Migrant's advice to those thinking of giving up on NZ dream: Swallow your pride, let the experts help

Lyla Chia Lin-Lee moved to NZ from Taiwan in 2016. Photo / Supplied

"Swallow your pride" and "let the experts help" - that's one migrant's advice to frustrated migrants thinking of giving up on New Zealand.

Lyla Chia Lin-Lee, 32, moved to New Zealand from Taiwan in 2016 after she married a Taiwanese-New Zealander, but said she struggled to adapt.

"I used to work in a big semi-government-owned financial services company and found New Zealand so different and that the market here is so much smaller," she said.

"After sending out hundreds of job applications, I couldn't even secure an interview and it really dented my confidence."

Lin-Lee said the thought of giving up and going back to Taiwan crossed her mind.

In the year to April, 30,000 non-New Zealand citizens who had been living here on a permanent or long-term basis left this country, according to Statistics New Zealand.

This was an increase of 23 per cent on the year before.

"I found settling in New Zealand really tough, but I am married to a Kiwi and I had to find a way to make things work," Lin-Lee said.

She attended an expo that year which she said changed her life.

The ANZ Migrant Expo, created to help migrants settle in New Zealand, will be held at The Cloud on Auckland's waterfront this Saturday, June 16, for the sixth year running.

There, Lin-Lee said, she received help from human resources professionals to change the way her CV was written.

She also made connections with Chinese community groups and local public services, and new friends who were also recent migrants.

Now Lin-Lee is working as a trade support professional in Albany on Auckland's North Shore, and is also expecting her first child.

"When I first came, I depended on Google and thought I could do everything myself," Lin-Lee said.

"But I want to say to other migrants, sometimes when you swallow your pride and let the experts help, that's when things start to happen."

The expo this year will focus on helping migrants understand New Zealand's education system, employment, living and community support offerings.

There will be eight seminars and more than 70 stalls, and entry is free.

Jack Hou, ANZ's head of migrant and Auckland Asian banking, said the expo was created to help new New Zealanders access practical advice and public services as they settle into life in Aotearoa.

Annual next migration is down 4800 from a high point a year ago.