Here we go again – Part 2 – Uh Oh!
Well, if anyone was hoping that a second round with Immigration New Zealand couldn’t possibly be as bad as what we faced with my parent’s application – think again.
We have received notification that the application is in and was accepted for processing on (unfortunately I can’t tell you that because the numpty who wrote the standard letter forgot to put the date in – it’s not as if they have to write the letter from scratch.)
We are being told that a case officer will not be allocated for 12 months, as it is a non-urgent case, and that it will then take about 9 months to process.
We were told much the same about my parent’s application but as I’ve said before on a forum or two – this rarely means much in our experience.
However there are a few things in this letter, which really do take the flippin biscuit – and deserve an honorary mention for gross stupidity.
Under the heading: Request for Urgent Processing is the comment:
To be fair to other applicants, waiting for the outcome of their residence applications in New Zealand, we are unable to prioritise your application. (Their underlining).
Only – we haven’t requested urgent processing. We put the application in with the job offer and basically expected it to be dealt with in a timely fashion because there was a job offer involved. The only mention of any timescales is in the job offer letter where the employer has asked for a start date of late August. (It is a requirement of the policy that your job offer has to contain a proposed start date).
It is also noted that extensions to the visitors permit will not necessarily be granted even though an application for residence is pending, as it
“is unlikely that your application can be decided in the next 18 months, you may wish to consider departing New Zealand before the expiry of your permit”. (Their underlining.)
Funnily enough though – despite the fact that INZ claim they will sit on this for a year before they assign a case officer – we have until only the 10th September 2009 to provide them with proof of our income, and a certified copy of my birth certificate (which they already have a gazillion copies of if they bothered to look). Also even funnier is that people sponsoring Adult Siblings don’t actually have to prove a minimum income in order to act as a sponsor. That is only applicable to Parent Sponsorship applications. It’s a bit irritating, as I don’t have an income. Under the parent sponsorship rules however – Hubby’s income was accepted as long as he co-signed the sponsorship forms. I do hope INZ are not going to make a fuss about this – because I am really not in the mood.
Of course – the scariest things about all this – is that before an adult sibling can even put an application in under this policy – they have to have a job offer. Now – would anyone like to hazard a guess as to how the hell you are supposed to be able to keep a potential employer hanging around for over 18 flippin months! And this is after finding one willing to take a chance on a migrant, and put up dealing with immigration issues in the first place. By the time INZ get off their backsides – that offer will be a long and distant memory, at which point – there will be no job contract with which to finalise the residency. What the hell is my brother supposed to say to his potential employer???
I honestly want to throw up with frustration at the sheer idiocy of these people.
For a job offer to be accepted under this policy it has to be (among other things):
current at the time of assessing the application and at the time of issue of the visa or grant of the permit. (taken from the Operation Manual).
But the way INZ claim they will handle this application means that it can’t possibly meet that requirement – no one can. I feel this is an absolute abuse of the system and INZ are deliberatly trying to scupper the chances of adult siblings joining thier families.
I also had a look at the objective of the family policy (and yes – I know this is the kind of thing that will get me into trouble – but I need the information for myself anyway). I seemed to remember that the whole point of this policy was to reunite families and allow us to live as a family unit and thus be more successful as migrants if that is what was needed. (It’s fair to say that for many migrants the key to successful settlement is the exact opposite). However what I found was that the current objective is to :
- strengthen families and communities, while reinforcing the Government’s overall objectives in immigration policy; and
- contribute to New Zealand’s economic transformation and social development.
Although in 1999 that changed from:
- The objective of Family Category Policy is to allow individuals to maintain and be part of a family unit, while reinforcing the Government’s overall objectives in immigration policy.
Nice one! Suddenly being part of a family unit wasn’t anywhere near as important as the contribution to the economy.
I just do not know how we are supposed to go through all of this again.
Like what Avalon has to say?
Click Here to buy Avalon's Guide or Click Here to buy the E-Book
Related posts:
- Momentary insanity at NZIS or simple spelling mistake?
- So, how exactly did we get residence for my brother so quickly? Part 1.
- So, how exactly did we get residence for my brother so quickly? Part 2.
Comments
10 Comments on Here we go again – Part 2 – Uh Oh!
-
Lewthwaite on
Tue, 11th Aug 2009 9:52 pm
-
Avalon on
Tue, 11th Aug 2009 11:04 pm
-
Avalon on
Tue, 11th Aug 2009 11:09 pm
-
Domestic Executive on
Wed, 12th Aug 2009 8:09 am
-
Juli Ryan on
Wed, 12th Aug 2009 11:17 am
-
Avalon on
Wed, 12th Aug 2009 1:36 pm
-
Avalon on
Wed, 12th Aug 2009 1:39 pm
-
Hubby on
Thu, 13th Aug 2009 10:14 pm
-
Sarah on
Sun, 16th Aug 2009 8:08 am
-
Avalon on
Sun, 16th Aug 2009 5:46 pm
Further to what you said, they’re saying that they might not extend the work permit and you’d have to go home, in that case you’d definitely not have an employer still interested in 18 months to come. If there is such a waiting time for these applications you’d think they would employ more staff. Preferably those more capable for a start.
Brother is on a Visitors Visa – and they should extend them while an application is in process.
And Im all for new staff – and I would make intellegence a mandatory requirement as it is sadly lacking amongst many INZ employees. Its a sahame because there are some really good ones – but they tend to leave.
BTW – I also owe many many thinks to the incredibly clever folks (and thier cats) at http://icanhascheezburger.com/
I do not know how they manage it – but thier cats illustrate so many things perfectly, and can have me rolling on the floor with laughter.
They are just brilliant.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
This is just not how I experienced NZIS in either London or Wellington. We got our work permits processed in three days in London and our permanent residencies in 10 weeks. There was only one hitch when they asked for a full birth certificate in New Zealand when the London office processed with a short version.
If your brother has a job offer can’t he apply for a work permit whilst his residency goes through rather than relying on a visitors permit. I know it’s all money but I took from your post that him taking the job was important.
I had no idea it was such a fiddle and faf, not it took so long. We came on the work to residence programme and it all was straight forward since my husband had a job offer and he’s still with the same employer now. I was treated as a partner throughout the process but it seemed I was just another form to read and stamp. I presume that it was because he was considered as a skilled migrant with an NZIS accredited employer.
I think I’d be fit to burst too if I had to wait as long as you and deal with such unprofessional standards. There is no doubt NZIS are in trouble but maybe things will change soon given the fact the Minister has said sort it out and CEs job depends on getting it right.
I agree with Domestic Executive about the work permit. The process for your brother might go more smoothly with one of those.
I was trying to persuade my parents to immigrate, but now it looks like I’m going to have to wait until they are too infirm to make their own decisions. Unless I manage to produce another grandchild.
DE – exactly – it really is a lottery. Our own application went through without a single hitch, and yet others had a nightmare. Some people got thier parents through without even the hint of a problem and yet look what we faced. It all depends on who handles it.
We cannot go down the route of a work permit unfortunately. The first reason is that this is a residency application, and as long as all the boxes are ticked – he is entitled to a permanant visa. If they give him a temporary visa instead or in the meantime, they can pull it at any time, and if the job was to fold for any reason (whcih with the best will in the world is happening to a lot of people right now), he would not have a valid visa and have to go home.
The second reason (and I guess sthis wont surprise anyone by now 
) is that NZIS Should be made to do the job properly. We were advised by a previous Branch Manager in Wellington that because these applications involve a job offer, that they are dealt with fairly quickly, and commen sense says that if part of the application is a valid job offer – they shouldnt then be able to sit on it until the job offer is no longer valid.
And the third thing is that he actually cannot apply for a work visa, as the job is not one that would pass the rules for an acceptable job offer for a work visa. Under the Family Sponsorship category – the job offer does not have to be skilled, nor does the employer have to prove that a Kiwi could not be found to do the job. Becasue the main scope of this policy is to reunite families – that restriction is not in place. You can get a job flipping burgers at McD’s under the Family Policy, as long as it pays minimum wage (more if you have dependent children) and is for 30 hours a week or more (and is not in a family business – which was personally a bit irritating for us!)
Funnily enough – the one thing I’m not worried about is the money. I would pay whatever it took to get through this. If I actually stopped to think about how much we as a family have spent trying to stay together as much as we have over the past few years I would probably faint. Most families would not be in a position to do that, and if like us – its an all or nothing situation (in as much as we simply cannot have a situation where my brother has to go back to the UK) then its either this policy – or we all go back.
Its been six and a half years since we started this journey – and we discovered 5 years ago that the family sponsorship route was the only way it would happen.
Juli, I feel for you. I truly beleive )though it may not sound like it right now) that I am blessed to have a family that were so keen and eager to follow us out here. They have stuck at it as much as we have, and have settled into thier lives here. it has been difficult for them to live in two places over the years, and run thier business from two sides of the world, but they have done it.
Its just this last hurdle to cross and then we can relax and enjoy the place
And strange though it may sound, not everyone likes the idea of six (summer) months on NZ and six (allegedly summer) months in the UK. It can be a lot of stress to keep moving like that.
The important point from my view is that we’re all here now, and it’s a lot more difficult to shift us out – than stop us getting in in the first place.
Now – if only I were the head of Immigration and I could ‘facilitate’ the swift processing of my families residency applications.
How extremely frustrating beyond words! We always found that we got a better response when we went into the Immigration office in person, rather than using the mail-system – but, nevertheless, we also noticed that it was ‘luck of the draw’ in terms of who we got to see and how smoothly everything was processed. I really hope your brother isn’t made to wait that long – it’s just crazy and so impractical. NZ must miss out on some potentially valuable immigrants if it handles cases in this way.
Ive heard of several cases where people have got things organised by going into the offices – never had to do it myself yet.
The plan right now is to apply for an extended Visitors visa and see what happens. We have also emailed some questions to the Support Officer as to how you are supposed to keep a Job Offer live for well over a year.
Thankfully the Guy who has offered the job is being very understanding – but obviusly we do not know how long that will last
I will keep you all informed – it may make another enthralling tale
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
Buy Avalon’s Guide
-
