Temporary Visa Prioritisation

[Yanco]

My friends SMC application is passed on to 2nd person check today. Lodged in Jan 2020. Salary above 106k. CO allotted before lockdown. Case picked up two weeks ago, 15 mails in 15 days, rigorous follow up and the end is near.

INZ can be efficient if they want to be. Just that their priorities are different at the moment.

I still don't understand this as INZ is saying they are allocating prioritised SMC and Residence from Work applications received in November 2019.

[JHadders]

I still don't understand this as INZ is saying they are allocating prioritised SMC and Residence from Work applications received in November 2019.

They really aren't even trying to pretend that they're making it all up anymore, are they?

[genegeney]

@EGoodhue

Were you able to determine what criteria Immigration Managers are using to determine whether an applicant has humanitarian or compelling personal circumstances Erin?

I still find it strange that the minister hasn't used his new powers that were passed, under emergency legislation, to help reduce backlogs of applications for onshore folks affected by COVID-19.

[EGoodhue]

@EGoodhue

Were you able to determine what criteria Immigration Managers are using to determine whether an applicant has humanitarian or compelling personal circumstances Erin?

I still find it strange that the minister hasn't used his new powers that were passed, under emergency legislation, to help reduce backlogs of applications for onshore folks affected by COVID-19.

The flimsy answer that the Visa Operations Manager in Manukau gave me was that the criteria for determining an escalation were "not prescriptive". Reading between the lines, I take that as "we make it up as we go". Both the escalations process and the priority allocation criteria are a sham, in my personal opinion.

And I believe that Winston Peters is no doubt the cause of the Minister failing to use his new powers yet - old Winnie holds all the cards and the Government are likely to be treading very carefully around what he wants at the moment, so close to the election when showing a "stable coalition" is so important.

[genegeney]

Thanks Erin.

[EGoodhue]

Confirmation from INZ Manukau today re: SMC queues:

Lodgement date of applications at the front of the main queue: 17 December 2018
Lodgement date of applications at the front of the priority queue: 27 November 2019

Sorry guys....unbelievable

[jupiter_1990]

I HAVE RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE FROM CO Reg my VOC on Work visa

We are emailing you in regards to your Variation of Conditions Work Visa application



From 14 May 2020, New Zealand is now at Covid-19 alert level 2. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) Visa Offices in New Zealand are open with limited staffing based on health and hygiene requirements. Other onshore staff are working remotely. As a result, INZ can now begin processing some visa categories for applicants who are already in New Zealand including Variation of Condition requests.



We appreciate that your personal circumstances may have changed from the date you originally submitted your VOC request to INZ.



Please confirm the following by reply email within the next 48 hours.



1. Do you still require changes to be made to your existing Visa, as per the details in your original VOC application?

2. Alternatively, do you still require changes to be made to your existing Visa, but with different changes from your original VOC application? Please confirm what changes are being requested, such as:

a. Your new Employer’s details, offered position, and start date;

b. Your new course of study, course provider, and start date;

3. If you no longer require a variation of conditions to your visa, please advise how you would like INZ to proceed. Please note a change in your personal circumstances will not qualify for a refund. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...pplication-fee

4. Please reconfirm your current contact details: mobile phone, Landline, email address, residential address and adviser details if relevant.



As soon as we have received your response processing will resume on your application/your application will be allocated to an officer to begin processing.



If you do not reply within 48 hours to the above request INZ will continue to process your VOC request based on the original information provided.



Kind Regards

[genegeney]

If it comes close to the end of your notice period and you still don't have the new visa (like within a week of you finishing up at your current job), you could ask your new employer if they could submit a letter of support to the employment visa escalations email address, outlining that they really need you to start asap for the purpose of business continuity and planning. I've heard of people having some success with this approach at moving the application along to finalisation in the past (not all and it's not guaranteed, as the criteria for escalation seem to be made up on the spot by the person answering the email at the time!) so it's worth a shot.

Yup, I did that and wrote a lengthy description of my circumstances and how me and my wife, both with ANZSCO level 1 skills, will be forced to leave NZ shortly if we run out of money. Request for prioritisation denied. I asked them to let me know what the queue position is, for on-shore Talent visa applicants, but they ignored that and haven't replied to my further request.