Skilled migrant visa

[Ke'vino]

Hey,
i've been looking at visas for NZ, and so far the skilled migrant visa seems to be my best option. I do have a few questions though. For a little context, I'm living in Ireland, aged 33.

Assuming I can get myself a job offer, it looks as though I can get myself up to 160 points.
But with the work experience required, does part time count?

Also, I'd be looking for work as a waiter, which i gather to be ANZSCO level 4. Will this be okay for this kind of visa? And how long can I stay under such work?

Also, is there any connection between this and the sponsored visa?

Thanks. I appreciate any help

[JandM]

No time to answer at the moment, but this is to let you know I've seen the post and will come back, in case there's anything anyone else in other time zones hasn't answered by then.

[JandM]

Hello, and I'm sorry this is not good news I'm going to be bringing you.

The whole point of having to apply for visas to live and work in New Zealand is that the NZ government don't want to let in foreign workers unless they have a job skill that isn't widely available among NZ citizens or residents. If the job on offer is a low-skilled or unskilled one, INZ are not keen to grant visas to foreigners for such (as there are plenty of unskilled and low-skilled NZers who need to make a living), so they would apply the labour market tests very strictly. If INZ find that there are NZ applicants or potential applicants within the area who could be trained to do the job, they will not allow a foreigner a visa for it.

Most foreign workers getting a job offer in NZ apply first for an Essential Skills work visa, because that is the one that can be processed most quickly and not keep the employer waiting any longer than they can help. A residence visa application can go in at the same time, and the processing can be ticking along taking the time it takes while they are already working. But doing this requires the job to meet the requirements for both visas, and that is difficult. For an entry-level ordinary sort of job, the only hope is to be offered it in a remote area where there are no NZers to apply for it - but if the place is THAT remote, it's hard to see why there would be a food business there in the first place.

See here https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...-visa#criteria on the fact sheet about the Essential Skills work visa.

Availability of New Zealanders - There must be no New Zealanders available to do the work you've been offered

You must provide an ‘Employer Supplementary Form’ completed by your employer describing the work you’ve been offered. Your employer must also provide evidence they have made genuine attempts to recruit New Zealanders, unless one of the following applies:

The job you’ve been offered is on one of the Essential Skills in Demand Lists and you meet the qualification and work experience requirements listed for your occupation.
You are applying to continue working in the role you currently hold and have been invited to apply, or have applied, for a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa based on your current employment.

Your employer’s evidence can include:

website and newspaper advertisements
records of engaging with a recruitment company
a Skills Match Report from Work and Income New Zealand - your employer must supply this if the work they're offering you is low-skilled
the outcome of their recruitment efforts.

Skill shortage list check
Employer Supplementary Form (INZ 1113) PDF 259KB

The Skilled Migrant Category resident visa is ONLY granted for "skilled employment", and here https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...-visa#criteria is their definition of that: "Employment that you need specialist, technical or management expertise and relevant qualifications and/or work experience to do, and which meets a minimum pay threshold." Following the link from that page gives this one https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...led-employment, where these requirements about a Level 4 job.

We assess your employment as skilled if it meets one of these requirements...

It is described in the ANZSCO as a skill level 4 or 5 occupation, it substantially matches the ANZSCO description of that occupation and pays NZD $37.50 per hour (or equivalent annual salary) or more

If your employment is ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5, or your employment does not have a corresponding description in the ANZSCO, you must be qualified in one of the following ways:

you have a relevant recognised qualification at or above level 4 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework, or a level 3 qualification included in the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment, or
you have at least 3 years of relevant work experience, or
your occupation is included on the Long Term Skill Shortage List and you meet its requirements, or
your employment requires occupational registration in New Zealand by law and you hold full or provisional registration for your occupation.

Waiter is not on the skill shortage lists, so it would be necessary to have a qualification as mentioned, or three years' verifiable skilled (and paid as such) work experience to qualify.

Part-time work experience is counted. INZ regard 30 hours per week as being full-time, so the part-time work is added up as a fraction of that, e.g. if you did two years at 15 hours per week, that would count as one year's experience, or if you did 7 1/4 hours per week, you would need to prove four years like that to get one year's experience counted.

There are various kinds of visa where being sponsored comes into it. Which visa are you looking at when you ask about that?

[Ke'vino]

Hi, thanks very much for the info. Very helpful

[Ke'vino]

Well, I had been looking into different working visas when a friend brought up the possibility of sponsored work visas, where a place of work offers sponsored work.
But I'm guessing this fall's within a similar line of reasoning where they need to prove they made a genuine efforts to find local employees?

[JandM]

Nobody can get a work visa without being sponsored by an employer, one way or another.

The Essential Skills work visa note quoted above, talking about the Employer Supplementary Form, is exactly what your friend was talking about - the employer is saying he wants to employ that applicant, and giving details of the job, and what he's done to try to find a local candidate.

There are also work-to-residence visas, for which someone can be sponsored by an accredited employer - that is a business that has been checked out by INZ because they often need to get in foreign workers with a niche skill-set, so they have a sort of pre-approval for their job candidates, as long as the people check out for other visa requirements. But being a waiter wouldn't come under what an accredited employer could sponsor.

[cakes88]

There's some occupation exempt from the labour market test if you plan to work in Queesntown lakes district though. This might be your best bet to get a work visa into the country as a waiter.

more info you can find here:
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/em...list.html#null

[JandM]

Thanks for that link - Ke'vino, that could be very useful if you're interested in living in that area while on a work visa.

I haven't thought to mention this question before, but if by chance you have a NZ partner, someone you've lived with as a couple for three months or more, there are visas e.g. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...s-visa-holders which that person could sponsor you for. Partner-sponsored visas don't require any proof of employment or work experience, just of the relationship.

[Ke'vino]

Thanks for all the info guys, I do appreciate it. Very helpful.

Yeah, I've come across partner sponsorship. Unfortunately though I'm single, no NZ partners. Though I'm sure I could find someone on Craigslist lol (jk)

[newarrival]

Word of caution.., Queenstown has a massive problem with affordable accommodation for seasonal staff. There just are not enough beds/ flats/ hostels, and it is not a cheap place, either. Which is probably part of their problem in finding staff....