Graduate job search visa, time running short and pretty worried... thoughts?

[melange]

Just finished a Graduate Diploma at Canterbury, and my student visa runs out at the end of this month. Now, I really, really want to get the year-long open work visa that being a graduate affords me. It's one of the few open work visas available, so I can get some work experience in whatever job I want before starting with my Masters program next year (which will, according to immigration, allow me another graduate work visa once that is complete as well). So the ideal scenario would be: Work til next Feb, then start on my Masters program. So I applied for a graduate job search visa as soon as I could get proof of degree completion, along with all the other requisite documents, and handed the application in through my Uni last week (they help graduates apply).

I'm just wondering if anyone meeting all the requirements for the graduate job search visa has ever been turned down?? The admin staff I spoke to at my Uni says they haven't heard of such a thing happening, but I've heard tales about (other) work visas and they weren't all pretty, lol. Basically, the crux of the issue is this: I already have a Masters offer in UoA (that will be starting next Monday, that I applied for a couple months ago when I was undecided about what to do), and if I wait til the decision on my graduate job search visa is made, the period for acceptance of the Masters offer would be over, and my student visa would also be over so I would have to leave New Zealand immediately if my graduate job search application was declined.

Take the risk? No? That depends on knowing how big the risk is and I haven't a clue...

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

I haven't ever seen anyone on these threads be turned down for the GJSV. But it's only fair to say that that isn't a visa that many members here are after. However, on the bright side, it's rather like the partner-sponsored work or residence visas, in that there's only a very limited area to prove, so the case is much more black or white than for the other work visa stories you've been hearing - in those, there are probably areas open to challenge, such as the applicant's qualifications, is or isn't the job on the LTSSL, did or didn't the employer advertise the job to find a suitable Kiwi, etc..

Good luck!

[melange]

Thanks for the reply, JandM.

I have provided all the proof that they requested, but the 'bona fide' clause at the end of the application guide puzzles me. How would I prove that I am 'bona fide', other than providing the requested documentation? I can't think of anything else.

[JandM]

What is the wording?

[melange]

When we assess your application and the information you provide, we ensure that it meets all the
requirements of the visa you are applying for. This includes the requirement to be ‘bona fide’, which
means you intend a genuine temporary stay to work.
When we assess if you are a bona fide worker, we consider all of the information that we have. For
example, we will consider:
• your personal circumstances, such as:
––your family ties in your home country and New Zealand;
––personal, financial, employment or other commitments in your home country and New Zealand;
––any circumstances that might mean you may not want to return to your home country when any
visa expires,
16 – Work Visa Guide - May 2012
• information that we have about previous applications, such as whether you have previously
overstayed or breached visa conditions.
• whether you have dependants who are unlawfully in New Zealand.
• your ability to leave or be deported from New Zealand to your country of citizenship.
INZ will consider all of the information you provide in support of your application but is not obliged
to ask you for more. So, with evidence that you meet the particular requirements for the type of
visa you are applying for, you should provide any evidence that you think demonstrates that you are a
bona fide applicant.

I do have a partner in New Zealand, and no commitments in my home country because I do intend to apply for residency after getting work experience and a postgraduate degree.. but it'd be quite silly to refuse me on that basis... I hope?

[JandM]

Well, it's all only guessing till the answer comes. Fingers crossed for you. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Another thought that arises from what you've said, in case you had any problem with the GJSV application - is your partner a NZer, or someone with Residence, who could sponsor you for a temporary work visa http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...milystream.htm, or residence http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...ly/default.htm?

[Millieandme]

I do have a partner in New Zealand, and no commitments in my home country because I do intend to apply for residency after getting work experience and a postgraduate degree.. but it'd be quite silly to refuse me on that basis... I hope?

You won't be refused for that because that is the whole point of the Graduate Job Search Visa. With the visa, you are given time to find work so that you can then apply to stay longer(or permanently).

The admin staff at the uni know how it works as they deal with hundreds of students in the same situation. As long as you meet the requirements (medical etc), you will get the visa. It still takes a while to process through the system but it will arrive.

[melange]

JandM - Thanks for the crossed fingers. I had actually not looked into the partner visa at all, as we are not married. Perhaps I will do that... but regardless if I am only given an answer to my current application after my student visa ends, I will not be able to lodge another visa application from onshore, no?

Millie - Thanks! That's reassuring. The admin staff I spoke to said that they don't get very many requests for this visa though.

[JandM]

Being married isn't a requirement for a partner sponsoring you for either temporary work or residence visa, as I expect you've seen by now. If you collect evidence that you're living together, it wouldn't be a bad thing, even assuming you get the GJSV shortly - you might want to proceed to the others later. I suppose you would need to leave in the event of the GJSV application being refused, but if it came to that, evidence is easier to collect while you're in NZ than from a distance.