Kids and Schooling...

[kcolussi]

Hello,

My wife is in the EOI process trying to obtain a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa as a psychiatric nurse. We have 3 children (13, 16, 18) and I would like some advise about schooling...

1) My 13 yr old, if I understand correctly will attend a Secondary School and based on placement will work toward Uni. admissions over time... Correct?

2) My 16 yr old, is 6 months way from receiving his USA High School diploma from a non International Baccalaureate school... He to plans on attending Uni.... The Question is should we wait 6 months for him to finish or is Uni. acceptance based on placement / testing scores only? What test will he take?

3) My 18 yr old, currently attends the Univ. of Oregon and is in her 2nd year... If she chooses to join us in NZ will she need a Student Visa? Will she be required to pay domestic or international tuition?

Thanks for all the help, it's a complicated world...

Cheers,
-- Kevin

[Auburn]

Hi Kevin,

The schools are something I'm still wrapping my head around! It's really different from the States.

Your 13 year old will be in secondary school, also called college. His birthday will determine his placement. My daughter stepped back a year from where she was in the States because school here runs Jan/Feb thru Dec. It was okay though because it helped her adapt. Schools here are different in that they have more options about their courses than in the States. Also, they write more and have less testing in the sense you know it.

For your 16 year old, I would finish school in the States. It's a drastic difference to adjust to when he's about finished. SATs and ACTs are recognized by the universities here. I would contact them about other requirements.

I may be wrong, but I'm thinking if your daughter is a dependent and is included in the family visa application, she'll have the same visa as everyone else. If she's not a dependent and comes over on a student visa, she'll be paying international fees.

Someone should be along shortly to better clarify about your daughter.

[kcolussi]

Hi Kevin,
The schools are something I'm still wrapping my head around! It's really different from the States.

Glad to hear that... I thought I was loosing it for a minute...

Your 13 year old will be in secondary school, also called college. His birthday will determine his placement. My daughter stepped back a year from where she was in the States because school here runs Jan/Feb thru Dec. It was okay though because it helped her adapt. Schools here are different in that they have more options about their courses than in the States. Also, they write more and have less testing in the sense you know it.

Good to know... His birthday was this month July 6th... Any idea what that means regarding his placement? Good to know on the adapting and stepping back, smart girl and family... My son struggles a bit with math, but is strong in all other areas of study... I'm a little worried about his placement... Should I be? What was the hardest thing for your daughter to adjust to during the transition?

For your 16 year old, I would finish school in the States. It's a drastic difference to adjust to when he's about finished. SATs and ACTs are recognized by the universities here. I would contact them about other requirements.

Great info... That is what we were thinking... We'll have to see how it plays out... Thanks for the info on the SAT too... I wasn't sure on that... Once he is ready, can you recommend a college that has good counselors to help him with his navigation?

I may be wrong, but I'm thinking if your daughter is a dependent and is included in the family visa application, she'll have the same visa as everyone else. If she's not a dependent and comes over on a student visa, she'll be paying international fees.

My daughter will be on the same visa as the rest of the family... So i hear you saying, domestic tuition and applications for the universities she is interested in, should do it... Correct? We are all waiting for this to be confirmed, because the international fees aren't really an option for us... Fingers crosses...

Someone should be along shortly to better clarify about your daughter.

Auburn, your continued time and effort to help us through these difficult choices is greatly appreciated.

Kindest Regards,
-- Kevin

[ChrisMwn]

yes, definitely make sure your 18yr old is included in the residence application as a dependent. I would assume they are, since they are ay IUniversity, not working and you are supporting them. If nto the will need to make their own residence application in the future and pay international student fees till such time as they are resident.

Assuming your July born, now 13 year old is starting "college:" here at the start of next year, then they might be in year 9 or 10, depending on their ability. (Most "Colleges, aka secondary schoold gor from year 9-13, catering for 13-17 year olds.)

[kcolussi]

yes, definitely make sure your 18yr old is included in the residence application as a dependent. I would assume they are, since they are ay IUniversity, not working and you are supporting them. If nto the will need to make their own residence application in the future and pay international student fees till such time as they are resident.

Great thanks for the advise... So my daughter current works like 20 hrs / week to help with some personal expenses while attending school full-time... She is clearly a dependent not only on the visa application, but our US taxes... We pay 98% of her expenses... Will this small amount of work be a problem? Are there limits to the hours she can work, income or is it just that she is a "taxable dependent" that matters? I'd hate for her to have to pay international student fees, because she wants to live a bit..

Assuming your July born, now 13 year old is starting "college:" here at the start of next year, then they might be in year 9 or 10, depending on their ability. (Most "Colleges, aka secondary schoold gor from year 9-13, catering for 13-17 year olds.)

Good info, I'll let him know... If he wants a "start clean" what month would be good for him to start? He is a little worried about just walking into classes one day...

Finally Chris, would you mind giving your opinion as Auburn has, regarding my 16 year old waiting to finish his US High School Diploma, before coming to NZ? Should he take the SAT/ACT or just wait to take the Cambridge International Examinations in NZ as his acceptance test? Any other thoughts on this?

All the best and thanks again for the help!

Cheers,
-- Kevin

[ChrisMwn]

Great thanks for the advise... So my daughter current works like 20 hrs / week to help with some personal expenses while attending school full-time... She is clearly a dependent not only on the visa application, but our US taxes... We pay 98% of her expenses... Will this small amount of work be a problem? Are there limits to the hours she can work, income or is it just that she is a "taxable dependent" that matters? I'd hate for her to have to pay international student fees, because she wants to live a bit..

if she has not had her 21st birthday then she simply needs to be single, if she is aged 21-24 then the following applies':

When determining whether a child of 21 to 24 years of age is totally or substantially reliant on an adult (whether their parent or not) for financial support, immigration officers must consider the whole application, taking into account all relevant factors including:
whether the child is in paid employment, whether this is full time or part time, and its duration;
whether the child has any other independent means of financial support;
whether the child is living with its parents or another family member, and the extent to which other support is provided;
whether the child is studying, and whether this is full time or part time.

The rules say, "totally or substantially reliant on the principal applicant" having a part time job where the income is clearly insufficient to pay for all living expenses and fess is fine, and if you were shown to be supporting them by transferring money to their account or paying their bills, then that is normally accepted.

I'm sorry I can comment on what a NZ University might require, normally they would be relying in "UE" result and NCEA level # for a NZ Student. You should talk to someone in the enrollment office at whichever university you might be looking at to see what they say.

[JandM]

Good info, I'll let him know... If he wants a "start clean" what month would be good for him to start? He is a little worried about just walking into classes one day...

The new school year starts around the end of January/beginning of February each year. http://www.education.govt.nz/ministr...-and-holidays/

Most NZ schools don't only go on chronological age when placing an incoming foreign pupil - they will do their own assessments to see what he knows already. There won't be an exact match between the foreign curriculum and the NZ one, and even where the same subject matter will be covered somewhere in the course, it won't necessarily be taught in the same way, or in the same order. The incomer will very likely find that in some classes, lessons are building on what was covered last year, and he never heard of it, or alternatively, in other classes, they are studying things he did two years ago. The schools are well used to supporting children going through this. It is just as well if he knows this in advance - that there will be a certain amount of adjustment to go through.

[kcolussi]

Great thanks for the advise... So my daughter current works like 20 hrs / week to help with some personal expenses while attending school full-time... She is clearly a dependent not only on the visa application, but our US taxes... We pay 98% of her expenses... Will this small amount of work be a problem? Are there limits to the hours she can work, income or is it just that she is a "taxable dependent" that matters? I'd hate for her to have to pay international student fees, because she wants to live a bit..

if she has not had her 21st birthday then she simply needs to be single, if she is aged 21-24 then the following applies':

When determining whether a child of 21 to 24 years of age is totally or substantially reliant on an adult (whether their parent or not) for financial support, immigration officers must consider the whole application, taking into account all relevant factors including:
whether the child is in paid employment, whether this is full time or part time, and its duration;
whether the child has any other independent means of financial support;
whether the child is living with its parents or another family member, and the extent to which other support is provided;
whether the child is studying, and whether this is full time or part time.

The rules say, "totally or substantially reliant on the principal applicant" having a part time job where the income is clearly insufficient to pay for all living expenses and fess is fine, and if you were shown to be supporting them by transferring money to their account or paying their bills, then that is normally accepted.

Thank goodness she is still single... Would you mind providing me with a reference for the quoted information above... Just so I have it...

I'm sorry I can comment on what a NZ University might require, normally they would be relying in "UE" result and NCEA level # for a NZ Student. You should talk to someone in the enrollment office at whichever university you might be looking at to see what they say.

Good information and no worries... I found this of US students:

Successful completion of High School Diploma from a regionally accredited high school, plus a minimum ACT composite score of 24 or a minimum SAT Reasoning Test result of 1650 (Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing section). For a guide on requirements for programme entry see Undergraduate degree-specific entry requirements.ref: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/for/in...uirements.html

Then there is this which shows SAT scores for areas of study: https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/ce...t-13-11-15.pdf

We'll figure this out, thanks again for the support!

Warmest Regards,
-- Kevin

[kcolussi]

The new school year starts around the end of January/beginning of February each year. http://www.education.govt.nz/ministr...-and-holidays/

Most NZ schools don't only go on chronological age when placing an incoming foreign pupil - they will do their own assessments to see what he knows already. There won't be an exact match between the foreign curriculum and the NZ one, and even where the same subject matter will be covered somewhere in the course, it won't necessarily be taught in the same way, or in the same order. The incomer will very likely find that in some classes, lessons are building on what was covered last year, and he never heard of it, or alternatively, in other classes, they are studying things he did two years ago. The schools are well used to supporting children going through this. It is just as well if he knows this in advance - that there will be a certain amount of adjustment to go through.

Excellent info JandM.... I'll be sure to share this with him! Also just as a reference for others following the thread... This does a pretty good job of explaining the NCEA and Cambridge paths, that my 13 yr old will need to choose in upcoming years... https://blog.mytuition.nz/high-schoo...rsity-entrance

It' also shows good reason to my 16 yr old, as to why he should wrap-up High School here in the States, before migrating.... It looks like things could get very messy, if he doesn't!

Thanks for the comments and help!

[JandM]

Chris's quote is from the INZ Operational Manual, this page. http://onlineservices.immigration.go...nual/44890.htm

You may also find the section about applications under SMC useful. http://onlineservices.immigration.go...anual/6954.htm