“If it wasn’t for Good Together, we wouldn’t be here.”
For Danish GP Katrine and her husband Jonas, settling down in a foreign country was a longheld dream. Keen travellers, they and their three children have always enjoyed exploring other worlds. An earlier trip to New Zealand cemented their decision to make the dream a reality.
“We’ve always travelled a lot and I’ve worked in several places, primarily in the northern part of Europe. I’ve worked in Faroe Island, Greenland and Norway. Last year we went to Vanuatu where I volunteered for a couple of months. We carried onto New Zealand for a holiday and completely fell in love with the country!”
Returning to Denmark, Katrine and Jonas started the process of moving here permanently. “I’ve pursued this dream a couple of times, but in Denmark I’ve always been told that I wouldn’t be able to until I’d done more specialist training.”
Connecting with Moana brought a welcome surprise. She explained how Katrine could pursue the dream now, based on her experience and the pathway to registration. Katrine discovered that it was going to be much more straightforward than she’d been led to believe.
No real reason to leave
“We were living the perfect life in Denmark and I wouldn’t change a thing. People around us and family members thought we were absolutely mad for doing it. But there was still that hunger for more.”
Their priorities were a good, secure, English speaking country and having an adventure as a family. They love the outdoors and New Zealand’s climate and seasons make exploring in any weather possible.
“We’d leave the Danish winter every year for two months. It’s most likely 5 degrees and raining and dark and windy so sometimes we’d go to the northern part of Norway where we’d be able to ski. In New Zealand we can still do a lot of what we want. There’s twice as many sunshine hours in New Plymouth as in our hometown in Denmark so we don’t have to escape it! It’s had a huge impact on us already – it’s just wonderful. We just feel very lucky and privileged to be doing this.”
Surmountable Hurdles
The challenges were not insurmountable, but Katrine was “a bit surprised” by how time consuming it was filling out all the papers, doing the English language tests, and the certificates and medical examinations required by the visa process.
It was definitely not enough to deter them, and was helped by the support given to them in other areas by Moana.
Adventure. Delivered.
“We would never have been able to do it without Good Together holding our hand all the way. Moana broke each part of the process into smaller steps. Doing it on our own would have been more time consuming and more expensive and I am absolutely positive that it I wouldn’t be sitting here today if I didn’t have that support.
“It’s been the greatest gift.”
Moana offered timely guidance and support all the way through, finding a clinic that was custom-fit to Katrine’s philosophy and values, in a part of the country that would meet the family’s need for adventure. She walked Katrine through step by step.
“We’ve had a very good beginning here. It’s clear that the community and maybe even the whole country is used to welcoming foreigners. People want us to thrive and seem to be genuinely interested in us settling here and being part of the community. At school and sport activities people are welcoming and curious towards us, which has been a very pleasant experience. That’s not how the Danes normally react to someone moving to Denmark!”
“We benefit so much from learning different cultures and being in different surroundings. We want to teach our children resilience and the knowledge that there’s so much to learn by being open and curious.”
Making a difference, Katrine-style
In her new practice, Katrine says the clinic setup is very similar to what she’s used to. Clinically, she’s dealing with a different population with very different medical needs and psychosocial issues.
“It’s interesting and I will definitely grow and develop as a doctor. The work is different than what I’ve been used to, but it’s also a pleasant surprise because it allows me to dive deep into cultures and different destinies that I wouldn’t have come across otherwise.
“I want it to be important that it’s me sitting here, and not just anyone prescribing medication and doing blood pressure measurements. I want to make a difference on a personal level, not just by being a GP, but as Katrine the GP. I want my colleagues to feel it makes a difference that they hired me and not somebody else.”
Katrine’s advice to other international doctors
- Get the right information about your eligibility to work in New Zealand.
- Spread the word that it’s possible!
- Having good support makes the process so much more straightforward.
- Allow the time and money to follow the process – it’s an investment in your dream!
- Come with curiosity.
Dreaming it? Do it!
Want to know how Good Together can help you towards your Kiwi dream? Let’s start the conversation today! Get in touch at
