EOI - How many points to claim?

[Darien-l]

Hi all,

What a great board! I'm new here, but I've done some searching and reading of old posts, and found a lot of very useful info. I was wondering if anyone could help me with a question, though. In general, I'm trying to decide whether it's a better strategy to claim just the minimum points needed for an EOI to be selected, or claim all the points I may be entitled to. Here are the specifics of my situation:

I have a pretty solid 160 points without providing any details of my current employment. 25 of those points, however, are from claiming qualification and work experience in an area of absolute skill shortage. I believe that I fulfill the requirements outlined in the long term skill shortage list, but they are worded quite vaguely and I'm worried that an immigration officer's interpretation may be different from my own.

To provide myself a safety net, I can try to claim an additional 80 points for current employment in New Zealand outside of Auckland. However, my employment situation is somewhat complicated, and I have a feeling that doing this may cause problems down the line. Basically, I'm in NZ on a partner work visa, and work full-time as a remote independent contractor for a US organization on a long-term contract. I was not able to get a straight answer out of INZ whether this even qualifies as "current skilled employment in New Zealand".

On the other hand, I read that not providing employment info will require me to be interviewed by the CO, possibly delaying my application.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for the help!

[JandM]

Have you considered going for partner-sponsored residence? If that is an option, it would be much more straightforward than going via SMC, and you would have the same residence (in your own right) in the end.

I have a pretty solid 160 points without providing any details of my current employment. 25 of those points, however, are from claiming qualification and work experience in an area of absolute skill shortage. I believe that I fulfill the requirements outlined in the long term skill shortage list, but they are worded quite vaguely and I'm worried that an immigration officer's interpretation may be different from my own.

You would need to get your qualification assessed by NZQA (get the IQA) http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualificatio...ns-assessment/, asking them to check that your qualification matches the LTSSL requirement for your career as identified by the ANZSCO reference number. It is NZQA's responsibility to determine what does or doesn't match, from close investigation of the subject matter studied, for how long, and to what depth - it is not down to any INZ official's subjective judgement.

[Darien-l]

Thanks for the reply!

Have you considered going for partner-sponsored residence? If that is an option, it would be much more straightforward than going via SMC, and you would have the same residence (in your own right) in the end.

My partner is in NZ on a student visa, so I'm pretty sure partner-sponsored residence is not an option.

You would need to get your qualification assessed by NZQA (get the IQA) http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualificatio...ns-assessment/, asking them to check that your qualification matches the LTSSL requirement for your career as identified by the ANZSCO reference number. It is NZQA's responsibility to determine what does or doesn't match, from close investigation of the subject matter studied, for how long, and to what depth - it is not down to any INZ official's subjective judgement.

This is very helpful, thanks! Is the IQA always required when claiming points for qualification / work experience in an area of absolute skill shortage? (I have a PhD from a major US university, which is on the list of qualifications exempt from assessment)

[JandM]

Is the IQA always required when claiming points for qualification / work experience in an area of absolute skill shortage? (I have a PhD from a major US university, which is on the list of qualifications exempt from assessment)

Yes, unless your bachelor's degree is also exempt.

If you look up your career here http://skillshortages.immigration.govt.nz/, look in the LTSSL box, and you'll find that the qualifications you need to show your foreign qualification is comparable to are (for most careers) all NZ bachelor's degrees at Level 7 or above. They mean that - having a higher degree does not wipe out that requirement.

[Darien-l]

Yes, unless your bachelor's degree is also exempt.

If you look up your career here http://skillshortages.immigration.govt.nz/, look in the LTSSL box, and you'll find that the qualifications you need to show your foreign qualification is comparable to are (for most careers) all NZ bachelor's degrees at Level 7 or above. They mean that - having a higher degree does not wipe out that requirement.

Thanks again, I appreciate your help! My bachelor's degree is also from a major US university, and is likewise exempt. The requirement for my occupation in the LTSSL is stated as follows: "PhD (NZQF Level 10) with evidence of study in water quality science plus a minimum of one year’s relevant post-qualification work experience". I obviously satisfy the PhD and relevant work experience requirements, but it's the vaguely worded "evidence of study in water quality science" that worries me. How many courses constitutes "evidence"? Who decides which courses are relevant? Does independent study / dissertation writing count? Do courses taken as an undergraduate count?

Based on what you said so far, it sounds like an IQA is not required at the EOI stage in my case, but can help after I get the ITA and asked to provided evidence to back up the points claimed on the EOI, right?

[JandM]

Your career is such a specialist area that I haven't any past histories from the forum to judge by. I don't think an IQA would help - it isn't intended for that kind of use. Let's see if there is anyone reading this who can help - please, anyone?

[Darien-l]

Thanks again. I have a few more general questions related to this:

1) What's the worst that can happen if I claim points for something "in the grey area", like my current contractor job? Is it just the simple deduction of points, or do I risk a rejected EOI / residency application, even if the remaining points add to 160?
2) If the evidence provided during the residency application is deemed insufficient, does that result in outright rejection, or is an applicant given an opportunity to provide further evidence?
3) Are EOI / residency application rejections open to appeal?

[JandM]

1. I don't think INZ would reject your application even if they would not allow you points for your present employment. Incidentally, I don't believe they will allow them, because you aren't employed as part of the NZ work-force. The whole point of the Skilled Migrant Programme is to recruit foreign workers with skills that are rare in NZ to use those skills for the benefit of the country. I think your application would still proceed if you have the minimum 160 points necessary for selection. But by raising the matter of your present employment, you would have opened up a can of worms for the CO to explore when interviewing you. The interview is about your 'employability', and they mean by that what I said above. http://onlineservices.immigration.go...nual/43652.htm

2. If evidence appears to be insufficient, the CO will send a PPI email - potentially prejudicial information - giving the applicant a chance to explain further, and/or give more evidence.

3. The only grounds for appeal are if INZ has not properly followed their own procedures. So it's in every applicant's interest to make certain they read and understand all the regulations - the INZ website, and the operational manual. Quite often on the forum, someone will post that they are going to appeal, or to complain, when truly the ground of their dissatisfaction comes down to, 'I'm ME, and INZ haven't done what I want,' so trying to raise it officially is never going to get anywhere.

[Darien-l]

Thank you again for your very thorough responses. I will give this some thought, but will probably avoid trying to claim points for my contractor job.