Disclaimer

1. General, not personal

Bottom line: what you read here is written for everyone, not for your situation.

Our job listings, visa guides, blog posts and videos are meant for anyone weighing up work in Australia or New Zealand. Whether a visa works for you can depend on your age, occupation, skills assessment or trade test, English test scores, health, police record and family. A general page can't weigh all that. Use our content to get your bearings, then check how the rules apply to you.

2. Not migration or legal advice

Bottom line: for advice on your own case, go to someone authorised to give it.

Our visa guides, blog articles, job pages and videos are general information only. They are not immigration advice or legal advice.

In Australia, immigration assistance for a fee may only be given by a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner. In New Zealand, immigration advice generally has to come from a licensed immigration adviser or a person exempt from licensing, such as a lawyer. MzansiAbroad gives neither migration advice nor legal advice. If your case is complicated or there is a lot riding on it, speak to an authorised professional.

3. Paperwork on the South African side

Bottom line: sort out your own documents early and through official channels.

Employers and visa applications often call for papers you have to get in South Africa, such as police clearance certificates, certified copies, or proof that your qualifications and trade certificates are genuine. These can take weeks. MzansiAbroad does not issue, process or speed up any of them. Check current requirements, costs and timelines with the issuing body itself, and be wary of anyone offering shortcuts.

4. Visa rules move

Bottom line: the government website wins every time.

Our visa guides summarise official information and show an "as of" date. Visa fees, salary thresholds, occupation lists and eligibility rules get changed, sometimes overnight, so any guide can fall behind. Before you lodge an application or pay anything, check the latest position at:

• Australia: Department of Home Affairs
• New Zealand: Immigration New Zealand

5. No guaranteed results

Bottom line: employers choose who to hire; governments choose who gets a visa.

Sending an application through MzansiAbroad does not get you an interview, a job offer or sponsorship. Whether a visa is granted, and how long it takes, is entirely up to the government concerned. What happened for someone else, however similar their CV, tells you nothing certain about your own chances.

6. Pay and conditions

Bottom line: trust the written offer, not the advert.

Job titles, duties, requirements, pay and benefits come from the employer and can change before or after the closing date. Pay is usually quoted in Australian or New Zealand dollars, may be per hour, per week or per year, and is often before tax. Don't convert it to rand and assume that is what you will live on. Go by the figures in a signed offer, and compare them with the cost of living in the actual city or town, which varies a lot.

7. Before you commit

Bottom line: a few checks can save you a lot of pain.

• Match the "as of" date on our guide against the current official page.
• Get the pay, hours and conditions in writing from the employer.
• Keep a copy of everything you send and every answer you get.
• Walk away from anyone who promises a guaranteed job or visa.

8. Content that isn't ours

Bottom line: whoever publishes it answers for it.

We do not control government websites, YouTube videos, WhatsApp or social networks. The other websites we link to, Build AI CV (buildaicv.com), Talent Tabloid (talenttabloid.com) and Skills Assessment Australia (rpldirect.com.au), have their own terms and privacy policies. Linking to something is not an endorsement of what it says.

9. Spot a mistake?

If something on MzansiAbroad is wrong or out of date, tell us. Email jobs@mzansiabroad.co.za or send a WhatsApp to +971 50 283 2394. More ways to reach us are on the contact page.