Employer Accreditation Renewal timeline

[a2n]

Hi fellow ENZines!

I applied for W2R through accredited employer pathway at the London office last month only to know that the accreditation of my employer had expired in May itself. The HR says they've applied for a renewal. Meanwhile my CO suggested that she could try granting me the visa through an alternative LTSSL pathway, which unfortunately didn't work out as well. The reason cited was that my Bachelor is not recognized at par with New Zealand Level 7 (even though I have a Master in the same field comparable to NZ level 9)!

I am required to join from July 1 in Auckland, but this is seeming more and more unlikely now. I would be grateful if you can answer a couple of questions that arise in my case:

1. Any idea how long it takes for the accreditation to be renewed for the Employer?
2. Is it normal for the Bachelor to cause problems in LTSSL when you have a Masters with a higher "Level" rating in the same field?
3. I was suggested the "Essential Skills" pathway as an alternative. Does this mean I am not allowed to renew my visa after 3 years of staying in NZ if I take this option?

Thanks in advance for your replies and patience

[JandM]

1.Any idea how long it takes for the accreditation to be renewed for the Employer?

I've never seen that point come up on the forum, so can't help there.

2.Is it normal for the Bachelor to cause problems in LTSSL when you have a Masters with a higher "Level" rating in the same field?

Entirely normal. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....163#post463163

3.I was suggested the "Essential Skills" pathway as an alternative. Does this mean I am not allowed to renew my visa after 3 years of staying in NZ if I take this option?

No, it doesn't mean that. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...entialwork.htm It doesn't mean that necessarily, I should say. All temporary work visas are granted in relation to a particular job. The essential skills lists are updated every year, and it CAN happen that, by the time someone wants to renew their visa, the skill isn't in short supply in NZ any more, and has disappeared from the list. In that case, even though the employer wants the applicant to stay, INZ can't renew the visa. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that, as soon as you can qualify for Residence, you apply, while you are eligible.

[eternalkiwi]

The Immigration Website has this about renewing Accredited Employer status.

Renewing your accredited employer status

Accreditation is for 12 months and is renewable annually. Three months before your current accreditation expires, you’ll receive a reminder to renew. Your renewal application needs to be with the Business Migration Branch before your accreditation expiry date. If the renewal application is late, it will be treated as a new application.

It is important to your employees brought to New Zealand under this category that you maintain accreditation while they work towards residence.

If you lose accreditation or decide not to renew it, you will need to tell any staff employed on a Work to Residence visa, so they can apply for a Variation of Conditions to continue working for you. If they do not get this, they may not be eligible for residence after they have worked for you for two years.

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rd...nchecklist.pdf

[a2n]

Thanks a lot for the info guys.

I heard from the company and it says they'll take another 10-15 days for the certification to come through. Seems waiting is the only option here.

[JandM]

Seems waiting is the only option here.

EVERYTHING to do with visa applications is full of hurry up and wait.

[a2n]

Update:

Since this topic hasn't been discussed much before, I'd like to let u all know that getting the renewal for accreditation can take quite long even when it is on a priority at the Immigration! My company got it in ~3 weeks AFTER their application was set on priority and I eventually received my stamped passport yesterday.

Looking forward to NZ now

[JandM]

Thanks for the update.

And congratulations! Safe journey, and all the best.