped motivate local shooters to extend their own skills.
Emily (35) and Bobson (40) made the decision to immigrate to New Zealand quite independently of the sporting body, but once here introduced themselves to the Federation and have been heavily involved since.
Bobson says in their new life here"so many people have helped us" both within the shooting world and from other groups, including the Taiwanese Association.They particularly mention Stephen Petterson, a top New Zealand shooter, and Graeme Hudson, who have helped them a great deal.
Emily and Bobson have been married for nearly 10 years and have 2 children -- Lisa, who is eight years old , and James, who is six. The family has settled in Auckland's eastern suburb of Papatoetoe, having chosen it for its closeness to the shooting range at Ardmore. Bobson and Emily practise shooting two to three times a week, and Bobson also works out regularly at the local gymnasium to keep up the fitness so essential for competitive shooting.
They manage to squeeze all this on top of demanding jobs as insurance brokers, where they also seem to have made firm friends. Their office manager, Jen McNab, says both are an asset to the company and a pleasure to work with. They are self-employed and work on a commission basis. Bobson describes Jen as"like my elder sister...very well respected."
In Taiwan, Emily was an insurance company trainer and she has enjoyed the challenge of working outside the office as a broker, although she says it is quite different.
The couple appear to be loving their life in New Zealand, and Bobson points to the beauty of the country as a major attraction, along with New Zealand's clean, green image. They have done a fair amount of exploring and spent their whole summer holidays travelling around much of the spectacular New Zealand coastline. They particularly enjoy the opportunity to go fishing, skiing and sailing and to get out onto the water in friends' boats and on company excursions.
They came to New Zealand, Bobson says, because his English was bad and he wanted his children to speak better English than he does. And while he jokes that the children are his translators, his English vocabulary is improving.
Emily and Bobson are pleased with the education in New Zealand and say the schools, principals and teachers are good and the children are happy there. Bobson points with pride to the huge number of after-school activities in which his children take part.
The Tsais have joined the local Taiwanese Association, which they say is a good place to meet people. They have also made friends with one set of neighbours in Papatoetoe, whose dog "Nugget" has almost become part of the Tsai family, greeting them as they arrive home each day."We are his mom and his pop too," says Bobson.

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Sharon and John Martin

Absorbing the culture

British couple Sharon and John Martin had a three-week holiday in New Zealand in 1995 and just had to come back, this time as immigrants.

"When it was time to get on the plane, we didn't want to go back," Sharon says. "I have never had a feeling like that before--just wanting to be somewhere."
Few years later they were back, this time to live. They arrived after gaining residence under the General Skills Category. Also with them is Sharon's 17-year-old son Ben.
After just a couple of months, the family has settled in a rental home in Ngaio (a bushy suburban area about 10 minutes' drive from central Wellington) and both Sharon and John have landed jobs. It's a big change from Derbyshire, U.K.
Finding good jobs here at a similar level to their work experience in the UK, particularly for John, has not been as easy as they expected. The several private sector employment agencies they registered with were "hopeless", except for one, the couple says. And the New Zealand Employment Service, the government department which helps job seekers, clearly focuses on long-term unemployed people, John says.
Sharon, who has a degree in Combined Studies and seven years' experience as a graphic designer/technician at the University of Derby, made a successful application for a job she saw advertised in the newspaper just a couple of weeks after they arrived.
Now, working as a technician at Victoria University's School of Education in Wellington, she says she's been surprised by the higher level of technology used here compared with the UK, but is fortunately a quick learner! And because of her computer skills, she can keep in contact with former colleagues back in the U.K. via the Internet.

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