KIWI at HOME Immigration Advice

19/09/2024

Remember that processing times posted by INZ are a really rough guide only, and definitely not a promise. One of the functions the published processing times do have though is to provide a guide to when your questions to the progress of your application will be answered. if you are asking about your application but it is still earlier than the posted time, INZ won't treat this as seriously as if you asked after the posted time.

A lot of factors will affect the actiual time it takes to process the visa, the most important is how complete the application is. Completeness is not just about providing what the application form asks for, it is about providing everything that INZ needs to make the right decision.

18/09/2024

Decline rates for certain countries are always higher than others. We are having a good run with Indian visitor visas lately though. :)

The number of arrivals from the world's most populous nation continues to soar but securing a visitor visa remains a challenge for many Indian nationals.

17/09/2024

We are seeing this message to do visa applicantions properly the first time quite a lot from INZ recently. I think the thinking behind it is twofold, firstly that they are seeing a lot of rushed, poorly done applications to get in before October 1st, which tends to clog up the system. Secondly they are signalling their intention to just decline such visas rather than spending time trying to get the missing information to free up the system.
INZ are under pressure to speed up their processing times while at the same time check every single thing (which takes time), they seem to feel the the higher fees while provide an incentive for clients to put in better applications. We would agree with this as well since the cost to do 2 visa applications after a decline is going to be higher than having 1 application done professionally in the first place.

12/09/2024

Another reason why we are expecting immigration settings to become a bit more flexible sooner rather than later. The Government knows that relaxing immigration wll help the economy, so we think it is a matter of hangoing in there and waiting for it to happen.

Migrants are no longer 'papering over' the economy's cracks and those already here are struggling for work, commentators say.

11/09/2024

Not surprising, we hear some pretty interesting stories about employers. In some cases though what is classified as exploitation for migrant workers is totally legal for Kiwi workers because migrant workers have rights and obligations under NZ immigration law not just employment law.

The number of new migrant workers has plummeted to the lowest level since the border re-opened two years ago - but complaints against employers have soared to record levels.

10/09/2024

I have been having a similar discussion recently.
It seems that part of the problem with unlicensed agents is that migrants don't undersand that the visa is more than just the email letter that is sent by INZ. The actual visas is the electronic record linked to the person's passport, not the paper. So when unlicensed agents send their customers a fake visa, it doesn't work for travel becase a fake visa has no electronic entry that is picked up when the airline scans the passport on boarding.

The High Commission advises prospective migrants to check employer credentials through official channels.

09/09/2024

Nice result for this couple at last, and it is especially good to see that they feel looked after by the industry as this is after all the main purpose of having licensed immigration advisers rather than allowing anyone to do immigration work.

Brazilians Newton Santos and Nubia Chiarelli had been fighting to get their case reviewed since 2021.

04/09/2024

Canadian immigration at the moment looks even tougher than NZ. More visitor visa applications are declined than approved. NZ often looks to Canada and Australia to decide how to set policy as our systems are quite similar.

Ratio of refused visitor visas to approved ones was higher in recent months than any point since height of the pandemic

03/09/2024

Its that time of year again. :)

02/09/2024

More fee increases from October. The IVL gets added to a lot of visa application fees so this should apply in the same way and not just to tourists.

The Government is almost tripling the fee charges to most international visitors.

02/09/2024

Permanent residence visa approved in 1 week! Pretty happy with that :) This was a strong and clear application though so that makes a big difference.

30/08/2024

If they put in as much time for processing visas as they do for catching people breaching their visa conditions then work visas wouldn't be taking 3 or 4 months to process. On the other hand, if people were not so quick to breach their visa conditions or employer responsibilities, INZ could allocate less staff to compliance and more to visa processing.

https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/immigration-officials-swoop-queenstown-businesses?fbclid=IwY2xjawE9uBNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHejHIMqIXh0zwFeKpM8MIzGuAL_s2QCixp3FYJYAXt4POpBX6VcB-0cLWw_aem_fV32DXMLVqlKgDa65s2Q5w

Several work visas have been cancelled and deportation liability and infringement notices served on Queenstown hospitality and retail businesses....

27/08/2024

Immigration New Zealand's ominous warning to get your application in before October 1st, but most of all make sure it is done right otherwise it will be declined and you will need to pay the huge new fees to do it again. :)

25/08/2024

The Minister's speech to EMA shows some interesting points. Most of it is reasonably close to what we would expect, which is encouraging. While there is little value in believing everything in such a speech it should give skilled workers hope to hang in there for a little longer.

The take-aways from the speech include:

1. lower skilled roles will probably continue to be short term and harder to get as the Government encourages Kiwis to take up these jobs...
2. verification and compliance checks will continue to be reasonably tight meaning processing times will fall only a little, and declines will increase.
4. mid skill, trade type jobs will lilkely get a residence pathway similar to the old SMC settings in some way, some time in the nearish future.

So my advice for the mid skilled workers especially would be to make sure you can meet the residence income and English requirements, and hang in there. If you are lower skilled, now is probably a good time to upskill.

This is a really fantastic opportunity for me, for the first time, to set out my priorities in the immigration portfolio and give you an insight into some of the important work that is going on at pace.

20/08/2024

This is probably a good idea overall, the more people processing applications the faster things tend to be done in general. INZ already have quite a diverse staff, and even now we see huge issues with culture not being taken into account, so if reopening overseas branches helps this it would be positive. It is quite frustrating when case officers ask for evidnece that just does not exist in the applicant's country...

It comes less than three years after it closed its last major offshore office.

17/08/2024

At last a slightly more common sense assessment of the migrant exploitation issue. I think we all know that the issue usually does not start with employers, but with unlicensed agents. As the report suggets, requiring visa applications and recruitment to be made by licensed profesisonals would go a long way in addressing the issue.

The Human Rights Commission is calling for an enforceable framework for ethical recruitment, meaningful business checks, and stronger compliance action.

15/08/2024

New visa subcategory just announced. A short term (9 month) visa is available for various jobs that depend on seasonal peaks. A variety of jobs like ski instructor, farm workers, tree planting, etc may be eligible if the conditions are met.

The purpose of this visa is to be able to fill short term seasonal needs only.

You may be able to hire migrants for a seasonal peak if you are an accredited employer and the role you are hiring for meets our definition of seasonal activity.

14/08/2024

RSE is a bit of a different category in general, but the policy shifts may indicate the start of a swing back to normality? Pay rates dependent on skill and experience of the worker rather than a one size fits all approach, and employer's not made to give more to migrant workers than to Kiwi workers is whata lot of AEWV employers will want as well.

Growers welcomed the changes which will see 20,750 people enter for the 2024/25 season.

11/08/2024

If the fee increases are based on the idea of getting more income from more applications then this may also signal a move to less restrictive policies as well perhaps. For example making SMC residence available to more people. But since revenue is per application (declined or approved), lengthening maximum continuous stays and making applications easier is probably not going to happen yet.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford is refusing to comment on her increased visa fees being far more than is needed to meet Immigration New Zealand's costs.

09/08/2024

A couple of good points in this article. I think a lot of people will expect a bit more service from INZ with this type of fee increase. However, there are no plans to change the quality or speed of visa processing at INZ, so it is best not to expect so. Secondly there will be quite a rush to get applications in before the price rise. Remember though that INZ fees do not get refunded so putting in a rough application that is likely to get decliend only means you will have to pay the current fee and the increased fee when you apply again later.
I think one of the results of the fee increase will be that each application should be done very carefully. People who now think they will just have a go and hope for the best and apply again if it is declined, should really be rethinking this strategy as it will cost much more.

Industry experts describe the increase in application fees as "risky".

08/08/2024

INZ fee increases. The news everyone has been waiting for has been announced today. There are some quite big fee increases, but these are coming in from October 1st so best to get in early.

Some increases are justa little but in some cases they are double of what they are now, like the AEWV goes from $750 now to $1540 after October 1.

Also remember the fee increase is not a promise of service or anything like that, and they are not refunded if your visa application is declined...

08/08/2024

Today's update from INZ is a good indication of the current attitude to processing. The update was about skilled residence, but the note that the standard 10 day response to PPIs or information requests will be strictly enforced does fit in with what we are seeing recently, and this applies to all types of applications.

This is as much about ensuring applications are managed well and not done by unlicensed agents, as it is about ensuring processing can be done quickly.

05/08/2024

Interesting, and not really surprisng. It is common knowledge that INZ search social media for information about applicants but using fake profiles is a new one.

An automated register of false personas to use on social media platforms is being set up by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

31/07/2024

Very true, INZ's systems are terribly inefficient and it is a combination of many factors. While the online ADEPT system is shut down for maintenance almost once a week, the biggest problem is arguably staff. Staff training, staff turnover, random approaches to applying the instructions and so on mean that INZ's online systems are not used to their maximum effectiveness.

Many people misunderstand that because visa applications are done on an online form then everything is much easier than a paper form. This is not the case because INZ staff still have a great input into the processing, and this is where many of the problems occur.

Immigration New Zealand has warned the government that risk intelligence systems and information technology to carry out visa processing are "creaking".

24/07/2024

He is absolutely right that there should be a better and more empathetic process for people wronged by the system, but where do you draw the line?
The only cases that actually gain any advantage by going to the media are ones with clear and significant public interest. These are the big, unfair, unjust cases where most Kiwis would want to see the migrants given a chance. For the Brazilian couple in the article, they put their faith in the system and did everything right, so we all feel their experience is unfair. But what about the thousands of other migrants who have had their visas declined because their case officer was prejudiced, or incompetent, or because they did their application themselves and it wasn't done properly or wasn't as strong as it should have been? They have arguably been wronged by the system, but it is not really newsworthy enough for the media to run the story, and MPs don't gain enough public relations mileage to fight for these migrants.
INZ has a complaints process but it is well known to not be effective. if you make a complaint, the result is usually; "I have looked at my colleague's work and have decided that they did nothing wrong". We would also like to see a more fit for purpose process, but it would certainly become clogged with cases very quickly given how INZ operate.

Migrants wronged by the system shouldn't have to go through media campaigns to be heard, the party says.

23/07/2024

We have written a useful article about AEWV job tokens. recently we have had so many enquiries about job tokens and have found that there is a lot of misinformation and confusion circulating in migrant communities about what the token is and what it does.

Check out our article and feel free to share.

What are AEWV job tokens and how do they work? Many people misunderstand about job tokens so this article clears up the confusion.

23/07/2024

Recent scams we have seen include:

1. having a work visa without having had any involvement in the process. If your agent sells you a work visa and you have not had a job interview directly with the NZ employer, or have not been involved at all in the visa application process, the visa is most likely fake.

2. Being asked to buy a job token. Job tokens have no value they are not a visa and do not guarantee you a visa. Having a token only means you can start the application process, which still needs to be done properly.

See more information from INZ
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/preparing-a-visa-application/your-journey-to-new-zealand/before-you-travel-to-new-zealand/protect-yourself-from-immigration-scams?utm_source=inz_facebook&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=protect_yourself&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0GHQAsOHj5kr0dKGpynvSiIrljYQTzBB1vna0Yy0oPdGSqzTqsXIqonK0_aem_bjo2l4mYZEqoWppi8hichQ

Immigration scams to watch out for, and how to protect yourself from these scams and visa fraud.

17/07/2024

A small nice change for work rights for dependent children of applicants for residence visas. This change is coming in from October and will allow dependent children of residnece visa applicants (including dependent children applying for residence themselves) to work after finishing high school. This is good because up until now dependent children were only able to stay as visitors.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/migrant-school-leavers-get-part-time-work-rights?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3gPqMwHLgB0psTTTLyE6pDKyczpNkUxCwqXrMkIlLmG4sEQIzu9DL4z-w_aem_2X0xT4d9oW6aXSTjyqSaYw

The coalition Government is providing migrant school leavers with greater opportunities, by increasing access to part-time work rights for those awaiting the outcome of a family residence application, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has announced.

15/07/2024

More inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour from INZ staff...

Immigration NZ has confirmed eight staff were stood down in the past several weeks, over "a series of what appear to be inappropriate and unprofessional Teams chats".

15/07/2024

A slightly different angle to exploitation, but the same overall theme of unlicensed agents promising work and asking for huge fees, I really think INZ should be doing more to educate migrants about these risks.

An agent offering migrant employment and visa services has been accused of using a vulnerable migrant worker's details to fraudulently obtain more than $17,000 in benefits.