Advice on EOI application and NZQA assessment

[shamo]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on the forum. Thanks to all the good souls providing a wealth of information here !!

Here's my situation: I am on a partnership based temporary work visa valid for 1 year (till March 2014), on account of my partner's level 9 study at Uni of Auckland. I have landed a job offer in Auckland which will qualify for 50 points in the SMC EOI, and am planning to submit my EOI for residence, as I now have enough points to qualify.

But it looks like my qualifications (Bachelor of Technology and Post Graduate Diploma in Management) are not on the current NZQA list of institutions exempt from assessment (for India, list effective 10/12/2012). However, on an earlier list (dated 26/9/2011), both my Bachelors and Masters Degree institutions are listed (levels 7 and 9).

Will I have to apply for NZQA assessment, so that my qualifications are counted for points in my EOI. Does the fact that these qualifications and institutions were there in the earlier list help in any way for not going through the assessment?

Another question I have is regarding the timelines for the SMC process. It's highly likely that the process will not be completed by the time of expiry of my current work visa (March 2014). What would be the best option for me for work visa renewal while waiting for the residency process to complete, and when should I initiate it? Just to clarify, my job offer is permanent full time and in a future growth area (ICT Consulting).

Thanks in advance!
Shamo

[JandM]

Hello.

Yes, you will have to have your qualifications assessed. INZ will only go by the current list of exemptions allowed, and the fact that they were on the previous list won't have any effect at all. Sorry!

About timing - actually, in theory, there is time for a residence application to go through, although INZ are not usually in any big hurry to finalize things for those already in NZ, working on some other visa. A scenario we often see is that the applicant will write to INZ when their existing visa has about eight weeks to run, pointing out that it is coming to an end, and asking if it's likely their Residence will come through in time, or do they need to apply for a work visa to cover the gap? Very frequently, the Residence magically appears within the next couple of weeks. But even if it doesn't, there is still time at that stage to get a work visa, and keep legal.

[shamo]

Thanks JandM ! So it looks like I'll have to get the qualifications assessed, both for myself and my partner (as I'm claiming points for her qualifications too).

I'm hoping they'll come out with a new list by the time I come around to applying for IQA

I'll get things rolling for my EOI then

Thanks !
Shamo