theguitardoctor

Hi there all,
This is my first posting as I've only just stumbled across the forum. I wish I'd found this earlier - it may have helped me with areas of my application. Oh well, it's too late now - the LTBV is already posted - has been since Jun 06 2003. The fee has been taken and the documents returned to us, so all we have to do is wait now. How long it will take I don't know..........?
We've already sold the house - move out in 4 weeks time !! We sold the furniture too, so it looks like it might be a couple of deck chairs in a dingy flat if we are not careful !!
Oops, if I'd have realised these visa applications took so long I might have hung in there a little longer. Still, may as well capitalise while the housing market is still strong........
Just the vehicles to sell now - maybe I should hang on to those until we get a yes or no though...........

Good luck to all in the application process........

regards, Rich.:scared:

Gra.B

Hang in there Rich!

I'd keep the vehicles for now, you may need somewhere to sleep!

Can't help you with times I'm afraid, the only other LTBV applicant I know of on here was 'firing1', (now a celebrity!).
Perhaps have a search through their old posts, or send a few emails off to NZIS..

What business is it? (if you don't mind me asking!)

Good luck,
Gra..

theguitardoctor

Hi Gra,

I saw the programme with the other LTBV applicant - re: Get a New Life - wonder if the BBC helped push their application through at all?

I'm a luthier as it happens - very unusual - I build and repair stringed instruments - mainly guitars. The wife has a degree in European languages (German & Spanish, though she speaks French too !!), so we were a couple of points out on the General skills assessment. I was already self employed (since April 01), thus we thought the LTBV might be a quicker route. I've had loads of positive feedback from the music stores in NZ, so I just hope we get the ok sooner rather then later........

Fingers crossed......

Rich

Gra.B

...ah..yes, the clues were there!

Sounds good, let us know how the application goes, we considered that route once, and may again if needed.

Cheers, Gra..

theguitardoctor

Ha ha .. I suppose they were - I use the same login for eveything so I never think about it

All I'll say about the LTBV route is that it's a lot of work - the business plan took 3 months of hard research and late nights. £825 to lodge the application + £190 for medicals and £78 blood tests and £20 police checks......not the cheapest route either, but apparently it is one of the quicker for an answer, so if it cost me double that I'd still have done it. It's a gamble - we don't have an answer, yet we've sold everything.....what can you do? If you don't give it a shot, it will always be a "what if.....?"

Can you apply under another route then if you get a refusal? It may be worht considering if my application fails ..... though we'd only get the 6 month Job seeker Visa.....

Rich.

Gra.B

Exactly! I think you need to commit yourself 100% sometimes..

As for the Job seeker visa...... ........sorry, forgot you've only just found the site! Well, it doesn't exist anymore, so you would have to get a job offer before applying under Gen Skills.

Anyway, no need to worry yet, the business plan is the key thing & it sounds like you've put a lot of work into it.

Gra...

Ben.M

Having just been granted a LTBV I can tell you my timescales but as I applied pre-Nov 20 I'm not sure that it will be much help as apparently the post-Nov 20 applications are being processed faster.

Anyway, for what's it's worth, I submitted my application in London mid-2002, received my letter of approval at the beginning of June 2003, sent my passport off to Wellington and got it back complete with visa 10 days later. I have heard of others who applied post-Nov 20 and received their visas months ago so hopefully it won't be too long for you to wait.

Of course as the Court of Appeal ruled that retrospective changes to LTBV applications are legal we are now all bound by the new regulations. My only fear is that with the unpredictability of the current immigration policy, anything could change in the couple of years before we can apply for permanent residence under the Entrepreneur category.

For the record, I'm planning to move to NZ in September where I will be starting a Web Based Training business on the North Shore.

Good luck,
Ben

theguitardoctor

Hi Ben,

Thanks for the reply - I hope it won't be the best part of 12 months too !! We were quoted an average of 4 months, which is why I put the house on the market - it sold in 10 days.......We have until Aug 4th to move out, so I hope we don't end up renting too long. It looks like there's going to be a reform on the LTBV stream at the end of August too, so it could work either way, as in they could sort through the already lodged applications quickly, or they could reject a lot of them without giving them a proper look over.

Hopefully, it'll just speed things up with regards to applications coming in before Aug 31st.

With regards to the Entrepreneur Residency category, I think this will be ok - it may tighten up somewhat in terms of a minimum profit level etc, but I can't see them refusing residency to someone running a successful NZ business regardless of their origins. However, they may place more emphasis on what it brings to NZ..........either way, it could tighten up and then slacken again before the 2 year mark, as the immigration climate changes....

Good luck in North Shore, we are headed to Wellington (areas) if it all comes off....

regards, Rich.

Ben.M

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the times they quote. They tend to be a little unreliable. I was first told 3 months, then 3 - 6 months, then 9 months, and so on, but hopefully now that they have a new team processing LTBV's things will move a bit quicker. To be fair to them, it was during the time of the policy change which caused lots of added complications.

As a matter of interest, where did you lodge your application?

Good luck to you too and hope all goes smoothly for you.

Ben

theguitardoctor

Hi Ben,

Thanks for that info. I posted my application to New Zealand House in London as per the NZIS website directions.......

Don't know if that will make a difference. It's been passed as a priority to the Wellington Business Unit (whatever that means - UK or NZ?).

Just a case of waiting I suppose........it's definitely the hardest .part

Ben.M

Not sure what "priority" means either. All LTBV applications are dealt with by the BMU in Wltg and in theory are processed in the strict order they are received...

Ben

theguitardoctor

Thanks for the encouragement Gra.

Like you say, it's a risk, but I don't want to be sat down in the UK in 20 years time saying "what if" - at least this way I know we've given it our all, even if it doesn't pay off in the long run.....

Hopefully we'll get the "yes" and won't have to consider that possibility though !!

theguitardoctor

I don't know either Ben, I think it's just a case of them being dealt with as a separate entity to the Gen Skills applications. As far as I am aware, it's a different dept that deals with the LTBV - maybe it's just terminology to keep us positive ?? !

Coventry

we are considering applying on this visa and was curious about how nuch evidence you think is necessary for the research element - did you visit? did you hire someone to provide evidence of research?

Ben.M

The thing to bear in mind is that the LTBV is no longer the back door route to NZ residency. As part of the policy change last November, NZIS have tightened up the rules and become a lot stricter in their interpretation of policy. Therefore you need to show the Business Migration Unit that you are serious and in my opinion a visit to NZ to meet with various businesses and professionals is essential.

I decided to buy into a franchise as I felt this would be the easiest route to start a business in NZ and also because NZIS told me that the BMU look favourably on franchises as they have a greater chance of success. I'm not quite sure if this is the case though as I've since been told by an Immigration Agency that they won't touch applications based on franchises as many are rejected. (Maybe Jamie can comment?) I went out to NZ and met with the franchisees of the couple of businesses I had narrowed my selection down to. As a result of this I decided on the Web Based Training franchise and then met with them at length to discuss the details and territories, etc. I was quite lucky in that it was quite a new operation and they were willing to let me pay a (refundable) deposit to reserve a territory while I waited for the visa. I also took the opportunity to meet with a franchise solicitor, bank manager, make contact with various business organisations, look at property, and get a feel for my territory - all good supporting evidence for the LTBV application.

The biggest problem for me was the business plan as my knowledge of the NZ market was quite weak but the franchisee was able to provide a lot of facts and figures. In the end, after struggling with the business plan for weeks, I paid for some specialist help although I was lucky in that one of the franchise partners writes BP's for a living and was therefore in an ideal position to help me. Then it was just a matter of putting together all the documentation required to accompany the application and lodge it with NZIS. I was expecting to receive a long list of questions from them but all they asked for was a copy of my title deeds to prove that I own my property, as I am using the equity in my property as settlement funds, and a solicitors letter to prove that my ex-wife has no further claim on my assets. I sent these off and a few weeks later got the letter of approval!

This all makes it sound very straightforward but the whole experience has been fairly stressful, not to mention expensive but as there is no way I would ever have qualified under General Skills, (qualifications not being relevant to work experience), it was my only option. Luckily as I have management experience, run my own company and intended to start a business in NZ I had the necessary criteria to apply for this type of visa.

I guess the bottom line is that the results make it all worth while. I'm now in the process of sorting out my affairs in the UK and am looking forward to starting my new life in NZ in September.

Hope this helps but if you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask.

Ben