Excempt Overseas Universities List Culled

[thestevesteele]

Surprised this hasn't been posted yet. Yesterday INZ sent a notice saying they have changed the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment:

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/docu...ar-2016-04.pdf

It seems they only kept top-tier overseas universities. So if you did not go to Harvard or Singapore National University or the local equivalent you will have to pay $749 for NZQA to do an assessment:

http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualificatio...sessment-fees/


Each university that you want to claim points for must be assessed. In my case my wife and I both claimed points so we are looking at a $1500 bill - last week our universities were on the list.

[ChrisMwn]

Nothing new in this. They do review (add and subtract) institutions and qualifications on a querterly basis (based on advice from NZQA)

[JandM]

The qualifications exempt from assessment are the ones that are comparable to a course running in NZ at the present time. It isn't ever ALL the courses run by a certain foreign institution that are exempt, just the ones that happen to have content similar to a NZ course. Exemption isn't a comment on the quality of the qualification, or the university. If a NZ course stops running, or its content is changed, certain foreign courses will come off the exempt list, because the NZ equivalent doesn't exist any longer.

[thestevesteele]

Perhaps that was the case in the past, but this time I only see top tier universities from our two countries. Other universities offer identical courses (law schools, for example, and accounting programs) to those offered in New Zealand. In other words, the equivalent course exists at the uni I went to back home as there is in New Zealand. Yet, the uni is no longer on the list. None of the top 20 universities experienced an culling, only mid-tier schools.

[rsaleh]

There is something positive now for ICT professional with engineering qualification that is not Washington or Sydney , now IPENZ letter with NZQA 7 is officially accepted. Previously you had only the option of technical advisor since the previous list didn't have this clause.

In the circular it says that it's effective from 24 May for appendix 1. Will this affect the applications already under processing by case officers and 2pc ?

[JandM]

Perhaps that was the case in the past, but this time I only see top tier universities from our two countries. Other universities offer identical courses (law schools, for example, and accounting programs) to those offered in New Zealand. In other words, the equivalent course exists at the uni I went to back home as there is in New Zealand. Yet, the uni is no longer on the list. None of the top 20 universities experienced an culling, only mid-tier schools.

Another reasonable reason that can have a bearing is whether or not the particular course from the particular institution has been checked out yet, or re-checked within a certain time-frame.

Anyway, though I can see it must be frustrating, this is a NZ government decision, and to jump through their hoops is necessary for a visa.

rsaleh, I don't know. ChrisMwn might have heard an answer on this one, or you could ask INZ directly.

[thestevesteele]

Anyway, though I can see it must be frustrating, this is a NZ government decision, and to jump through their hoops is necessary for a visa.

This is one of your go-to pieces of advice and I love that you give it so often because it is the one thing that really helps when things get frustrating. Seriously, it is the best advice to keep in mind - don't rage against the system, just work within the policy framework, get the visa, or not, and move on. Cheers for the reminder, I certainly needed it.