How to Sponsor your family into New Zealand Part 3: Medicals Explained
Filed under: Getting to New Zealand, NZIS & Immigration issues
This is something that can cause a huge amount of trauma to applicants trying to emigrate to New Zealand, whichever route they take to get here. I’m guessing that it affects more parent sponsorship applications because generally the applicants are older.
So what is the deal?
Your parents have to be reasonably healthy in order to emigrate to New Zealand. NZIS has what is called an “acceptable standard of health” that they need to have.
When your parents have their original medicals done, the panel doctor will record any issues or problems, and has to tick one of two boxes:
- No abnormal or significant findings
- Abnormal or significant findings.
If the second box is ticked – you will almost certainly have the medicals referred to a Medical Assessor (MA). It is worth noting however that, despite what many people believe, having a tick on the “No abnormal or significant findings” box does not mean you have “passed the medical” and that it won’t be referred to a medical assessor. It was pointed out to us rather snottily that “Case Officers look at the whole medical certificate in deciding whether to refer a medical: we don’t just read the last page.”
The medical form says, “A significant finding is one that should be reviewed by the Immigration New Zealand Medical Assessor. Note this is not an assessment of whether or not the applicant has an acceptable standard of health in relation to the Immigration New Zealand standard.” (My emphasis)
When a Medical assessor reviews the file they have a number of choices about what to do. They get a 5 page document to fill out and send back to the case officer. The medical assessors can either:
- Ask for further tests and information (they have a whole host of boxes to tick to specify which ones, and plenty of room to make comments).
- Give a favourable opinion (in which case you are home and dry)
- Give an adverse opinion (they think your health is unacceptable)
- Defer the application (this gives you up to 3 months (or 6 months in the case of Pulmonary Tuberculosis) to treat the condition and prove you have improved your health.
If the Medical assessor says they will not give you a favourable opinion – they need to specify why that is. There are cases that you can read at the Residence Review Board where the Medical Assessor failed to do this – and it can be enough to overturn their decisions.
If the Medical assessors ask for further information – they should be specific. Again, the Residence review board has overturned immigration decisions on the basis of
“The exceedingly brief comments provided by the Medical Assessor in the Report”
If you are asked for more information – you can actually refuse to provide it if you wish. You need to let NZIS know in writing. This can be useful if like us, you get the run-around for over a year! We also found though, that while NZIS staff were happy to repeat over and over that we had the right to do this – they didn’t want to accept it when we actually did refuse to get them more information.
If the Medical Assessor refuses to give an opinion on your health, then NZIS will send the information to another Medical Assessor for a second opinion. If the Medical Assessor says your health is not acceptable – you have the right to ask for a second opinion as well.
A second opinion is final, so if that also comes up as “unacceptable”- your only choice is to then apply for a Medical Waiver.
It is well worth noting that the burden of proof in this is squarely on the Medical Assessor to show that you have an unacceptable standard of health if NZIS want to turn you down. If they cannot prove that, then you are deemed to actually meet the standard required. Again, reading the Residence Review Board cases shows quite clearly that unless NZIS shows specifically that you do not meet the standard of health required, a decision not to grant residency can be overturned.
Coming next: what is an “acceptable standard of health”.
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Charging 5c for plastic bags. The cheek of it!
Apparently the New Zealand government has decided it would be a great idea if we were charged 5c for every plastic carrier bag we use when we shop. As they cause such a lot of environmental damage, taking a gazillion years to degrade and in the meantime making a right old mess of our environment, on the whole it’s a great idea. In countries where the charge is already in force, it has apparently resulted in a huge decrease in the number of bags being used.
So I’m all for it in principle.
But in New Zealand? You see, New Zealand supermarkets do something which can seem very odd indeed, especially for those of us emigrating from the UK. The staff pack your bags for you. This happens in all the main supermarkets except Pak’n’Save (Hence the name – you Pak your own bags – how revolutionary.)
Problem is, by and large, if you go in and buy four items – you will find them packed into 3 bags. It’s horrendous. So, I’m all for the 5c charge, but can we charge the supermarkets for the number of bags they give us? Maybe, just maybe they will learn that you can in fact fill a shopping bag with food, not just stick a bunch of carrots and a chocolate bar in it before grabbing the next one.
To add insult to injury – the 5c goes to the supermarket!
On a similar note, Borders (my favourite bookshop in New Zealand on account of the fact that it has a lot of books in it) started charging 10c for bags. One day my Mum went in and didn’t want to pay (and had her shopping bag). She was also offered an old out-of-date magazine which they were giving away for free. When she asked why Borders wasn’t just recycling the mags, she was told that if customers didn’t take them, they would just be put in the rubbish bins. The irony of the 10c charge to save the environment was lost on the poor staff member.
Saving the environment is good – being silly about it is just –well- silly.
Emigrate to New Zealand to escape Climate Change?
Hubby sent me an article from The Times Online, about Eco Migrants moving from the UK to NZ, to escape the ravages of Climate Change. Apparently, James Lovelock, in The Vanishing Face Of Gaia, has said that New Zealand is one of the few places that should escape the effects of climate change.
Only he didn’t quite say that.
The Sunday Star Times quotes Lovelock form the same book saying: “The British Isles and New Zealand will be the least affected by global heating,” he predicts. “They will be among the lifeboats for humanity.”
Hmmm.
One of the migrants interviewed is reported as saying: “Britain’s recent climate of summer droughts and warm, wet winters was becoming alarming”. Funny how my parents have just lived through a very long and not at all warm winter in the UK, and we have had our second summer of drought here in New Zealand!
The article also says that these “Eco Migrants” are “ however, part of a rising tide of Britons heading for New Zealand. Statistics NZ, which collects data for the country’s government, said more than 18,000 British residents moved there last year alone.”
Except – If you actually look at migration figures from Stats NZ – it actually shows you that 18,000 means less people are leaving the UK to come to New Zealand, down from 22,000 in 2006. That’s an 18% drop in UK to NZ migration – so it’s not exactly a Rising Tide as reported.
[Edited 22/12/2009, new link to Stats NZ report page; and the report itself]
So while I still think coming to New Zealand is a bloody great idea – please don’t think that we are safe from any possible effects of Climate Change. Our Hydro Electric lakes were running out of water this summer, and we have also had some traumatic flooding. You will hear just as many horror stories about the possible effects of rising sea levels here – if not more, given that we do have such an extensive coastline with our major cities being pretty damn close to the sea. And you only have to look at a few houses sliding down the hillsides to understand that heavy rains can cause a huge amount of grief for many people in New Zealand.
What on Earth is ASB Bank playing at?
Filed under: Cost of living, Future Finances, General Budgeting, Mortgages in New Zealand, interest rates
So, the Official Cash rate in New Zealand is at an all time low, and as of a few weeks ago was still dropping. There is no sign that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is about to start raising the interest rate again soon.
So why would ASB bank raise their 3 and 5 year fixed interest rates by 0.5% yesterday???
It’s not as if they have ever passed anywhere near the full interest rate drops onto its customers. When I first took out my mortgage with them, there was about a 1% difference between the OCR at the time, and the rate I was paying. With the discount I got, it was even less than that. Currently – that 5-year rate gives a whopping 3.25% difference. Talk about creaming the situation.
It looks like the other banks are following suit.
So what does this mean?
It is not good news for anyone looking to buy a house. Not only does it look like the banks are refusing to allow us to have sensible interest rates, but we also now need 20% deposits. There just are not many people who can buy under those circumstances. A lot of UK migrants would be OK – assuming that they managed to get any money out of their UK property. (I am really grateful right now that my parents took a huge leap of faith in our emigration plans and sold their house when we emigrated here, which means they do not have to sell up now in an horrendous market and can just pack up and move).
It also means more uncertainty for people trying to organise budgets and living costs. With this move, it makes it even harder to work out whether to break a fixed rate, re-fix or stay floating. When banks put up their long term fixed rates – it tends to suggest that they think the OCR will start gong up. But will it? No one knows, and its getting harder and harder to make sensible decisions about your mortgage rates and to budget for them.
I’m really disappointed in ASB, especially as I found out yesterday that they will no longer negotiate on rates for their revolving credit mortgages. As they also no longer negotiate on their bank fees – I wonder why the still employ people in a “negotiations” department.
What is the NZIS Complaints Procedure?
What in earth do you do if you are having problems with your application to Emigrate to New Zealand? Who do you turn to for help? Who do you complain to?
Well, in our experience, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is one outfit you just are not allowed to complain about.
We searched on Google for “NZIS Complaints Procedure” and found nothing. Nada. Not a sausage. Sure – there was information of complaining about Immigration Consultants – but absolutely sod-all about making a complaint about NZIS itself.
The problem is compounded by the fact that if you ask for advice – you will generally be told “Don’t rock the boat”. I get the impression that everyone is terrified of what NZIS can do to you if you kick up a stink. And to be honest – you would right to be scared. With so much at stake – it takes nerves of steel to make a complaint and stick to your guns. It is not for the faint hearted.
But did you know that there is an official complaints procedure you can follow???
In four years of reading and posting on forums – it’s not something I had ever heard about either – and I think this is a disgrace that no one seems to have been told this yet. We did what most people do: write to the branch manager, contact our MP, and when that fails – write to the Ombudsman.
Funny thing is, the Ombudsman refused to investigate because we hadn’t followed the official complaints process! Hmmmm. How can you follow a process that isn’t written down anywhere??? We asked the Ombudsman’s office to tell us where we could find it – only they couldn’t find it either. I wrote back to the Ombudsman and pointed out the gross unfairness of not investigating complaints on this basis, if as applicants we have absolutely no way of finding out what the process was.
On the basis of that letter – I understand the Ombudsman has now asked the CEO of NZIS for an explanation as to why they do not publish their complaints procedure. Hopefully – they will end their practice of doing everything they can to scupper applicant’s complaints – and publish the damn thing. I think NZIS should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.
Just bear in mind this is for complaints about PROCESSING applications. Complaining about a decision not to allow you a visa is a different kettle of fish altogether. The problem we had is that we couldn’t even get a decision that said “no” – which meant we couldn’t go through the appeals process. If that is your case – then this is the process you need to go through if you cant resolve your problem with your case officer.
For those that cannot wait – here is the official NZIS Complaints Procedure:
First – you should write about your complaint to:
Deputy Secretary – Workforce
Department of Labour
PO Box 3705
Wellington
6140
This then triggers a 3-step process:
Step 1: On receiving a complaint, from a complainant, the Deputy Secretary will refer the complaint to the relevant Branch Manager for consideration
Step 2: Where the complaint is not resolved by the Branch Manager, the complainant may write again to the Deputy Secretary to request that the complaint be considered by a regional manager.
Step 3: Should the Regional Manager be unable to resolve the complaint, the complainant may ask the Deputy Secretary to arrange for an independent manager to be assigned to address the grievance.
If at that point you are still not satisfied – then you can take the case to the ombudsman.
Hopefully – most people will never have to use this process, but hey – we did – so if there are others out there who are just hitting brick walls – this is what you really need to know.
I really hope this helps anyone who is faced with a similar situation to us.
It’s a Blue Sticker Day.
Filed under: Getting to New Zealand, NZIS & Immigration issues
Today is the day.
Mum and Dad finally have thier coveted Returning Residents Visas for New Zealand.
Four Migrant stories in the paper today.
Filed under: Getting to New Zealand, Jobs & Work, NZIS & Immigration issues
Hmmm – could this be a sign of things to come? To be honest – it’s not that often that you read stories about migrants in the papers here, at least that I’ve noticed. But today, the Dom Post had four.
Three of the stories were about Immigration decisions made by either NZIS, or the deportation review board. But one of them was about a factory which has laid off Kiwi Workers while keeping Temporary Migrant workers on. I have a feeling there may be a few of these stories over the coming months as Kiwis are laid off work and get miffed that Migrants are still coming in.
So – what were the stories?
Well, first off, in a fit of common sense, the Deportation Review Board this week upheld a decision to deport a man who raped a 13 year old girl. The man claimed that should his actions become known in his home village, he would be ostracised. No shit Sherlock – and the problem with this is???? It’s just a pity that last week the same review board felt a man who raped a boy should be allowed to stay.
Then, there’s the news that a pregnant woman, who gave birth on the plane into New Zealand and dumped the baby in a bin on arrival is likely to be charged. Now – this is all a bit unclear as to what happened – lots of “sources claimed” type stuff. But what does seem to be the case is that the woman had applied for a seasonal workers visa, and lied on her application form saying that she was not pregnant. Hmmm – lying on your visa application – not a good idea! Throwing your baby in a bin – I just don’t have words for that I’m afraid.
To top this off, the immigration minister wants to know how a man who was convicted and jailed for killing one of his daughters and injuring the other by driving them off Mt Wellington, got a work permit instead of being deported. His wife pleaded that he be allowed to stay in New Zealand. I think a lot of us would dearly like our families to be allowed to stay in New Zealand, and many of us get told to sod off!
Now, most worrying in terms of what could be seen as the start of a backlash about migration is the story that a Taranaki factory has laid off Kiwi workers, but kept on migrant workers who were brought in on temporary work permits to do skilled jobs. The union is involved, but the reporting doesn’t really explain that clearly that these migrants are doing work that the Kiwi Workers cannot do. They would have to re-train to be able to do that.
I’m not sure if we will see more of these stories – maybe they were always there but I’ve just not noticed them. It feels as though I’m seeing a lot more in the paper recently. It is starting to sound like it might be harder for people to migrate here in search of jobs. Certainly in some skill areas there’s still no shortage of jobs that don’t have people to fill them, but just last week a Family had to leave New Zealand because their Work Visa wasn’t renewed (on the basis that it was not for a skilled job and therefore a Kiwi should be doing it).
What this means for people wanting to move to New Zealand I’ve no idea. But I think it’s well worth keeping an eye on the news over the next few months to get an idea of what is going on.
How to sponsor your family into New Zealand Part 2
In theory – the Parent Sponsorship process is fairly straightforward.
Once you have satisfied all the requirements (see Part 1), it is simply a matter of sending in the application forms (Both the Sponsorship form 1024, and the residency application form 1000), along with the Medicals Certificates, police forms, forms of Identity, and money, and then you wait.
And wait.
And wait a bit more.
Parent sponsorship is probably the least important section of the immigration policy as far as New Zealand is concerned – so it is placed at the bottom of the priority pile.
The first thing that will happen once your application is accepted, is that you will get a letter advising you of this, and certainly at the moment, it will also tell you how long it will be before a Case Officer is appointed to you case. In early 2009 applicants are being given anything from 10 months to 2 years as a guide. We were told it would be 9-12 months at the start of 2008.
Now, I know that sounds awful but bear this in mind: no two applicants get through this process the same way. There is a huge amount of variance in the timescales that people actually have to go through and the ease with which they get through this process. It can be ridiculously unfair and stressful – but hang in there. This often has absolutely nothing to do with the applicants suitablilty – it is purely luck (or not).
To put this in context, even though we were told a Case Officer would not be assigned for 9-12 months – one was actually assigned straight away, one of the medicals was referred and we were asked to provide some further medical tests within 2 months. So what they tell you isn’t necessarily true. (Hmmm – that seems to happen a lot!)
It is quite possible that the Medicals could get flagged as needing some further checks if your parent’s health is not perfect. This means that the medical certificates will be sent to a Medical Assessor to be reviewed. If the medical assessor wants more information, you will hear about this from your Case Officer and then you have to get the extra reports that they ask for.
This is where things can get really tricky, as it can take many weeks for the Medical Assessors to review the file and get back to the case officer. The system is a shambles, and if you get unlucky as we did, with a lazy Medical Assessor and a “Can’t be arsed” case officer – you could be in for a bumpy ride. On the other hand – other people fly through this process and get accepted really easily. From what I have seen on the forum, if the medicals are referred it can take 2-3 referrals before they are happy.
It took us 6. Which is why we kicked up an almighty stink.
But, despite what immigration may have you think – this is not usual.
Once you are through that – it is simply a matter of getting a letter of “approval in principle” which will then be followed by a final letter inviting you to send more money to NZIS along with your passports so you can get the coveted blue Visa Stickers.
Coming next….. Medical Referrals explained.
How to sponsor your family into New Zealand Part 1
If like me, you actually cant bear living apart from your family, and they also wouldn’t mind living in the same hemisphere as you – you do have the option of bringing them into New Zealand as residents just because they are your family.
For many migrants to New Zealand, it is not possible for our parents to emigrate to New Zealand via the Skilled Migrant route, either because they are too old (anything over 55 counts) or because they don’t have the kind of skills you need to be a skilled migrant.
For this – there is the Family Sponsorship: Parent Category.
So – what do you need to know?
Firstly, there are some things you have to have done in order to be allowed to sponsor your parents:
1/ Most important, is that you have to pass the “Centre of Gravity” test. This is all about how many brothers and sisters you have, and where they live in relation to your parents. If you have just one brother or sister, there is no problem, and the “Centre of Gravity” is split equally between New Zealand and your parent’s home country.
There can be a problem if you have 2 or more siblings however. Say you have two brothers.
For the centre of gravity to be deemed New Zealand, half or more of the siblings have to be living in a different country to the parents. So if you live in New Zealand, your parents live in the UK, but your two brothers also live in the UK, you are not eligible to sponsor your parents.
If however one of those brothers moved to the US, then the Centre of Gravity is no longer the UK, and you can sponsor your parents quite happily.
Be aware that half brothers and sisters count when Immigration New Zealand determine the centre of gravity.
2/ You have to have been a resident of New Zealand for 3 years.
This means from the date you have your residency permit. (not just your VISA). If you first came to NZ on a Visitors visa, and then transferred to a residency permit – the 3 years starts from the day you got the visa, not from the day you entered the country.
3/ You have to have lived in New Zealand for at least 184 days (6 months) for each of the 3 years before you make the sponsorship application,
4/ You need a household income of at least $29,897.92 which cannot come from benefits (2009 figures)
5/ You need to be physically living in New Zealand at the time you put the application in.
6/ You will be required to sign a declaration on the sponsorship form that basically says you will provide for your parents if necessary, and repay any benefits that they may receive from the NZ government for the first 2 years.
What documents do you need to send in as the Sponsor?
1/Certified copies of either your residence permit, or if you are a citizen, a certified copy of your Passport or letter from the Dept. Internal affairs granting you citizenship.
2/ Certified copies of document proving your income: IRD Summary of Earnings, wage slips, job contract or bank statements.
The sponsor fills in Sponsorship Form 1024 which can be downloaded here.
So what do your parents need to do?
Your parents also need to fill out the standard Residency Application: Form 1000, which you can download here.
They simply need to satisfy:
Good Health Requirements
Good Character Requirements.
They do not need to prove income (you have already done that), nor do they need to have a job in order to apply.
They will need to provide:
Police Certificates less than 6 months old
Medical Certificates less than 3 months old
Application fee (£435 if applying in the UK, $660 USD if applying if the US, $700 if applying in New Zealand)
Coming next…. What is the process and how long does it take?
Frugal moneysaving tip for New Zealand.
I’m not a great “old style” moneysaver myself – basically because I’m too lazy and most of the ideas revolve around more work that I care to do. I prefer to do my moneysaving in other ways than hard labour!
However I have just spent the best part of an afternoon breaking up flax stalks. To be honest – I don’t like flax plants, even if they are a New Zealand native plant and it’s a good idea to grow them. And they may well be great for making the most stunning weavings out of. I still don’t like them.
But boy – do the stalks make good kindling for the log burner or what???
And given the last few months of hell, courtesy of NZIS, it was rather therapeutic to be breaking what are essentially big branches over my knee, and stomping on the ones that were too big.
With firewood costing between $200 and $400 a load (4 cubic meters) depending on the wood, having a free supply we can use can get the fire going is a huge bonus. We get through probably about $500 of wood a year ( I refuse to be cold, or wear 10 jumpers – I think that’s just silly).
I also don’t understand what gives when people round hear chop trees down for firewood and then burn the last bits and all the smaller branches in the field – talk about a waste of energy. Those small branches would probably keep us going through the winter!
Ah well: at least the Flax in our garden and paddock does something other than dump a load of seeds into our swimming pool.
PS: Sorry for the lack of blogging in the past week. We took a week at the beach – with no mobile cover and no internet. Peace and quiet – what New Zealand does best.
