SMC questions

[Pette]

Hi Everyone,

I am brand new here, so a short introduction: originally from Germany, lived in South Africa and North America before, right now residing in the Netherlands.
My wifey and I, are not to happy here and we are looking for a place to settle with our 1yr old son.

The SMC would be the only option for us, we would come up with something between 100 or max 135 points on the EOI. (we don't have a job offer in SMC)

Reading through this forum (which is great!) still got a couple of questions:
1) identified areas of future grows is the Information Communications Technology: I worked most of my time for a very big online retailer, but not in the tech dept. but in sales. Does that count?

2) Long Term Skill Shortage List: my occupation is on there, but it also requires "Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s (CIPS) (Level 6) Graduate Diploma". Do I need to have that, in order to claim bonus points?

3) Skilled Work: I claim bonus points for the occupation right now: How is skilled work usually proven? I don't want to call them my boss right now, because I don't know if the move works out at all.


4) if you get an ITA and be granted a residence visa: do you have to go down to NZ in a given time, once it is granted? (I need to stay in the NL till around 12/2014 to finish a project at work and of course arrange everything)
If yes, how fast do you have to go down?

5) I guess if I am granted, I would get the SMC Job Search visa with the 9 month deferral period: it says in the guide "family members are not automatically eligible for any temporary entry visas ". Anyone any experience with this? Or do they usually grant the family members who are included in my application.

6) Once you are in NZ on the SMC Job Search visa, you have to find skilled work for at least three months within these 9 months.
Does this mean after you work 3 months in a SMC job, your residence is through and you can work anywhere you want or even got self employed or whatever?



OK, 6 questions are enough :-)


Thanks already for any answers!
Take care and good luck everyone!
Pette

[JandM]

1) It would depend. To claim ANYTHING for Information Technology, your skill set, proved by your qualification, would have to be in IT, and your job in Sales would have to require full use of IT skills in order to be able to do it. But notice, you can't claim bonus points in an Identified Area of Future Growth without having a skilled job offer in NZ. You might be able to get some for an Area of Absolute Skills Shortage instead.

2) I presume you have been looking at the INZ Essential Skills in Demand List. Whatever job title you decide to put forward from that list, you have to have the qualification mentioned, or an equivalent which NZQA will recognize. But notice, you may not have to use your current job title - job titles can be whatever an employer wants them to be. If you can describe the skills you use at work in the terms a particular job on that list covers, when you look up the description in the ANZSCO list, you can put yourself forward under that heading. The important thing is that qualification, skills, and what you do in your work, should match. And you're going to need plenty of points - the selections have only once dipped below 140 this year for those without a job offer. If you get a skilled job offer, then you can get by with any number 100 or above.

3) A job description from your employer, or from someone who works with you and has reason to know the details of your hours and responsibilities, will be necessary at some stage. INZ will check thoroughly, for the reason mentioned in 2).

4) If someone is granted Residence under SMC, they have six months to pay the Migrant Levy and get the visas put in their passport, then a further 12 months before the visa MUST be activated by arrival in NZ (or it would lapse). So, after the processing of the application, there is then a period of almost 18 months before you have to go to NZ. (Even then, there are ways of taking more time after activation, but the processing time plus 18 months will amply cover the time you're talking about.)

5) An application without a job offer gets you, if all the paperwork is satisfactory, an interview with the CO, to assess your potential contribution to NZ life. The possible outcomes are refusal, Residence (if s/he thinks you're entirely satisfactory), or the SMC JSV you mention (if s/he is doubtful, but gives you the chance to prove yourself). On the SMC JSV, family members are not included. See this. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....ht=#post457680

6) Yes. Well, you have to be offered a skilled permanent job, or a skilled contract of 12+ months' duration to get Residence, then you work at it for three months, then you get the Section 49(1) conditions removed from your Residence, THEN you can go on and do anything else (legal) that you want. It's as well not to drop the first boss flat, i.e. be sure to keep the terms of that first employment, because NZ is a small society with a lot of connections, so any ill-feeling left behind can follow along, as various migrants have found to their cost.

This http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/6954.htm may be helpful. These are all the regulations about SMC. SM6 has a chart with all the points available under the various headings, and the last column tells you the section to look at for all the detail.

[Pette]

THANK YOU! Very helpful!

1), yeah it depends, but I hope I can claim the skills, due to my tasks

2), I have the qualifications mentioned on the ANZSCO list for absolute skill shortage. great this make me more confident on putting that on.

3) Just a job description with official letterhead and such? I guess they have also use other ways to look for evidence.

4) I couldn't find any information about this at all. that info is very helpful!

5) thats a toughie, if that happens, I guess we will do it with the visitors visa

6) well of course, I am not looking to scam someone. I am usually pretty upfront with all circumstances but just needed to know.


But I guess, its quite tough to get an offer for skilled work from abroad. I haven't tried it yet but, I can only imagine how the application sounds: well, I am looking for a job in approx a year, and with that job I will get the visa I need for this job, I am available for a skype interview if you wish :-)

Feels like a catch 22 from outside the country.

But yes, I have the feeling without a job offer there`s almost no chance of make this work. So this is what I need to work on right now.

Thanks again!
Pette

[JandM]

3) What INZ need is some third-party proof that the work experience you are claiming for is skilled, in the skill you are putting forward. So they need the job description, and/or maybe the advertisement for the job that you answered in the first place, if it detailed the requirements. They need to know what pay you're on/you were on, to see that this is the proper rate for the level of skill involved. They also need to know the hours you work, so as to see that it's full-time work, or, if part-time, to be able to work out a pro rata equivalent to calculate the points you are due. As I said, this can come from the employer/former employer, or, if for some reason that is not possible, it could be testimony from HR, a line manager, or a close colleague who would know. In every case, they would have to show that they held that position in the company, and they would have to be contactable during the whole processing period of your application, because INZ will definitely be in touch.

5) It it is likely not to be possible, and this is not to be taken lightly. For anyone who has to apply for a visa before travelling, the regulations specifically state that those with a family member on the SMC JSV may not be given a visitor's visa. Also, those from a visa-waiver country can get turned back at the airport. The point is, a visitor is admitted to the country on the understanding that they intend to leave after a certain length of time. When it comes right down to it, the family of an SMC JSV holder actually DON'T mean to leave - they hope their family member will get a job and they will all stay. INZ judge whether or not someone is a genuine visitor by investigating their family connections, and things like whether or not they have a home and job waiting for them. If anyone tries to cover up the true situation, it amounts to fraud, and any visa granted as a result of fraud can be cancelled.

Getting a job from abroad - more information here. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....952#post359952 Many people have managed to make a good impression by going to NZ as a visitor, having previously contacted companies/agents they've researched beforehand to say when they'll be available to be interviewed in person. The NZ mindset tends to give a lot of importance to forming your own impression of someone there in person to shake your hand and look you in the eye.

[Pette]

Thanks again for the Info. Well, this is what I thought as well, in regards of applying from overseas. In my current position I've manage a staff of 40 and I wouldn't never hire someone, before I've met him/her.


I got another questions in regards to skilled work.

Has the offer from a NZ employer to be in line with the the skilled work experience I have.
Lets say I claim experience points for 8 years in finance mgmt, can I start skilled work as an horse breeder then, and claim those points?
Does this matter or does it just have to be under the skilled work section?

Thanks!

[JandM]

The skilled job in NZ, in order to get you Residence, must be in the skill that you are putting forward on your ITA by showing your qualification(s) and experience. The thinking behind this is that the Skilled Migrant programme is all about getting qualified and experienced people to NZ to contribute their knowledge to NZ society, particularly in areas where there is a shortage of NZ nationals to do the work, so each applicant has to prove that they ARE such a person. In effect, NZ is swapping permission to live in the country - your visa - for you bringing your expertise to use for NZ's benefit.

Once you have Residence, you can change your career if you want to.

[ClaireBearRoger]

Hi I'm new to this site and do not know how to post my own question but I do have a couple ref SMC. My husband has been selected from the pool and approved to apply. We are waiting on email but online shows as approved. My two questions are:

Work Experience: 2 of his old firms have closed down and we have no contact details for anyone to provide a reference. No evidence of payslip etc (the jobs were before he met me! I keep records!) I know that you can submit an affidavit but need help with what is required to be in it. Do you have a template for this?

Skilled Employment: He is a bricklayer and currently working as a bricklayer. My question is if approved does he have to work as a bricklayer until we apply for PR (2 years later)? Can he get work in other jobs once approved?

Your help would be apprecaited

[JandM]

Work Experience: 2 of his old firms have closed down and we have no contact details for anyone to provide a reference. No evidence of payslip etc (the jobs were before he met me! I keep records!) I know that you can submit an affidavit but need help with what is required to be in it. Do you have a template for this?

The answer to this is 3) in post #4 above. There's no particular format that has to be followed. (It really would be MUCH better if he can find some connection from those days to support his claim on this.)

Working as a bricklayer. If he is successful under SMC and is granted Residence outright, then he can work at anything he wants to, or start a business, or be a student, at will. There are only two situations where, with a Residence visa, he would be obliged to follow a particular job. 1) If he gets a skilled job offer in NZ, so he is granted Residence without having to undergo a CO interview. 2) If after the CO interview he is offered the SMC JSV, then goes to NZ and gets a skilled job, which then gives him Residence. In both 1) and 2), the Residence visa normally has a Section 49(1) condition on it, stating that the applicant must work in the particular job offered (or started) for three months, after which he can ask INZ to remove the condition. So, as you see, any limitation on his choices is only for the first three months of the run of the Residence visa (and those three months still count towards the minimum of two years before he can apply for PR).

(If on the other hand he gets a work visa, which he might in order to start working for an employer who is keen to start him without waiting for the Residence process to run through, that work visa WOULD apply to just the one employment.)

How to start a thread of your own. Start from the main forum menu. http://www.enz.org/forum/forum.php Click on one of the sections, whichever seems most appropriate for what you want to say, for instance 'Immigration'. http://www.enz.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=6 Near the top left of the screen, you'll see a blue button labelled '+Post New Thread'. Click on that, and you get your blank boxes to title the thread and make the initial post.

[ClaireBearRoger]

Thank you for your time, it is appreciated. My husband and I are already in NZ and working under the one year holiday visas at present, we have only been working for one month. He is already in the skilled employment and the EOI was selected and approved using his current employer in the application. The problem is he is having a bit of a hard time in his new job with the guys on site not being very friendly and he is not very happy there. He is now looking to move to another building form and get an offer of skilled employment. Do you think this change at this stage (before we submit actual application) will effect our chances? and also will the one month work as a bricklayer count towards the three? Or does he have to work for three months after residence is accepted? Sorry for all of the questions just trying to get my head around everything

[JandM]

I see now why you're asking. What he's thinking of doing is a bit risky from INZ's point of view. INZ need to get the feeling that he's found himself employment that can go on into the future. If your husband resigns and gets another skilled job, while his ITA has the skilled job counting in his application, it needs to be a permanent position, or one with a definite term of more than 12 months, or similar. (See SM7.15 b, here. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/30549.htm) If he was to move jobs while the application was being processed, he'd need to be very careful ONLY to move to another job that was equally skilled, and that it was offered for the qualifying length of time. Also, he should be sure not to have any periods when he is not employed. He could still have some very searching questions to face up to.

In theory, if somebody has already been working in a skilled job for three months or more during the processing of their application when their Residence is granted, they shouldn't need to get a Section 49(1) condition on it, but in practice, we've heard on the forum of several people who nevertheless DID have this condition, that they had to work at least a further three months in the job to get their Residence free and clear.