Hi Cricfor. I did miss my certified passport in the application and I still had a chance to send it to INZ. Once money is deducted, I think you should not be worry about Failed Lodgement.
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Originally Posted by cricfor
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Hi Cricfor. I did miss my certified passport in the application and I still had a chance to send it to INZ. Once money is deducted, I think you should not be worry about Failed Lodgement.
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Originally Posted by cricfor
I forgot to attach the numbers for all of my emedicals. I thought I would be a failed lodgment. I called INZ in a panic and they were very helpful and linked them all online. And my application otherwise went through smoothly. If they deducted your money they would have accepted your application is my understanding. Good luck!
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Originally Posted by cricfor
SMC visa-Onshore
ITA submitted: May 10, 2019
Payment deducted five weeks later
Request for more documents by CO: June 25, 2019
Status changed to Approved Online July 8, 2019 or earlier but this was the day I checked...
So we didn't expect our residency to be approved until December at least so it was a nice surprise. I was reading posts on this forum regularly since we submitted our application and found it vey useful. Now sharing our experience with application process which was pretty good. Thank you.
:raebanana :clap :bluebanana
Congratss!!!!
Are you registered in any field that made it move quick/?
Can you please tell us what could be the possible reason that yours was moved quickly?
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Originally Posted by joannab
Congratulations!!
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Originally Posted by joannab
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Originally Posted by joannab
Wow, congrats!! you need a dance~~
Thank you �� I really don't know why it went so quickly. I'm not sure if they prioritise any applications. The only thing I can think of is that we had 295 points. But really not sure if it made any difference. We are just happy :) And wish you all your applications go smoothly.The wait can be so nerve wracking.
It appears that the allocation of SMC applications to Immigration Officers has come to a grinding halt - upon enquiring about the date that applications were lodged that were being allocated to IO's on Monday this week, I was told by an Immigration Manager at Manukau that applications lodged on 7 December were being allocated. This has not changed since Monday 8 July. When I enquired further as to why it appeared allocations were not happening at all, the IM referred to "staff shortages" but I do not believe he is being honest. I believe it has more to do with the fact that INZ now has more Residence applications on-hand for processing than there are now spaces left for approved Residence under the NZ Residence Programme until 31 December 2019. Unfortunately, no one at INZ is being honest enough to confirm this, but this news article more or less confirms it: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/07/1...XP6RuTrE5vEZI#.
I will check in with INZ again for an update next Monday and see what the story is then.
Sorry to have to report that the update from Manukau's Immigration Manager that I contacted this morning was that the front of the queue was still stuck at 7 December (unchanged since 8 July). I have asked for confirmation whether allocations are still taking place of applications that meet INZ's own internally-set criteria (Salary is above the high remuneration threshold, Occupation is one that requires registration through a governing body and applicant holds current registration, Employer is a government department), but I have yet to hear back. Will update when I know (I suspect the answer will be 'Yes' given joannab's recent successful outcome).
Any update on this at all Egoodhue? Thank you for keeping us informed. What would this mean? Are they just going to make everybody wait indefinitely? Will new applications now need to wait potentially for 8 or 9 months + to be assigned a CO?Quote:
Originally Posted by EGoodhue
In response to my further querying of what is happening with the SMC allocation queue (are allocations stopping altogether or going very slowly or only certain applications that meet a set criteria being allocated?), one of the Immigration Managers at Manukau has replied to say that they will send me a "formal response" next week. Will update here as soon as I receive this "formal response" :uhoh
Quick update. I emailed on the 15th July, polite enquiry. Just received an email today letting me know that we were assigned a case officer on the 19th July and the CO would contact me only if they need more info or with a decision. Some of the forum threads are a bit negative understandably but SMC queues ARE still moving 👍👍
Osteo - Off Shore (UK) - Job Offer - 160pts
Flew to NZ 15th March for Interviews. Went to visit our Governing body whilst in Wellington. Flew home mid April with job offer. Finalised occupational registration and put in EOI end of April.
01.05.19 EOI selected
02.05.19 ITA received
07.06.19 Application Received
26.06.19 Application “Lodged” with date of 05/06/19 and money taken, notified of documents leaving NZ.
02.07.19 Family/relationship pictures returned to us
15.07.19 Polite enquiry email regarding work/residency visas
25.07.19 Email apologising for delays and informing us that our Case Officer was assigned 19.07.19 ��
Great news!! Any movement in the process is reason to get excited!!
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Originally Posted by Tweedie515
Today I took another step towards the end of the process! Passports were mailed to the VAC in Washington for final verification. Flights are booked and we should be making our new home by the end of August.
We think so too 😀😀 We have a mad excited 10mins, dissect it thoroughly and then go back to resigned waiting. Movement is fantastic though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkms
Ahhhh! That is soooo exciting!!!! Good Luck and remember to enjoy this bit xQuote:
Originally Posted by Jkms
With regards to allocations of SMC applications currently, an Immigration Manager at Manukau confirmed to me today that they are still allocating SMC applications to Immigration Officers on a weekly basis, but it is no longer the usual system of 'first in, first out' whereby the managed queue is arranged in lodgement date order and the oldest applications at the front of the queue get allocated next. It seems that applications meeting INZ's own internally-determined criteria of who is "highly skilled" (that is, with a remuneration above the high salary threshold, or requiring registration for their occupation, or working for a government department) are now allocated first. And then applicants which are deemed to meet the criteria of having "compelling personal circumstances" and have requested prioritisation via the newly set-up email address EmploymentVisaEscalations@mbie.govt.nz will be allocated. And only after those two categories are applications pulled from the managed queue for allocation.
Unfortunately the manager could not answer my request for details regarding what approximate percentage of all allocations done in the past few weeks met the first 2 criteria, but it would seem that at least 90%+ of applications allocated since at least 8 July have been given to IO's on the basis of the first two criteria, rather than pulled from the managed queue because the manager confirmed today that the front of the queue was still sitting at applications lodged on 7 December (as it has been for the past 3 weeks). So while the queue is not officially 'frozen', it would seem that the majority of allocations are currently being selected on INZ's own internally-set criteria rather than the more fair 'first in, first out' basis. As of today, it is taking 7 months and 26 days (at least) for an SMC application to be allocated to an Immigration Officer after lodgement - but this may well become even longer as the months roll on.
As an aside, in response to an Official Information Act request regarding the number of applicants approved Residence in the current NZ Residence Programme to date and the current applications on-hand, INZ have confirmed that 19,172 people have been granted Residence under SMC between 1 July 2018 and 12 July 2019. This leaves a maximum of 11,428 places on the NZ Residence Programme available to be filled up to 31 December this year. And the on-hand number of SMC applications INZ had in the queue as at 12 July was 7,105. Keeping in mind that each of those applications is more likely than not going to include more than 1 person, it stands to reason that there are more people wanting Residence under the Skilled Migrant Category than the Government currently has approved places for to the end of this calendar year (11,428 places left but likely more than 14,000 people waiting for Residence in that queue).
Hi EGoodhue
I noticed you are an ex immigration officer I was hoping you may know the answer to my question. I submitted my talent accredited employer application by LIA and it was received by INZ on 27th May 19. On the 16th july more info was requested, police checks, relationship evidence for past 12 months and upto date IRd summary of earnings for April may June. I already sent my earnings upto date and have resent the requested ones, is this a normal process as the longer it goes on will they need more update ones? Thank you for your time
Please don't be surprised if EGoodhue doesn't reply to this - as you'll see on earlier posts, she is at present on maternity leave from work, expecting her third child shortly, and she is already going far beyond what she intended to do during her resting time by keeping in touch with her contacts at INZ in order to update people here on the threads with the latest news on the official line about all the backlogs. I've answered your question on another thread.
Manukau Immigration Manager, Emma McFarland, confirmed to me via email today that the SMC queue still has applications lodged on 7 December at the front of it. This is the 6th week running that the front of the allocation queue has still had 7 December 2018 applications waiting to be lodged. So it's taking 8 months and 6 days (and growing) for an SMC application in the main queue to be allocated to an Immigration Officer. Emma McFarland also confirmed that weekly allocations are a mix of applications which meet INZ's own internally-set criteria for prioritisation, applicants who have successfully requested priority via the EmploymentVisaEscalations@mbie.govt.nz email address, Residence from Work applications and those from the main queue.
It's unclear when this mess is going to be sorted and it seems that INZ is putting all it's energy and focus on attending to the mess with Partnership applications and other certain Temp applications that are getting the most media attention or lobbying from the right groups. So the poor old SMC backlog seems to be being ignored and will continue to grow until someone speaks up about it.
Sorry to say that this will be my last forum post for a few months - I am now 37 weeks pregnant, huge and uncomfortable :laugh So I need to put my feet up from now and await the arrival of child #3. Sorry that I won't be around to update on here regarding allocation timeframes for a while. I hope that INZ pick their game up while I am on leave and you all get the outcome you deserve sooner rather than later! Best of luck to all and I'll be back towards the end of this year :D
Well, my visa is finalized, and my flights are booked! Heading into a whole new life and adventure soon! Thanks everyone for being part of the journey!
Any more updates?
Hi Guys,
Just to share my status. Finally my application is lodged and payment deducted !:bluebanana.
Now is time for the long wait. Was quite worry before that if the document successfully couriered to immigration nz.
Any update May lodgement?
Long wait ahead. They are still trying to assign December applications to case officers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ranjittoor
APPROVED - SMC 💜 Claimed 160 points. Did not claim any extra/partner points even though we could have. Just wanted the minimum to prove.
March 2019 - Flew out for interviews / job professional registration
April 2019 - EOI
May 2019 - ITA
June 2019 - CO assigned
This information may be helpful for anyone in the same position prior to applying.
From June 2019 it has been a seemingly constant stream of extra information required including:
Getting a Court Order for the children to leave the UK even though their dad and I get along very well, were in agreement and had all permissions legally in place. Solicitors wanted tens of thousands to complete this and estimated it would take upwards of eight months. I took a day off work, wrote up all the documents, begged the local court for a hearing and my ex and I went along and represented ourselves. I had the court order in under a week for approx £250. INZ then requested the Judge put his signature on it even though it was all official with the court seal etc. That was interesting waiting for the judge to sign, I think he thought we were extremely fortunate to have got it (he entertained us as he thought my paper work was immaculate.....). Extraordinarily stressful.
I had a DUI from 20 years ago (£150 fine, licence returned early due to eligibility for Drink Awareness Course) which was not showing (No Live Trace) on my criminal record so that required Full Disclosure from ACRO which took four weeks.
I understood my Degree to be exempt but got it assessed anyway. I cannot remember if they requested this of me or not....
I am self employed in the UK. I claimed only 2 years experience (10pts) despite having 5 years as I thought it would be less/easier to prove. For the full five years: I sent all tax returns, all monthly statements from card machine, my re registration each year, my continued professional development, my insurances, my room rental agreements (re issued each year), bank account statements showing all relevant payments for room rental, monthly governing body/insurance payments etc, my CV, my website and social media. INZ also requested summary statement breakdown of accounts from tax returns (can be done online through your gateway login), a statement from accountant (which is me) and further evidence that I have worked/do work in said profession. This stumped me a bit because I had sent in everything I had. In the end 40 of my patients that spanned the 5 years wrote directly to my Case Officer on my behalf. This also included a statement from a Chief Inspector of the London Metropolitan Police which was great for Character Reference / Waiver when the time came for that.
We had our medicals May 2019 and one of our daughters was 10 at the time, she turned 11 in Dec 2019 and quality control (2pc) flagged that she now needed a chest x-ray and we were lucky to be able to get that done speedily.
We preempted them with requests for further relationship evidence and just kept it flowing.
Our Case Officer sent us a PPI the day before Christmas Eve and then went on leave. She is still on annual leave. Her boss picked up our case when she returned from leave and moved it forward so in effect we have gone from PPI to approved in 10 days all complete with EVisas etc. We were at risk of losing my job, our rental etc. During this time further requests were made of us.
We did apply for work visas but the advert I responded to did not meet INZ exacting parameters. We had already flown out to NZ and secured my job so it would have been unlawful and unethical to re advertise the position so we have had to wait for SMC to come through which has been extraordinarily bum squeaky. We lost over £1000 applying for the work visa and relevant family visas.
It has, hands done been THE most stressful time as I am sure all you folks are experiencing too.
I am so grateful to this forum which I have stalked relentlessly, to INZ for coming through in the end and for my new boss for also going through this (they were relentless requesting information from him too) and being prepared to wait this time for me.
I wish you all the best of luck.
My husband is working away at the moment so it’s not the loud bouncy reaction that I have spent long envisaging but it has allowed me to write this post in the quiet wee hours. I presume the more recently acquired insomnia will diminish now. Another three hours and I can wake the children.
Good Luck All xx
Congratulations. :raebanana:clap:bluebanana
Got our bananas! That’s what we’ve really been waiting for 💜❤️💚Quote:
Originally Posted by JandM
:biggrin::laugh:)
Have some more
:bluebanana:bd:raebanana
Congrats on your residency!! We also lodged our application last May (2019) and are STILL waiting for a case officer (March 2020). To say it’s disheartening is an understatement. :-(
Still a long way to go unfortunately :-( end of the queue is 5 months away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rease
Did anyone get any further in the process before the Covid restrictions? I have counted our lucky stars repeatedly the past month for quick processing of our visas. What a stressful time for many I am sure.
My registration was with a NZ profession
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Originally Posted by leewui
Nothing for us... our work visas expire 01/05/20 so we got the automatic extension until 25/09/20. However, we have submitted our new work visa applications the week before the lockdown was announced but they haven’t been lodged and fees haven’t been taken yet either. All we can do is wait and wait and wait some more...
Today marks Exactly 1 year since our application was lodged. Since that time the front of the que has moved about 2 or 3 weeks. We just started applying for new work visas as we have lost all hope that our applications will be processed in the next 3 months. The girl in the callcentre tried blaming the delay on Covid last week. Just needed to put this in writing to believe this is actually happening.
We had to renew our work Visas as well, as well as dish out near $6K in medical fees for my partner's then requested (and required) medical tests and specialist visits, which finally cleared. But the cost has been so much more than we were expecting, as well as just the angst that comes with waiting. This forum has helped a lot, in knowing we are not the only ones waiting. I suppose the adage is true: "Misery loves company"!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark17
@Rease if you don’t mind me asking what were the extra tests that costed 6k?