LittleGreyCat

When I said "poll" I was meaning INZ - checking that the EOI are still in play, and possibly cutting out a lot of draws and then withdrawals. This would give a much more realistic figure.

Bo-Jangles

Come on Jimbo the NZ Government has a whole lot more important things to worry about than whether we let in a few more retirees into the country. Our Prime Minister has been in the job less than a year, big decisions have been on hold while she had a baby. The country is in a 'bit' of a crisis, with public sector workers threatening strike action left right and centre. Immigration is a political hot potato with knock on effects across all Government sectors including health, housing, wage inflation etc. Government policy makers and treasury have their hands full of late with various reviews and reforms underway, so I would hope actually to see this continue to stay low down on their priority list.

amkendall02

I think what we are trying to say is that it would be nice if INZ could give us a little bit more information so that we know where we stand. i.e. when are they likely to reopen the sending of invitations to apply, or where our own EOI's are in the queue. so we can make decisions on whether to carry on with our pursuit of obtaining residence or pull out and not waste ours or INZ time.

escapedtonz

Didn't the October 2016 statement mention this category was Closed for at least 2 years because the quota had been severely slashed and the number of EOI's in the pool already massive ?
I read all that info as saying there will be zero hope of any progress till at least the end of 2018, and that was from a previous government. We now have a new political party/parties in charge and much more is going on that is way more important than Immigration issues.

MrsFychan

this came out June 2018.

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...uota-and-queue

see 2nd paragraph

amkendall02

Yes that was the original statement on the INZ website, but that was changed to just temporarily suspended until further notice. Earlier this year when the new government was in power there was another update on the INZ website to say that an update regarding the parent category would be forthcoming by the end of June 2018, This notice changed at the end of June to read " a decision about restarting selections has not yet been made". But it would still be nice to know if that decision will be made sooner or later, and perhaps something on INZ to show how far roughly you are from the top of the EOI selection pile, as all the EOI's have lodgement dates and they are pulled from the queue in date order.
I do also understand that the government is under a bit of pressure at the moment.

escapedtonz

I agree, there has been a couple of text changes to that statement, but 'temporary' in the eyes of Immigration could mean anything up to 5 years away.
Maybe have a look at other articles about the same subject from known and respected Immigration Services here in NZ. They may not give you the answers you are after but they do speculate and give a tiny bit more insight than what is written on the INZ website.

https://www.laneneave.co.nz/major-ch...nt-categories/

https://cavell.co.nz/articles/2016/a...residence-do-y

Parent Category for NZ Residence - Immigration Centre

https://www.morrisonkent.com/2016/11...r-options-now/

https://www.legalassociates.co.nz/si...ence-programme

jimbo49

I thank contributors for their views and "advice".

Bo-Jangles
Factual comments are fine but I don't appreciate you spouting your personal ageism views.
I might be wrong but I doubt that you know any of the people who are waiting nor their individual circumstances. Hopefully, and much to your displeasure, the category will reopen shortly.

escapedtonz
The term "2 years" is used regularly throughout the information from INZ and the government. In all instances "the end of 2018" appears to point to end of financial year (June 30 2018). I cannot find anywhere where it actually states October 2018. As someone who checks daily (just in case) I am pretty much aware of the links you posted. Thanks

It's quite obvious that those involved in this issue see things differently from those that are not involved but I remain confident in my own understanding of all available "official information".

So, knowing that there are likely to be very many disappointed applicants when new rules are introduced, my question remains....

Is it unreasonable to suggest that INZ should have taken an early opportunity to make the public aware of what changes they have planned for this category?

I (still) think not.

MrsFychan

I get the official updates from INZ emailed through to me so as soon as I see something regarding the parent category I will post up. for now they are saying there is no decision/date as to when any further information on this visa will be available and those in the poll will be emailed as soon as they do.

jimbo49

Still no news from INZ and so the waiting continues.

I however, do have some news (well it was news to me!)

Although they advised against it at the time of the category closure, INZ continues to accept significant numbers of new Parent Category EOIs into the pool.
A Freedom of Information request (not from me !) shows that the EOI pool number now stands at 5482 (27 July 2018). So now probably in excess of 10,000 individuals.
This compares to my estimate of 4000 EOIs in the pool when the category closed in Oct 2016

Can somebody explain that logic for me?

Common sense tells us (and INZ have inferred as much) that when the category reopens, we should probably expect new rule settings will apply which may result in many applications no longer qualifying. So why then is INZ still accepting new EOI applications based on the "old" / "out of date" rules? And also accepting the $440 application fee for that privilege ?

To continue selling a service based on rules which you are planning to change ... is it acceptable ? .... is it legal ?

I did ask the following question at the very start of this thread and it still remains valid.....

"When the parent category reopens, what will happen to any EOI applications (& the fee paid) if the rules are changed such that they no longer qualify?"

To possibly answer my own question..... are some form of transition rules coming as part of the review recommendations?
For example, could such non-qualifying EOI applications remain pending in the system but relegated to a lower processing priority with very little chance of selection.
Such a move would ensure that all application fees then become non-refundable.

It's been done this before.

When the Sibling and Adult Child category closed in 2012, existing applicants were relegated to a point behind Tier 1 applications and resulted in little or no progress
Even now, 6 years after it closed, there are still some applications from that category yet to be processed !

The alternative, refunding $440 per non-qualifying application, could turn out to be a lot of money which I doubt INZ would want to give up easily.

Of course, all such conjecture could be easily quashed if we just knew what was happening with the Parent Category (or maybe we now know part of it !)

simonsi

Actually I think Bo-Jangles is right on the money, the decision, or even the timing of any decision, is simply stacked behind other Govt priorities, so Govt Depts will continue to enact their last instruction..."accept applications with the fee, don't process any more, await further instructions".

JW5

jimbo49

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/peti...rium-on-parent

BEVS

I am not sure what the petition is really about.

NZIS are unlikely to reopen the category to new applications whilst they have applications awaiting slots and a queue system for those application made but not yet invited to apply.

NZ Immigration Notification re Parent Category.

jimbo49

Sorry Bevs but your knowledge of this subject has let you down.

I know that every one of the approx 11,000 individuals who have been waiting for years in the EOI pool will know exactly what the petition is hoping to achieve.

The INZ extract you quote was issued at the time of closure and relates to all those people who were on the good side of the closure.
The 1,600 people identified were in the invite to apply (ITA) stage but had not yet actually submitted their formal application.

The vast majority of those 1,600 ITA people should have been processed by now and either had their residency application accepted or rejected.

For info, at the end of October 2018 there were still 287 people awaiting final residency processing plus of course the 11,000 still HELD in the EOI Pool (some of whom submitted their EOI up to 3 years ago).