Want to move to Reunion

Hi everyone

We are currently living in South Africa. I am a South African, and my wife is a US citizen.  We have a 3 year old daughter who speaks English, Afrikaans and French.

We are selling our business here and we are thinking of moving to Reunion for a few months.

I am in the process of becoming a Dive Master, but also have many other skills and experience, mainly in the Arboriculture/Tree climbing field, as well as in rope access, rock climbing, and tour guiding fields.

My wife plans to do remote medical coding, but I would have to do some kind of work, so my questions are:

1) What does it cost to rent a small apartment/house in Reunion, nothing fancy, the bare basics.
2) Is it easier to come and visit and check things out first, and then apply for a work permit once there?
3) Are there many dive operators (can't seem to find many online), and if so, would they be interested in employing a Dive Master?
4) Are there any qualified arborists/tree climbers on the island, and if not, is there a need for such a service?

Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Hi

1) Check out clicanoo.re or http://www.leboncoin.fr/annonces/offres/reunion/ for accommodation rental prices

2) I'm not sure on this point, maybe someone else can help you out, I don't know how easy it is to convert a tourist visa to a work permit with or without having to do a visa run first

3) They won't be interested in employing you if you're only a PADI dive master as there's little call for PADI here. Dive clubs here are also struggling with the shark situation as they're seeing a fall in the number of try dives and beginner dive courses as untrained divers (and non-divers) erroneously think the water is shark-infested. There are about 20 dive clubs altogether, only one of which is PADI certified, the others mainly use the French FFESSM system. See http://www.reunion.fr/sites/crt-reunion … longee.pdf (the same brochure also exists in English but I can't find it …)

4) There are qualified arborists/tree climbers on the island, I don't know how much need there is in the profession but Réunion being France you'd need to get all your qualifications translated and equivalents checked if you were to work here. You can check out tree companies in Réunion on www.pagesjaunes.fr

Hi there,

I just wanted to find out if you ever moved to reunion Island. My husband and I are planning on relocating from South Africa to the Reunion. We have both just graduated from The University of KwaZulu-Natal with Masters degrees. My husbands is in marketing and supply chain management and I majored in Microbiology and Biochemistry.

I have the same questions as you had 2 years ago

1. Would it be easier for us to visit the Island and then apply for a work permit whilst there
2. What are the job opportunities like?
3. What are the major universities there?
4. What would be the cost of basic accommodation for newly weds that have no kids?