New Zealand Weekly Update #100

Last updated on September 17, 2025

16th of September´2024 to 22nd of September 2024

Approximate reading time: 5 minutes

Lets get it started

Whoaaa! 100 Weeks of being in New Zealand fellas. 100 weeks. This is nuts. For some reason, it feels like much more and at the same time it feels like I have just arrived in Wanaka. 100 weeks full of up, down, sideways, back and forth. But also 100 weeks full of learnings, of moving on, of achieving, of unbecoming and becoming. Challenges, activities, new sport achievements. New friends, family and also people who left. And some of those weeks could be part of a documentary, of a movie, about a guy who wants to immigrate, who does everything he can just to realise that things will get harder and harder. And fellas, things got hard and fucking tough, looking back.
Outdoor guide, rejected holiday pay, lawyer, settlement agreement, new job as Eyewear specialist, application for residency. Declined because underpaid by outdoor company. Kept going as Eyewear specialist. Applied again for residency. Declined again. Current company does not exist anymore – amalgamation. Me breaching visa conditions and being eligible for deportation. Lol. Say what? Me criminale? Ola! You can not be fucking serious!
This story went crazy folks, very crazy. And I am still here, trying to get my residency. Sometimes I asm myself why I keep going. Suffering, Fighting. Hoping. And I do not really have an answer. But giving up, giving in and to let things just happen feels wrong. It would feel wrong to leave, just because there has been no justice yet. And folks, I got some justice already and more to come 🙂

A win is a win

As I told you, I became aware of me being unlawfully in New Zealand since April 2024 on August 12th. That da I have received a letter from Immigration. And that day changed a lot. I engaged lawyers, an immigration advisor, I talked to my company. I tried to make everything happen. And things are rolling now, pretty quick to be honest. In between a week things changed from me being unlawfully in New Zealand and eligible for deportation to an open work visa, offered by immigration. Yes! I got an open work visa, it is for si months only though, but here we go. This is a first win, a very important win! I am free, I do not need to work for a company that sponsors me. I can work for everyone now. And I will. After I took some rest and some sleep – I am tired as, exhausted as and disappointed as. Being an immigrant is tough. Challenging. And sometimes it all comes down to some document shit and some people who are lying and just trying to save their own ass. And it comes down to you. To your will, to your support and also to your mind, not giving in and not giving up. It comes down to you who keeps going. Who keeps fighting. And there will be mor wins. Much more.

What else to say?

One hundred weekly updates. This number is very interesting to look at. I never thought tat I could make it to three digits. I never thought I will keep going that long, that consistent and that far. But looking back to the last couple of weeks, writing the weekly blog was mostly a task that felt lke a task only, not like something I really want to do anymore. It felt wrong, like a burden. Maybe also because mostly I was talking about the challenges and the obstacles rather than adventures and happy days. And maybe it is time for me now to take a step back and to leave the blog for a while. And to just update, when there are updates. Or to just update when I feel like writing things down. We will see how we go.
For now, I rest, I celebrate my small win and I focus on more wins. And I am sure I will keep you posted, one way or another.
Love you fellas

Your DingyInternational

Felix