Immigrants and the 6-month deadline

Six-month deadlines hang over anxious immigrants
4:57AM Monday January 15, 2007
By Lincoln Tan

Just before Christmas, an immigrant from South Africa came to see me. She wanted me to do a story to highlight her plight.

Rita, a graphic designer, came to New Zealand early last year on the new Work-to-Residence visa, a scheme introduced by New Zealand Immigration in December 2005.

She recalled how she felt like she had won the lottery on the day she received news that her application had been approved and how her first trip to Auckland was a continuation of that fairy tale.

Rita had been given six months to find a job which matched her skill, and she managed to find one on the week she arrived.

More about Rita's dilemma here

Umm food for thought eh? Makes you wonder why they didn't research a little more or maybe they thought they had done enough, just as most of us do. Certainly highlights a few issues.

Yes it is food for thought alright! Wea re here on 30 month work to residence visas and will even find it very expensive just to pay for the whole application when we finally do/if we do!!! Being non-residents, you do have this feeling of nobody being there for you - which I personally don't feel comfortable with. You do feel that you're encouraged to come over but then there is no help for you when you are here!!

Six-month permit too tough, say job-seekers
Wednesday January 17, 2007
By Simon Collins

A controversial six-month limit on work permits for skilled immigrants is under review after only 3 per cent of intending migrants managed to gain residence in New Zealand in the first six months of the new policy.

The policy, introduced four days before Christmas 2005, gives immigrants permanent residence if they hold a skilled job for at least three months of their six-month permit.

But migrants' groups say most employers won't employ people who are here on six-month-only permits.

The Association for Migration and Investment, representing immigration agents, says the Labour Department asked for comments on the policy late last year and the association recommended extending the permits to a year - although still less than the two years which applied before Christmas 2005.

More here.

Tight deadline denies migrants time to adapt
Monday January 22, 2007
By Lincoln Tan

Last week the Labour Department said it was considering giving more time to job-seeking migrants here on the work-to-residence visa.

It might extend the six-month-limit and give skilled migrants a year to find those elusive jobs they were told New Zealand needed them to fill.

Some 617 permits were issued in the first six months after the policy was introduced slightly over a year ago. But only 19 of those skilled immigrants have stayed. Surely, any policy with just a 3 per cent success rate needs a rethink.

Permit holders say it is too hard to find employment, and giving them more time - as helpful as that sounds - will do little to correct the glitches in the scheme.

Apart from the tight deadline, there is also a requirement that these migrants find a job which is related to their qualifications or work experience.

More here .

Job rule for migrants not working Carter admits
Tuesday January 23, 2007
By Simon Collins

Ethnic Affairs Minister Chris Carter has conceded a policy requiring borderline skilled immigrants to get jobs within six months appears to be failing.

He discussed the issue with Immigration Minister David Cunliffe yesterday after earlier planning to bring it up at the Cabinet table before today's first Cabinet meeting of the year.

The Filipino Society has sent a 1300-name petition to Mr Carter, Mr Cunliffe and Prime Minister Helen Clark seeking a reinstatement of the former policy that gave skilled immigrants two-year work permits to find jobs which they could then use to apply for permanent residence.

The permits were reduced to six months from December 21, 2005. Migrants must now hold a job in their skilled field for at least three months in that six-month period to qualify for permanent residence.

More here .

[MotherBear]

Arrivals win 3 more months to find job
5:00AM Wednesday April 11, 2007
By Simon Collins

Skilled immigrants have won a three-month extension to a controversial policy which gave them only six months to find a job in their field.

Migrants granted work-to-residence visas from yesterday will be given nine months to find a job, plus three months to get to New Zealand if they are applying from overseas and need to give notice to their present employers.

But immigration agents, who asked the Government to give the migrants a year to find a job, said nine months "does not go far enough".

And migrants who are already here on six-month visas and have been unable to get jobs in their fields said an extra three months would still not give employers the confidence they needed to offer them skilled jobs.

"Employers say we have been through this before and we lost our employees because Immigration denied them the right to stay," said a Filipino human resource manager who has come here with his wife and 1-year-old baby.

More here .

Work to Residency policy changes