I'm planning to write a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman regarding INZ's priority allocation criteria. It's not permitted by the Operations Manual (A16.1 states that first priority for processing will be given to SMC applications with job offers, says nothing about a certain type of job offer and only allows for according urgency to an application when the individual circumstances warrant it) and recent communications with INZ demonstrate that they have no plans to stop doing it (even after the NZRP renews at the end of this month) and there is no strategy for them to clear the backlog. In fact, they have admitted that wait times are likely to increase and the backlog get even bigger. This is incredibly unfair and wrong on so many levels.
The main points of my complaint will be:
1. Instructions don't allow for mass prioritisations (as per A16.1)
2. All applicants have a right to be allocated on a first-in, first-out basis given that all applicants meet the required threshold (160 points or above) to even be in the queue in the first place
3. Applicant's details can change significantly in the 12+ months it's currently taking to be allocated - job details change, not to mention addresses, relationships, health issues - and it's onerous and unfair of INZ to request "updated" supporting evidence once they finally allocate an application, when the applicant did what was required of them at the time of lodgement and it's not their fault that INZ have taken so long to assess things
4. The cost of getting new temporary visas to be able to "tide applicant's over" while their Residence application sits in an unmoving queue is prohibitive and the process is onerous
I'm keen to hear how the current 12+ month wait time of getting your SMC application allocated to an Immigration Officer is affecting you personally, as I'm sure there are other angles I can add to my submission to the Ombudsman. No names will be mentioned in my submission - it's just a chance for you to get your perspective heard - I can't promise that my lodging a complaint will change anything, but I feel it's time for INZ to be held to account and answer some questions and believe that the Office of the Ombudsman is the organisation to do that.