RobDon

I have over 100 points so I can put in an Expression of Interest (EOI) Y / N

It depends

The Expression of Interest is the first stage of the Skilled Migrant permanent residence application process. Everyone who may be eligible can submit an Expression of Interest or EOI, and every two weeks Immigration New Zealand runs a selection and takes out several hundred EOIs for further examination. If it appears that you will meet the requirements then you will be sent an Invitation to Apply for residence (or ITA), and you cannot make a Skilled Migrant application without the ITA.

Immigration has a ranking system when deciding which EOIs should be selected:

Expressions of Interest that have total points of 140 or more are selected automatically from the Pool;
Expressions of Interest that have between 100-135 points including an offer of skilled employment in New Zealand, are selected next according to their points ranking
Expressions of Interest that have between 100-135 points without a job offer are selected in order of criteria such as whether the person has Long Term Skill Shortage work experience or qualifications etc.

Anyone can pay the fee and submit an Expression of Interest, however since January this year only EOIs on 140+ points, with a job offer or with 4-6 years of Long Term Skill Shortage List work experience have been selected. Therefore, if you are between 100-135 points with no job offer your EOI is unlikely to be successful in moving to the next stage, even if you have Long Term Skill Shortage List qualifications or some Long Term Skill Shortage List work experience.

EOIs are only valid for 6 months, and will expire and be removed from the Pool if they are not selected within that time. So once again it comes back to the job offer being key for many people being able to migrate...



Just received this via an immigration agents e-mail newsletter, not quite sure why when we did it ourselves and are already here!

The contents make scary reading for anyone planning the move alone, but maybe thats the point! To me this appears to be just another way of encouraging you to use their company as an agent!

Aliwales

I was recently picked from eoi pool with less than 130 points, but with a job offer secured. So I don't think that's correct. According to my immigration lawyer the financial worldwide climate has led to a decrease in applications, therefore applications are moving faster and they are looking more favourably on applications. But this is just my opinion (and my solicitors)

Ali

simonsi

Look at the history of selections for this year and draw your own conclusion.

thedtb

Which stats is your Immigration Lawyer looking at?


According to the stats produced by Immigration NZ (available here for the most recent selection date)... there isn't really much evidence of a reduction in applications. In fact at it's largest point the fluctuation over the past 12 months is only 154 applications (or 22.6%).

There is a notable reduction in the number of people the applications represent, but everything else appears either relatively static or marginally increasing...

I had a little time on my hands so I took the stats in the link above and created this for easier viewing:

It'd be interesting to see, if pressed, how your Immigration Lawyer explains his/her opinion.

Doesn't really do much for my opinion of migration agents and their ilk

Aliwales

Ooo that makes interesting Reading! I may well grill them when I speak to them Tuesday night lol ! Unfortunately I need my lawyer to get a medical waiver for my daughter, or I too would not be using them and flying solo