Silver Fern 2014

[Odranoel]

Good afternoon all,

It seems I was too caught up with work here is the US that I completely missed the SF's opportunity.
Could someone give me any pointers as far as what to do in order to increase my changes of winning a slot among the 300 available visas in 2014?

Also, what's the difference between going to NZ with a working visa vs a Silver Fern visa?
Could both visas allow me to apply for a 2 year visa once they've expired?

Thanks

[Karen Phillips]

Hi. hard luck on missing out this year. However, it is just possible that you could get a Silver fern visa in the next month or so. Of the 300 offered, there will definitely be people who choose not to take it up or who cannot provide evidence for what they claimed. It's worth making regular checks - even on a daily basis. Best time I guess will be mid-late July as the 3 months to apply starts to run out. If you end up waiting until next year, there are some key points. Firstly, check out the exact time the new quota opens in your time-zone. A couple of weeks before then, make sure you are registered on the INZ Website, if you can get in, go in and complete the application and leave it pending. Then, at the right moment, finish and submit. It's first come: first served. They all go in minutes. If you send me a Private Message with your email address, I will send you a description of all the questions asked and documents you will need to hand.
A work visa requires a job. There are several different types depending on your skills, whether they are on the Skills Shortage Lists, if the employer who offers you a job is accredited ... and more. Just a thought, are you 30 or less and US Citizen residing in the US? If so, you could go on a US Working Holiday Scheme for 1 year during which time you can work for any employer. Let me know if I can be of any further help. Kind regards. Karen

[JandM]

Also, what's the difference between going to NZ with a working visa vs a Silver Fern visa?
Could both visas allow me to apply for a 2 year visa once they've expired?

What do you mean by 'a 2 year visa'? Are you thinking of applying for Residence under SMC?

Apart from Work To Residence, there isn't a direct link on to SMC from a Work visa - you still have to show all the requirements.

If you get to NZ on a Silver Fern job search visa, you would already have had to prove your qualifications. So if you then land a skilled job in NZ in the skill you have proved, you would be very likely to qualify for SMC. You could apply as soon as you had the job offer.

You can't get a work visa, as Karen just said, without having a job, and depending on the kind of work visa you obtained, you might or might not have the requirements for SMC.

[Odranoel]

Thanks for the in for information.
Can someone correct me if I'm wrong, but once you have been granted a SF visa you have 6 months from the day it was issued to travel to NZ, correct?
Now once in NZ, I have 9 months to find a job, and in order to qualify for 'the Silver Fern Experience' I would have to be awarded a contract for a skilled job after 9 months, correct?
Does anyone have a list of the skilled positions that NZ Immigration recognizes?
Once awarded a permanent contracted can I extend my stay for 2 more years?
How could this lead to residency or permanent residency?

Thanks again?

[JandM]

once you have been granted a SF visa you have 6 months from the day it was issued to travel to NZ, correct?

Yes. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/34516.htm

Now once in NZ, I have 9 months to find a job, and in order to qualify for 'the Silver Fern Experience' I would have to be awarded a contract for a skilled job after 9 months, correct? ... Once awarded a permanent contracted can I extend my stay for 2 more years?
How could this lead to residency or permanent residency?

You have to be offered the skilled job WITHIN nine months. The offer of a skilled job, whenever in your stay it happens, gives you further options - you could go for the SF Work Experience Visa, or you could apply for Residence under the Skilled Migrant Category. If you don't get the offer of a skilled job, you would have to leave NZ when the nine months were up.

SMC is entirely separate from SF.

So for example...

Mr X has the SF JSV, having sent proof of his qualifications etc. to INZ. He arrives in NZ, entitled to stay and work for nine months.

He gets the offer of a skilled job, and starts to work.

Now, he has choices. Suppose (choice 1) he finds he doesn't much like living in NZ. He might work for the nine months of the SF JSV, then go home.

Choice 2: suppose he just wanted to see the world for a while, then go back and work in his home country. He might apply for the Silver Fern Work Experience Visa after the SF JSV, work for another two years, and go home.

Choice 3: with his job offer, he has plenty of points for his EOI, so he applies for Residence under Skilled Migrant. He can do this straight away when he gets his job offer, straight from the SF JSV. When INZ get his EOI, it will be selected at the next draw (because it is 100+ points with job), then the whole SMC procedure will happen, checking everything on the EOI. The checks are more stringent than for SF JSV, because the person will be staying long term. If INZ thought the process was not going to be finished before the SF JSV would run out, they would tell Mr X what other visa he ought to put in for, to fill the gap in time.

One more thought - if Mr X first thought he was going to make Choice 2, but then decided he would like to stay in NZ after all, he can apply for Residence under SMC from having the SF Work Experience Visa, too.

Skilled Occupations. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/35165.htm, and notice the requirements that are given on the link from that page. Also, if you're considering applying under the Skilled Migrant Category, it's a good idea to start from this page http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...nt/default.htm and follow further links, to understand the requirements for points to qualify for an EOI.

[Odranoel]

JandM,

I truly appreciate your help in this matter, certainly your level of understanding clears a number of doubts from my end. Do you believe there could be some SF visas available in the next couple of months? Or should I completely focus on 2014?
I have a couple of questions and I hope you don't mind clearing them up.

Say for instance Mr. X decided to take the choice #2. Would having the Silver Fern Work Experience visa (2 years) help him towards the 5 years required to establish residency in order to be granted citizenship? Or it would take 2 years (SFWE visa) plus another 5 years of residency (skilled migrant category).

Finally, traveling to NZ under the working holiday visa, (I am just throwing this option out there), would I have any options at my disposal as far as being able to go "job hunting" in order to change my status? Is this a plausible option?
Lastly, I imagine that if my partner wants to come with me to NZ, she would have to apply for her own Silver Fern Visa, and once in NZ (after being offered a skilled position) either apply for the SFWE visa or residency as a SMC?

Thank you

[JandM]

First, as Karen said above, there are SF places which become available during the year. Either an applicant was mistaken about being qualified, and this came to light during the INZ checking, or they might decide not to go through with moving to NZ after all. We have had people who got a SF place at various times between late summer and the early part of the following year.

Citizenship requires five years living in NZ from the time of getting Residence visa. Detailed requirements here. http://www.dia.govt.nz/Services-Citi...nd-Citizenship

Yes, if you're a visitor, you can also job hunt. You can't start to work on a visitor's visa, and if you got a skilled job offer, you would have to get a work visa before you could start - NZ employers are used to the time delay involved in offering a foreigner a position.

Partner - she could go the SF route, as you suggest. Another option would be to go for a partner-sponsored work visa, sponsored by you once you got a qualifying visa of your own. Yet another would be for you to include her on your application when you apply for Residence (and this could come after the partner-sponsored work visa).

I'm under some time pressure right now, but I will come back and add some links which may help.

[Odranoel]

Thank you for the information. It was really helpful. Have a great weekend.

[JandM]

About going to NZ as a visitor, intending to look for work. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....246#post479246

The starting point for finding out about the regulations for various work visas, if you get a job offer. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra.../requirements/

Partner-sponsored work visas - note the requirements on you as sponsor, as well as the necessity for proving partnership, for which you would need to start collecting material NOW, before you are separated. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...milystream.htm You will need to prove partnership for a minimum of 12 months, and ongoing, if your partner is named as secondary applicant when you apply for Residence under the Skilled Migrant Category. The advantage of using the partner visas is that there is no necessity to have a second set of qualifications and work experience checked out, and also, the partner-sponsored work visa is an open one, which means the partner can take ANY job that is offered, not only a skilled one, which can be helpful in early days when the couple have possibly decided where to live based on the main applicant's job offer, and the partner hasn't had time yet to see what their career options are in the new location. Notice, though, that INZ check partner evidence very rigorously, because this is the visa easiest to get fraudulently by having someone lie for you, so have a look at old threads about evidence, and go for overkill if you're going to use this route.

I've had another thought about your partner. Suppose you got a SF visa in a couple of months' time - she could go along with you on a visitor's visa initially, and try to find a skilled job as well, at which point she could apply for a temporary work visa. The whole situation could then work in reverse, with HER sponsoring YOU for the partner-sponsored temporary work visa, and being main applicant for Residence with you as secondary.

[Odranoel]

Great advise
Than you kindly