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Thread: Limits of SMC visa

  1. #1
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    Default Limits of SMC visa

    Hi, looking at coming to NZ on a temporary visa, then converting to SMC (all in the works, agency confident will all be approved at fine).
    So, once on the SMC Visa I can purchase property etc. Now I'm just wondering what the bounds of my SMC visa are? I understand that after 2 years of working 30hr/wk in my chosen profession I can apply for residency (great).

    What if part way through my contract I start my own Ltd company (can I??) and then work for my Ltd company (in same industry, still 30hrs+ per week) -- is that possible whilst on the SMC?? Will that still count towards my SMC path to residency?

  2. #2
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    When you apply under SMC (Skilled Migrant Category), the visa you get if successful IS Residence. (There is no such thing as an SMC visa.) You don't have to be employed for two years at all. The "two years" linked with the idea of Residence is that you get two years' travel conditions, from activation of the visa upon first entry to NZ, which permit you free re-entry to NZ during that time. At the end of the two years, those conditions run out, but if you've been living in NZ for most of the time during those two years, you will probably have qualified for Permanent Residence https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...anent-resident, which will allow you to re-enter freely for life. As a Resident, you already have the right to live and work in NZ for ever, while you're in NZ. You can work at any job, run a business, be a student at domestic rate (but you don't qualify for any government loan for three years after arrival), or do nothing if you could afford it.

    So your last paragraph is irrelevant. Once you've got your Residence under SMC, you can start a business straight away upon arrival.

    However, if you apply under SMC without the offer of a skilled job in NZ, you will, as part of the assessment process, be interviewed by the CO to determine your "settlement and contribution" possibilities. http://onlineservices.immigration.go...nual/43652.htm The whole set-up assumes that you are going to be EMPLOYED in NZ, and another way of talking about the interview is 'assessing employability'. They ask about how you're going to look for a job, etc., etc.. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27398 Talking about plans to be your own boss would NOT get you through the interview successfully.

    There are other visas aimed at entrepreneurs, but they all require business experience, some need considerable investment, and the plan to provide jobs for NZers. (Details on the INZ website.)

  3. #3
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    Excellent, so once I have my SMC, I am not tied to my current employer. As long as I am suitably employed (by my own company or others) I can live for 2 years and then apply to change from Residence to Permanent Residence.

    Whilst on "Residence" rather than "Permanent Residence" - what the limitations on my returning to the UK for visits??

  4. #4
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    The Residence visa itself doesn't put any limits on your travel. It's qualifying for PR, a minimum of two years down the road, which you have to have in mind when planning to be out of NZ. The simplest, most-used, way of proving the required 'commitment to New Zealand' is having spent at least 184 days in the country during each of the preceding 12-month periods. (INZ count backwards, by the day, from the date of application for PR.) See the link I gave you for the official details.

    once I have my SMC, I am not tied to my current employer
    This is sounding as though you are currently working in NZ. If you put in your application for Residence under SMC with a current skilled job as part of your application, you only need 100 points to get your EOI selected, and you won't get the same kind of CO interview, though s/he will probably talk to you and your employer about your work. If you are granted Residence and you haven't by that time been working in the job for at least three months, the visa would have a Section 49(1) condition on it, that you must work in the named job for three months. If that happened, then you would go back to INZ with proof you had done that (pay slips, for instance, or tax records and financials) and were still employed, at which time a new visa label would be put in your passport with no conditions any more. After that, you'd be free to leave the job, within the terms of your contract. So all that means, the longest you can be tied to a job by Residence is three months.

  5. #5
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    Not there yet. I have well over 100 points, EOI in and agency confident I can get temp visa and then convert to SMC pretty rapidly.
    Really I'm just trying to understand what my new situation will be. Ideally I will be staying with new employer for 2years+, but want to understand the "whats ifs". Sorry for the beginner questions, but this is all new to me. Worried re getting to NZ, not liking the job or employer (its never happened before, but hey who knows??) and then finding my options are limited.

    I currently work in the UK for my own Ltd company, so well aware of (and appreciate) the flexibility and freedom this gives me - so this would be my natural fall back option.

  6. #6
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    Not there yet. I have well over 100 points, EOI in and agency confident I can get temp visa and then convert to SMC pretty rapidly.
    'Agency confident' - sounds like a chicken and egg situation if you're not careful.

    What is 'well over 100'? Your EOI will not be selected without a job offer unless you have a minimum of 140 points. With over 100, you can submit, but if not up to 140, it will just sit in the pool and expire after six months if you haven't got a skilled job offer.

    It is very difficult to get a skilled job offer from abroad. This old post still applies. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....952#post359952 If you are up for going to NZ to look around, you have a better chance. If you are within the age range, a WHV is a good possibility, or BUNAC IEP up to age 35, or otherwise you can go as a visitor, with "look, see and decide" as your reason.

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