How do I best go about moving to New Zealand?

I@m in the Army, have applied for a transfer over, but would like to go as a civillian. Some sites offer a service but its expensive and I don't know how trustworthy... any ideas?

well, if you want to go for a visit as a tourist you don't even need a visa if you're American; if you want to move there and stay for a long time, I'd agree that studying or working there is a very good way

check out this website:

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/

Be sure to have plenty of sleeping pills for the flight over there. It takes like a day.

Ok, you can apply at any university in NZ, and if you get accepted, can apply for a student visa. There's even a free university called the University of Otago. When you sign up for university, get a student loan (student loans over there aren't like loans over here... they aren't strict at all, and have no specific pay-back method - I owe something like $4000 from 3 years, and have never made one payment).

Or, apply for a job while still overseas. If you are hired, you can get a working visa, which, overtime can become a permanent visa.

I have used both of these methods, lived in NZ for 10 years, and they work!

My advice is to steer clear of immigration consultants. There have been some high-profile scams involving them over the last few years. You can get most of the information you need about the legal formalities from the New Zealand embassy. Immigration consultants charge large fees for information you can get much more cheaply elsewhere. Dealing with the NZ government is quite straightforward. We're an english-speaking country of course, and NZ has a good international reputation for transparency, lack of red tape and freedom from bribery and corruption. I live in NZ now, but at different times I've worked in Britain, Canada, Australia, the US and Zimbabwe. If you come from any of these places you won't have much trouble finding your way around our laws and customs. Good luck.