Cheesehead

Morning/Evening,

Is there any benefit to having a skill on the immediate skill shortage list? My husband is a qualified architect with plenty of experience but it appears there are no bonus points for this. Am I missing something?

Perhaps we really ought to consider using an agency to sort out the visa for us if I can't even grasp the basics!!

Also, what sort of time do you need to allow for the visa process? We haven't even submitted our EOI yet and would ideally like to be in NZ by Jan/Feb 09 - is this even remotely achievable?

dreamfish

Hello - sorry I cant answer about the architect points - perhaps give immigration a call and have a chat with them?

Regards to length of time - the sooner you get your EOI in the better. It took us almost 12 months from submitting the EOI mid may 2006, selected end may 06, ITA arrived some time July (i think), we submitted our application quite late in October but if you have your paperwork prepared, and your medicals sorted asap then there is no need for you to take 3 months to submit your application. We went on our recce in Feb 07, and we finally got our visas april 07. We arrived here december 07 ( took us ages to sell the house and we didnt secure a job till november 07).

we had no hiccups - was relatively staight forward via the skilled migrant category.

As long as your medicals come back clear and you have a successful telephone interview, and you have no quirky conditions, then there is no reason why 12 month time frame couldnt be achieved.

There are quicker routes - such as work to residency visa. I know of a couple who only decided last october they fancied coming over to NZ, and they arrived february this year - a family of 4. Through this visa they have to work for 2 years before they can apply for PR - OR, pay for PR at a cost which I think is the route they are taking.

Persephone

Hello,

I'm sure that you only get bonus points for having work experience and qualifications in an area of long term skills shortage and not for the immediate list.
How many points do you have , do you need the extra bonus points?

Alternatively go for a work to residence visa.

Time wise, I was selected in December and still awaiting an ITA [can take up to 3m, no job offer!]. You then have 4m to send that in and it can take up to 7m for the ITA to then be processed. I'm getting as much done now apart from medicals. So about a year from selection without a job and assuming everything gets sorted quickly; going on recce once I pluck up the nerve to hand my notice in!

Good luck

happynz

Come on down, get a job offer, get a work permit, work for a couple of months and then apply for PR. I would think that architect is considered skilled.

Cheesehead

We get anything from 120 to 145 points depending on the day that I check it out. Without jobs.

What is/are the benefits of going straight to PR vs work-to-residence? Do you get more entitlements, can your kids still go to school?

Persephone

Someone on another thread suggested registering and filling out an EOI online to see how many points you would actually get. It costs nothing and you would only need to fill in the bits that are relevant to get a better idea of how many points you'd have.
Sue

happynz

Your kids are entitled to go to school if you are on a temporary work permit, work-to-residence permit or permanent residency. This applies to primary and secondary school. If you have kids that wish to study in a tertiary institution and if you don't have residency you'll get dinged for international fees (unless they're studying for their PhD).

P18PPS

Time frames - IF you've got a job offer in writing and you're proactive about getting yoru police reports, medicals, full birth certs etc etc, then you'll find that immigration services are very sympathetic to your situation and they will expedite you - our PR all happened extremely quickly - we were still waiting for our formal invitation to apply in May 2005 (EOI went in April), July we heard we'd been accepted and by the end of September we'd sold up in the UK and were out here living the dream!