SMC Visa processing times

[Curious Traveler]

Hi,

I'm planning to apply for residence under the SMC.

I am pretty sure to get 140 Points in the EOI and I have a job offer. I think the application would be through London branch.
At least I think it would go through London, probably it has to go through Hamburg as I am a German citizen.

It would be very interesting to know how long the whole procedure will take.
I understand that after the potential selection of the EOI it will take some weeks for the ITA, but after this point the time till the sticker is glued into the Passport seems to be quite variable at 1 to 24 months.

So, if you are or have been in a similar situation please let me know what your experience is or was.

Thank you very much in advance.



Tilmann

[JandM]

Looking here http://www.immigration.govt.nz/templates/Custom/OfficesAndFeesPopup.aspx?FRAMELESS=false&NRNODEGUI D={655C84F9-7E5C-4006-8841-7296DF2B84F2}&NRORIGINALURL=%2fNR%2fexeres%2f655C8 4F9-7E5C-4006-8841-7296DF2B84F2.htm&NRCACHEHINT=Guest on the INZ website, it appears that you would need to submit your application to Wellington. That was a surprise!

Here is the page about processing times for Wellington branch. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/branc...ocessingtimes/ Remember, these times are never a promise, just an average based on how things have been running in the recent past.

Nobody can ever tell you a time for certain. It takes as long as it takes in your case. Every application is different, and a lot of the checking of evidence depends on replies from third parties who do not necessarily feel any urgency. Also, the volume of work going through the INZ offices just before and at the same time as your application is unpredictable.

[maldiniho]

or it can be amazingly fast like mine.

[neddrick98]

Maldiniho, why did you have an interview? Do all SMC applicants have to undergo interviews or does it depend on what you're claiming points for?

[KandT]

Yes, you were really fast. For my case, INZ told me that they will allocate CO within 2 months since the date of ITA lodgement .
Good luck with your move.

or it can be amazingly fast like mine.

[JandM]

Anyone who applies under SMC without a job offer gets the CO interview, for the CO to judge if this person is sufficiently well-informed about conditions in their career in NZ, and life there, to be readily employable. That happens after all their evidence has been verified. Anyone who applies under SMC with a job offer doesn't get interviewed, because by the very fact of having been offered employment, obviously, they ARE employable.

[neddrick98]

Anyone who applies under SMC without a job offer gets the CO interview, for the CO to judge if this person is sufficiently well-informed about conditions in their career in NZ, and life there, to be readily employable. That happens after all their evidence has been verified. Anyone who applies under SMC with a job offer doesn't get interviewed, because by the very fact of having been offered employment, obviously, they ARE employable.

Ah well that makes sense! So I guess we won't be expecting any job related interviews, but do they ever ask interviews to check a person's English language ability if they have any doubts about it (for those proving English ability through 2 years of skilled employment)?

[JandM]

Job-related interviews - well, not an interview as such, but a CO can, and quite often does, talk to the candidate and the employer about their responsibilities. This is particularly if they feel they need to make sure that it really *is* a skilled job, and that both people are telling him/her the same about the job description. If a CO is doubtful, they have the power to drop in at the work-place, to see the applicant doing their work.

About the English ability, again, a CO has the power to interview anyone on any subject, if s/he thinks that is the best way to get information. Since you have been two years in a skilled job using English, and given your very competent posts on the forum, it would be very surprising if the CO had any doubts about you. The only situation I know of that can make this happen is if the CO talked to the candidate about some other matter, and found he wasn't understanding the questions or able to make answers. In that case, obviously the CO would start to suspect the genuineness of the evidence, and if that happens, can demand that the applicant produce an IELTS result. See the note at the bottom of this regulation. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/41495.htm

[neddrick98]

Job-related interviews - well, not an interview as such, but a CO can, and quite often does, talk to the candidate and the employer about their responsibilities. This is particularly if they feel they need to make sure that it really *is* a skilled job, and that both people are telling him/her the same about the job description. If a CO is doubtful, they have the power to drop in at the work-place, to see the applicant doing their work.

About the English ability, again, a CO has the power to interview anyone on any subject, if s/he thinks that is the best way to get information. Since you have been two years in a skilled job using English, and given your very competent posts on the forum, it would be very surprising if the CO had any doubts about you. The only situation I know of that can make this happen is if the CO talked to the candidate about some other matter, and found he wasn't understanding the questions or able to make answers. In that case, obviously the CO would start to suspect the genuineness of the evidence, and if that happens, can demand that the applicant produce an IELTS result. See the note at the bottom of this regulation. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/41495.htm

That also makes sense - that they can interview about anything they choose, if they're in doubt - but i'm glad to hear it's more of a case-by-case situation for those with job offers.

I would also be surprised if they question my English, as i'm a native speaker but my question referred to my partner who is Mexican and will be included on my application. They are welcome to drop in on either of us at work to confirm that our claims are genuine, and I guess in his case if needs be we will have to get IELTS proof of his English ability and then pay for any courses to make up any shortfall in the 5.5 level requirement? He has also been attending evening classes to improve his English but there's no exam at the end and the certificate is really more about attendance so I suppose that won't support his case?

[JandM]

I would also be surprised if they question my English, as i'm a native speaker but my question referred to my partner who is Mexican and will be included on my application.

Right - well, I was a bit puzzled that you should be concerned about it, giving what you were posting!

However, there is even less reason to think that there will be a problem over the evidence of English offered since it's about your partner, the secondary applicant. When you apply under SMC, his work is completely irrelevant to the application, so INZ won't be bothered about his workplace and job description, and they're unlikely to meet or talk to him. Under SMC, everything depends on the main applicant's qualifications and job, and then proving the secondary's/secondaries' connections to him/her.

Re: English of native speaker, I've just remembered, my son's partnership Residence application was initially refused on the grounds that his English wasn't good enough. He is a well-educated Englishman, who talks like a BBC newsreader, and the letter from INZ was in such bad, obviously 2nd-language, English, that it was barely comprehensible. He went straight to the INZ office, showed the letter, and explained the problems he had with it (rather eloquently, knowing him!), and the contrast was enough that the situation was all sorted out and the visa granted within a couple of hours. (That was 14 years ago, and they didn't seem to have the long queues there can be for 2pc back then.)