lain ward

Hi I have recently submitted my EOI skilled migrant category scores 160, and been offered a job and wondered how long would it take to get residency or to be offered to apply for residency?, also what conditions does the residency visa usually have in the regards of travelling overseas, as I will be wanting to return to the UK for a few months of the year, in the first two years. I have been here nearly 2 years working on a WHS UK extension visa and wondered how long would I have to be here in NZ before I apply for citizenship??

escapedtonz

Hi,
With an EOI of 160 points it will be automatically selected from the pool at the next fortnightly pull which will be the 15th May 2013.
Once this has been through preliminary checking (assuming all ok) you will receive the invitation to apply (ITA) within a few days if you applied online or a bit longer if you applied on paper.
You then have 3 months to send in the formal application including all the evidence to support your EOI points claim plus police report, medical report etc.
When Immigration receive the formal completed application you will be notified that a case officer has been assigned.
From this point onwards - how long is a piece of string
No one can tell you how long it takes as it all depends on your individual circumstances, police certificates, medicals etc.

A residency visa normally comes with a 2 year travel condition that allows the holder to leave and return to NZ as many times as they want in that initial 2 years.
After the 2 years this travel condition expires and as such if you left the country you would not have the right to re-enter NZ.

In order to re-enter after this 2 years, you must first apply for a Permanent Residency Visa which replaces the Residency Visa and removes the travel conditions and allows the holder to come and go as you please - forever.
You must prove you have met the necessary basic criteria of the Residency visa to be granted a Permanent Residency Visa and you can only apply after you have held the Residency visa for a minimum of 2 years.

You must hold Residency/Permanent Residency for a minimum of 5 years before you can apply for Citizenship.
Time in NZ on working visas, temporary visas does not count towards citizenship.

Regards,

lain ward

Hi thankyou that pretty cleared up what i wanted to know i feel less in the dark now just one more question how long can i leave for in the first 2 years and how many days do i have to be in New zealand for stay with the terms and conditions of the residency? i will be working in the first 2 years from december to end of may is that ok

escapedtonz

In the first 2 years (when the holder of a Residency Visa) you can leave NZ and return to NZ as many times as you want and for whatever periods you want.
To fulfill the Residency conditions when applying for PR after the initial 2 years you must have been in NZ as a resident for 184 days or more for each of the individual 12 month periods prior to the PR application plus there are other conditions - see here :-

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...quirements.htm

kodachrome

I was wondering all the above too, good info. On kinda related question Ive had is when they do the ITA checking, I get they want Police Cert, Medical, Employer references etc. but if you arent claiming 3rd Level Qualification points (as mine arent recognised!) do they want basic secondary level schooling paperwork? Needless to say, that was a long time ago, I dont even know what I got let alone have paperwork to hand!

escapedtonz

Hi,
When you have received ITA you must then send in your formal application with ALL the necessary paperwork, certificates, references, police checks, medicals for everyone on the application to support the points you claimed on the EOI.
If you didn't claim any points for a particular qualification then I don't see why you would need to send them any paperwork relating to this matter.
I seem to remember sending in everything I had kept from school when I did my O Levels/GCSE's - transcripts and results although they weren't specifically asked for and unsure if Immigration even considered them.
In the matter of applying for a visa the more info you can provide the better even if that info isn't required or relevent.
If there's anything in there that isn't required Immigration can just ignore it - always better to give them that option instead of them coming back to you asking for more proof/justification/information.

Regards,

Persephone

Probably no point sending in O level or even A level certificates as you cannot gain any points for these and they are not really relevant to your job. Just more paperwork to find!
Though any lower level qualifications relating to your job offer are not able to get you any points, they may be useful as extra proof that you have work experience in IT [I think, from memory!]
Your experience is taking the place of formal quals if I remember rightly

kodachrome

Indeed, well remembered.. I best watch that I do and say if the elders here have such a recall ability.

On a serious note, is there a preferred template for the work experience "assessments" required from past employers?

Persephone

Oi, who are you calling an elder
I'm only 21, bloody youth of today!!!


Not sure if there is a preferred template as long as everything is written down. Don't forget that you'll need number of hours worked per week as well as duties etc
Not sure if it's clear but by 'lower level quals' I meant anything to do with IT. It may just add to the whole picture even if NZIS doesn't understand them and they're not able to be assessed. They may of course be unnecessary, who knows, but they can't harm your application. Secondary education is not necessary.

kodachrome

I meant virtual forum elder, you are considerably younger than me.

Good stuff, though hours worked is slightly funny in the context of "corporate roles/careers". I have a mobile and might have to take calls in different timezones, Im always technically on the clock.

Persephone

Am I?
[I may be a little bit older than 21]

NZIS class full time work as being over 30 hours a week so as long as you can support this then you'll be ok. Less than this is worked out proportionally so working 10 years at 15hours per week= 5 years experience