[CaptainDecisive]

I'm a kiwi and did the reverse and moved to Scotland. I do know a number of people who were offered jobs in NZ while still abroad. Technical sales, developer, psychiatrist. That's just anecdotal, but it's definitely possible.

However my approach in moving to the UK was to actually show up to look for a job. Seems to me like it's very different having a faceless person send in a CV from the other side of the world, compared to them walking through your front door wearing a suit, shaking your hand and saying 'Hi, my name's Peter'. If you're right there in front of them they know you're serious, not just firing off random speculative applications. And human nature is that you form an opinion of someone within moments of meeting them, so if that opinion is positive you'll be treated very differently to an email sitting in their Inbox. If someone then asks 'Do you have a visa?' then you can explain that if they offer you the job then you will get the visa and have that conversion with them.

I understand that approach may be more difficult to commit to than applying remotely, due to current job, family, financial reasons - but it worked for me.

[peterburkimsher]

I tried that in Japan and the Netherlands while I was on my country-visiting tour. After a fruitless month in each, I moved on. The flights and living costs made it an expensive mistake. I'm not rich. The low cost of living in Kaohsiung means I've saved enough to pay for my visa fees, but that's over half my savings. Not to mention flights, food, accommodation while searching. All my previous jobs interviewed over Skype, although sometimes I was introduced by Facebook friends who I do know in real life.