Jamie Smith

Hi all

I plan to make some submissions to NZIS and Minister at end of this year, to sum up the year in terms of gains made and opportunities lost in NZ immigration.

I'm specifically seeking comment in areas of your perception of the market, confusing or wonderful parts of policy/process, general treatment by NZIS, communication/feedback, how useful your agent was etc.

I also have some input coming back from other countries, but as UK appears to be the main market, or at least easiest market for NZIS, I plan to have a special UK section in my submissions.

Other than "just let me in", any sensible comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

podgypossum

Hi Jamie,

I'm not sure if this is the kind of feedback you are looking for but, when i was living in Auckland a few months back, i was thoroughly disgusted at the way NZIS treats the public in regards to their offices in Queen Street.
I find it somewhat disturbing that women with small children are having to sleep on the streets all night outside their offices to be sure of getting seen by an officer the next day!! I know this to be true as i had to deliver some forms there and decided to go late one night (1am) and do it by hand, only to be horrified that there was already a queue of 15 people outside!!

On top of this i found it extremely stupid that their hand post delivery box was INSIDE the building and therefore you cannot post anything outside office hours!!

Jamie Smith

Thanks for the reply 'possum

I understand they've moved away from same day student visas and this has cut the queue, also opening another branch in Henderson helps, but it was disgusting for years. And I think they never extended work hours to catch up either.

I agree with the issue of access to the box.

I do wonder if it has anything to do with date stamping the receipt of info in case of document expiry, but surely there's something on the market that can time/date stamp anything that flies down the chute?

Thanks again, I'll list that under ":access difficulties"

Gingacaz

Hi Jamie

Thought I'd add my bit, for what it's worth.

We've been on the NZ PR route for 4 years and based on our original discussions with NZIS went back to uni to get a degree apiece, as our work experience wasn't worth anything without the basis of a qualification.

Having just jumped through this hoop, they go and change the goalposts! Obviously we don't yet know what the "passmark" (ie how far in excess of the minimum 100 points you need to be to get an invitation) is yet, or whether those without job offers can even get through. Time will tell... although it now appears that if you've got the right experience and a job offer, theoretically anybody could get in?

The new visa should give points for having visited the country for several weeks - getting a feel for the place gives the best idea of whether an applicant would be able to settle successfully and contribute to the country.

I still believe that in the absence of PR offers, a Job Search programme is the best way forward - as long as you're able to prove that you're applying (documents, copies of apps etc.), you can stay - within reason of course. An offer may take a while to come through but as long as the skills and commitment are there, it's likely to happen eventually. Strikes me that this approach may have helped Guitar Doctor or others who are perhaps wary of making the move with no fall-back position.

I'm sure that the easiest way to get a job in NZ is by being in NZ but the new policy could
(1) put people off who feel that they need an up front job offer to even apply
(2) lose potential employees, depending on how long the application takes to process - even with an offer, PR apps won't necessarily be turned around quickly. Over time, this could have a knock-on effect - employers making offers will soon get fed up if they can't get a start date or even confirmation from their prospective employee that they'll be able to accept.

Hope this makes sense - I thought that the points scheme with the "within 5 points" job search codicil was the best solution, but now, who knows?

Caz

sofistek

I agree with Caz about moving the goalposts. If NZIS have known about your intention to move to NZ or it can be proved that you've been working towards it well before any policy change, then it seems unfair to make it a straight cut off point, in terms of application, when policy changes aren't usually announced much in advance, if at all.

I'm suffering a little, in that our application has gone past their originally stated 6 month limit for assigning a case officer. They had told me that I would be informed, before 5 months was up, if there was likely to be a change to that time frame. I wasn't. It now looks as though our application won't be assessed for another few months, because it doesn't include a job offer. As it was submitted in good faith, under the policy then in force, this seems unfair. It probably won't affect me too much since I do need to find a job anyway, but I feel it would have been easier to find a job if I had been assessed and was legally entitled to work. I was expecting to go out again in March, clutching an open work visa, but I'll have to go on a visitor's visa instead.

I can understand the policy changes, in principle, but I'm not sure it encourages enough of the people they need. I would like to see the requirement for a job offer relaxed, in the case of those people with careers on the shortage lists, and who have good experience. Maybe NZIS could do some minimal preliminary checks or assessment of experience, including taking up one or two references, to determine the validity of some experience claims. If you are in an occupation that NZ needs, then that should be worth extra points. There must be a very good chance of finding work in that occupation, so why discourage people by forcing them, in some case, to give up well paid jobs and go over to find one in NZ. This is a potentially high cost activity, especially if you have family back home. Doing it might show commitment but it seems unfair.

sofistek

That's a big "if", Caz. If you've got the right experience and a job offer, then why wouldn't they want you? Not just "anybody" can meet those conditions. Don't forget that work visas offer a quicker way to take up a job offer. Employer's won't need to wait an inordinate amount of time, as work visas can be obtained very quickly, in some circumstances, whilst the PR application goes ahead, more slowly.

But, in general, I agree with what you say.