SMC application lodged 24th of October 2018

[melczn]

Hi there,

Hope you are all doing well. I would like to get some input from other members out there.. I lodged my SMC application on the 24th of October, receipted on the 7th of November and original documents sent back on the 8th of November with a letter giving the time frame for allocation ±6 months - attached on my documents was a letter from INZ also requesting a repeat blood pressure and medicine list - I had until the 19th to submit those, I submitted it on the 9th of Nov

When I called INZ to confirm a week later if they have received it they said the their Medical team have given me "acceptable standard of health", thank goodness for that. Does that mean I was already with a CO or were the clerks just being pro-active by asking for it from the beginning?

Is there anyone else on here that lodged around the same time and who have received feedback from a CO as yet. It seems a bit crazy but a friend of mine lodged 2 week prior to me and residency has been granted. Nothing special or anything like that.. I am just wondering how the process works, this is a stressful process.

I did our work visas on my own and I also did our SMC on my own. Do you think if anything was amiss I would have known by now?

I know everyone's case is unique to their own and not all visa applications are processed the same, but general feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Hope you all have a good day!

[JandM]

The matter of the medical is independent of having a CO. Medicals are scanned by computer, and referred to the health team if the examining doctor has marked anything as abnormal, or, we think, if certain key words are mentioned. A human MA then looks at the medical, and asks for any further tests and/or doctor's reports necessary for him/her to understand the applicant's state of health, and decide that they have ASH, or not, and that information is added to their file.

You're unlikely to have a CO yet. Allocations have recently been running at around 2 months. Your neighbour's experience is very unusual. Remember that every application is individual, so it is meaningless to try to compare one case with another.

When a case is first submitted, clerks look over the application and the evidence, to see if it LOOKS AS THOUGH, from what has been written and the proofs that are there, there is enough to justify all the points claimed. Notice, they don't try to verify the evidence - that will be the CO's job. If the clerk notices that there is an obvious 'hole' in the case, they will write and ask for whatever appears to be missing to be submitted. That is in order to try to have as complete a case as possible ready for the CO to start on, when once this file works its way to the front of the queue and gets its turn to be allocated to a CO. Obviously, once the CO starts processing the file, s/he could also notice that more information (evidence, or explanation) is necessary later on. So even if you hear from a clerk in the early stages and have to send something more, or if you don't hear from any clerk before you get to know that you have a CO, it doesn't necessarily mean that you won't have to supply or answer something extra, afterwards. But don't worry about it - nobody is going to make a judgement on your case on the basis of some missing piece of evidence or information without contacting you and giving you a chance to fill the gap.

Be as calm as you can. Everyone feels anxious. That is the normal state for someone with an application in to INZ. Good luck.

[melczn]

Thank you very much JandM - your reply is greatly appreciated.

Patience is the name of this game it seems. Have a super day

[melczn]

Happy new year! Just checking... have anybody received feedback with more or less the same lodgement date as mine? Aware of the huge backlog.. hoping for a miracle :-)

[EGoodhue]

The Manukau office is allocating SMC applications that were lodged in late-August this week. They will then allocate the September-lodged files over the coming 6+ weeks. I think you can realistically expect to be allocated to a CO in early March.