Canadian pharmacist - how to get permanent residency in NZ?

[SAAG]

Hi all!

As you can see in my siggy, I submittted my EOI a while back since I figured I'd have a decent chance of being selected due to having 125 points, including bonus points for work experience in an area of absolute skills shortage etc. (I'm a retail pharmacist).

But I read somewhere that you can't claim points for your qualifications/experience in an area of absolute skilled shortage if you are not registered to practice your profession in New Zealand.

Trouble is, to become registered as a pharmacist in NZ, I must first write and pass a $1200 CAOP exam, then complete 3 mo. of supervised work, then pass an oral jurisprudence exam.

Sooo, perhaps I've submitted my EOI as a skilled migrant too soon? ie. they won't consider my skilled migrant qualifications yet since I'm not registered to practice in NZ yet?

And while I can go ahead and write the CAOP exam whenever it's offered, I can't just go to NZ and work towards my 3 mo. of supervised practice requirement unless I have the appropriate VISA...

I called NZ Immigration and while the woman I spoke to was very nice, she didn't seem to know what to advise me... finally, she figured I'd have to write the CAOP exam, then once I know I've passed, apply for a NZ pharmacist supervised practice job that would give me the 3 mo. required for a NZ pharmacist license, and once I have that job offer for the 3 mo practicum, apply for a temporary work VISA that would allow me to stay in NZ for those 3 mo... then I'd have to leave NZ, come back to NZ for the oral exam (as a visitor on holidays I presume?), and once I pass, I can get registered as a pharmacist in NZ. Then presumably I'd again return to Canada, resubmit my EOI where my bonus points would now count since I'd be officially registered as a pharmacist in NZ. And if I'm lucky, perhaps I'd find a permanent job by then and have enough points for my skilled migrant EOI to be automatically selected from the pool?

This seems very risky to me... If we come to NZ, my hubby and I would need to quit our jobs, our kids will obviously be switching schools, we'll be selling everything we own here to relocate etc... you guys know how it is... it's one thing to do that and know you'll be allowed to stay in NZ forever if you want, but to do it with the only sure thing being that I can work 3 mo. of supervised practice? That's downright scary! And coming to NZ 3 times (for the CAOP, the 3 mo. of supervised practice, and again for the oral exam) wouldn't be possible without my hubby and I quitting our jobs here in Canada (they won't allow us a 3 mo. vacation for the supervised practice for sure!!!)

I'm confident that I'll pass the exams... what scares me is spending all that money and possibly not being able obtain permanent residency in the end.

I want to make this work so badly, but after speaking with NZ immigration today, I'm rather baffled by how difficult and risky this apparently is... Surely there is a way of doing this with a reasonable assurance of being granted permanent residency for myself and my family.... There must be a way...

Any pharmacists out there who have successfully made the leap to NZ? Any advice?

Thanks so much for reading!!!

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

[72andsunny]

Hi Saag,

I sent you a PM before reading this. It's not quite as bad as you've been told, but it is a bit frustrating. I would recommend contacting the pharmacy council, as it is possible they've streamlined a little since I've moved here.

Briefly, once you've passed the caop, you are eligible for interim registration. I believe the intent of the immigration rules is for you to be eligible for residency at this stage. Unfortunately, like the person you talked to, nobody at immigration understands the process very well.

According to the paperwork I received from immigration, interim registration was enough to be considered a pharmacist. The problem I encountered was that the pharmacy council does not register people who reside outside the country. anyway, i would recommend taking the caop (which in addition to being outrageously expensive, requires you to buy ridiculously expensive books, and can only be taken in auckland, London, or australia). after you've passed, find a job (which will include the 3 months supervised)...I'm not sure what all the terms are now, but they should give you some sort of visa that will let you stay providing you work those 3 months; i see no set of circumstances that would require you to work for 3 months then go home.

[SAAG]

Thanks so much for the pm 72andsunny! It was very helpful and I sent you a reply with a few more questions if you don't mind.

Well, my original hope was to come to NZ with permanent residency already in the bag, then spend a few months with my family traveling around north island to explore and figure out where we want to settle permanently, then write my CAOP exam once we figure out where we want to live in NZ (first step in being licensed as a pharmacist in NZ from Canada), then look for a job that includes my required 3 mo. supervised placement.

Background for anyone curious - for a Cdn pharmacist to be licensed in NZ, they first have to pass the CAOP exam (which can be done without NZ residency) after which they will need some form of either temporary or permanent residency to qualify them for a restricted license that allows them to complete 3 mo. of supervised work experience, pass an oral exam on ethics and law stuff, and complete a "Revisit the Workplace Programme".

Anyhow...

From the sounds of things, my degree and work experience don't count for any points on my EOI until I've passed the CAOP exam and have a license allowing me to do my supervised placement. So new plan is to write the CAOP 1st, before we even apply for a visa (well, I guess I've already applied, but I assume I'll be out the money since without points for my degree and work experience, I don't have a hope in heck of being selected and my CO will likely toss my application back in the pool after removing a bunch of points )

After that: Apply for pharmacist jobs that include the supervised placement portion while I'm still here in Canada - once I have job, apply for visa. I can't get any sort of residence visa until I have a pharmacist license I think, and I can't get the pharmacist license allowing me to do the paid supervised placement until I have residence in NZ. So I'm a bit confused about this part.

When I called NZ immigration, I explained my dilemma and the woman I spoke with was unsure about my options. She was kind enough to try to find out more info from her colleagues, and after being on hold for a while, she told me that my best bet was to apply for an Essential Skills visa first, which would allow me into the country to do my paid supervised practice, even though I wouldn't have my license for the temporary practice until I set foot in NZ with my temporary residence visa. (ie. land in NZ with Essential Skills Visa in hand, plus job offer for supervised placement, then apply to New Zealand pharmacy council for license allowing me to actually DO the supervised placement). Once I've completed my supervised placement and a few other licensing requirements, I'd be a fully registered NZ pharmacist, would still have a job, and would now qualify for permanent residence under the Skilled Migrant category (I'd then have over 140 points so would qualify for permanent residence).

Deep breath. Man... this is sounding complicated.

Then, I called the NZ Pharmacy Council (they are the ones who license NZ pharmacists) - the gentleman I spoke to there was very nice and helpful. He called immigration and he was told that I would need to apply for a visitor's visa under a special category "Occupational Registration in NZ" (which is reference in their policy V3.45). That would get me through the stage of doing my paid supervised practice (I'm required to do this for 3 mo), after which time I could apply for a skilled migrant permanent residency since I'd presumably have a job to go to after my supervised placement and would therefore have over 140 points and have my EOI automatically selected from the pool.

Whew. This is messier than I'd hoped.

So next on my list is to call immigration to confirm which advice is correct - apply for the essential skills visa, or the special category of visitor's visa. I assume the info that was given to the NZ pharmacy council is more likely to be correct, but I'd like to confirm it myself with immigration to be on the safe side.

Anyhow, due to a ton of stuff going on in the next 3 mo, I won't try to write the CAOP exam in March... was thinking June, but as I mentioned, my son's recital is in June, and I can't miss that... so am now thinking Sept. will be the earliest I can write that exam and get everything rolling. I'm impatient... would like to get going now!!! (Exam is only offered 4 times per year: Dec., Mar, June, and Sept)

Anyhow, if anyone has any thoughts or advice about what I've posted, please share! I'll take any leads on info that I can get!

Thanks for reading!

[JandM]

Thanks for the details - it may well help someone who comes after you.

One small thing which may help when needing to talk about visas.

my original hope was to come to NZ with permanent residency already in the bag

The first visa you get, if successful under SMC, is Residence. (You'll see old posts referring to PR at that stage because INZ changed the terminology two years ago.) You'll be eligible for PR after a minimum of two years living in NZ with Residence. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra.../residence.htm http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...quirements.htm

[SAAG]

Ahhh... ok... so change that to "my original hope was to come to NZ with Residence already in the bag" Thanks for the correction!