Restrictions on PR? Working in Auckland?? Passports to NZIS???

[Bunstar]

Hi guys,

Have got my worried head on today and have been pondering a few things that hopefully someone out there might be able to shed some light on and assist!

If you?ve read my intro you know that my OH and I have our PR Approved in Principle, which we got with no job offer and for claiming points for not working in Auckland. I have three questions at the mo?

1. Are there any restrictions on the PR i.e., do we (or my OH as the Principal Applicant) have to obtain a job within a certain amount of time after arriving in NZ? If so, would we have to remain in those jobs for any period of time? The letter we received from NZIS doesn?t state any restrictions that I can see although it does refer to the requirement of notifying changes in circumstances to INZ ?until the Section 18A conditions are lifted off your Residence Permit?. Anyone know what these Section 18A conditions are?

2. John (my OH) has registered with lots of employment agencies. Neither of us wants to live or work in Auckland, however one of the agencies has managed to arrange a telephone interview for John (which we are v. excited about as it?s the first proper interest we?ve had from employers), unfortunately the company is based in Auckland. If he were to get the job (I know jumping ahead of myself a bit here!!), would it cause problems with our visa as we?ve claimed points for not working there?

3. And lastly, we have just both renewed our passports (which cost ?132 + postage!! Not cheap!) and now need to send them down to NZIS to get our visas. Can anyone assist in what they?ve found to be the securest way to do this? Is there a way to send securely and pre-pay for secure delivery back? I?m loathe to travel all the way from Manchester to London just to drop them off but will do this if it?s the only option, after spending all that money renewing them I don?t want to lose them before getting chance to use them!!!

Am probably being a bit thick and the answer?s to my questions are obvious and staring me in the face but I?ve looked at the NZIS website, got lost and now my brain?s turned to mush!!

Any help appreciated!!
Clare

[MotherBear]

Hi Clare,

If NZIS is going to grant you PR with the Section 18A attached to it, you won't have the section 18A conditions removed from your residency permit until you have worked in skilled employment for 3 months. Once you have complied with the Sec. 18A, you can write a letter stating this an the Sec. 18A will be cancelled. The clock starts ticking on the 3 months you get to start work when you validate your PR as you enter NZ.

Where a residence permit(s) is granted under the Skilled Migrant Category on the basis that the principal applicant qualifies for points for an offer of skilled employment in New Zealand or current skilled employment in New Zealand for less than three months (see SM7), the holder(s) of the permit is subject to the following requirements:

In the case of the principal applicant who:

has an offer of skilled employment, they take up that offer of skilled employment within three months of the grant of the first residence permit, and they remain in that employment (or another position of employment that meets the requirements for offers of skilled employment including requirements for bonus points if the offer of employment qualified for bonus points under SM8 or SM9), for a period of at least three months;
or
has current skilled employment in New Zealand for less than three months, they remain in that employment (or another position of employment that meets the requirements for current skilled employment including requirements for bonus points if the employment qualified for bonus points under SM8 or SM9), for a period of at least three months; and

they inform the nearest branch of the NZIS of their residential address and any changes of residential address while they are subject to those requirements; and

they submit evidence to a visa or immigration officer that, within seven months of the grant of the first residence permit, the requirements set out above have been met.

I would assume if NZIS has allowed you points for a job offer outside Auckland, they'd be looking to claw them back if John ends up working there. That's only my assumption, not fact.

Have you considered sending your passports down by courier? With some companies you can track their progress. After paying all that money for them, they should go down in an amoured car.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's totally confused by the NZIS site. When I finally pop my clogs I won't have a headstone, I'll have a copy of the NZIS manual instead.

[kokopeli]

Hi Bunstar,

We came out from the UK last year with PR on 105 points and no job offer. We sent our passports to NZIS by recorded post with no problems - although I did include a pre-paid recorded envelope for them to come back in. It took about a week for the passports to come back.

Unless your Approval letter says that your PR is subject to Section 18A, I wouldn't worry about it. My interpretation is that Section 18A applies when the application depends on the offer of a job. I see it as a mechanism that helps NZIS prevent people using 'phoney' job offers to claim points.

On a practical level, we haven't had any contact with NZIS since we got our blue stickers. The 'Authorities' obviously know we're in NZ because they scanned our passports when we arrived and we registered for IRD numbers. Other to that, I don't see that there's any requirement for us to tell NZIS where we are or what we're doing for work. Of course, it would be different if we had claimed points for a particular job, in which case Section 18A would apply.....

[Taffy]

Hi,

Are you sure they granted you additional points for work outside of Auckland? I'm pretty sure you can't claim those points without actualy having a job offer outside of Auckland!

As Kokopeli says, if there's no restrictions imposed on you, then you're not restricted. We too haven't heard a bean from NZIS since we got here, except for some customer satisfaction survey they posted to us.

[ShellBda]

Originally Posted by kokopeli

Hi Bunstar,

We came out from the UK last year with PR on 105 points and no job offer.

So, it is possible to get PR on 105 points with a job offer? I still worry about moving to NZ with a 3 month visitor's visa and then trying to find a job within that 3 month period - then submitting an EOI and so on - and I assume I would have to request an extension to my visitor's visa based on my application pending - what if they say "No extension?".

I would prefer to try to get PR on 105 points without a job offer, at least then I wouldn't have to worry about time limits and so forth.

Were you just lucky or was it because your qualifications were on the absolute skill shortage list?

Shell

[kokopeli]

it is possible to get PR on 105 points with a job offer

Hi Shell,

It certainly was possible, although I wouldn't like to say if it is now... We submitted our EOI about two days after the 'new' system was launched in February 2004. Our EOI number was in the low 500s and we had 105 points. The points threshold for ITAs was 185, but it gradually came down to 100 in Spetember 2004. We weren't in a rush, so we sat it out. I guess our patience paid off.....

[Bunstar]

Thanks for the replies!

Kokopeli - I think you're right that the section 18A conditions apply when you are claiming points for a job offer...having read the segment that MB posted I can't see how that applies to us as we don't have a job offer nor current skilled employment in NZ.

Was confused as it was mentioned in only one sentence in our letter - relating to telling INZ about change of addresses/qualifications etc. As I'm a worrier we've e-mailed our case officer to try and get a definitive answer...wonder if he'll respond?

Taffy - I know we checked the box about working outside Auckland, as to whether or not they allowed the points for that...I don't know! Think we'll just cross that bridge if he does get the job, but if any points were awarded and are clawed back am sure securing a job would be more valuable!!

Shell - we submitted our EOI with 110 points with no job offer and have been offered PR. John's job was on the long term shortage list though so think that probably helped.

Am sending the passports tomorrow by Special Delivery with a pre-paid special delivery envelope for their return (thanks again Kokopeli). Am really excited - can't wait to get them back with our blue stickers in

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Bunstar

Kokopeli - I think you're right that the section 18A conditions apply when you are claiming points for a job offer...having read the segment that MB posted I can't see how that applies to us as we don't have a job offer nor current skilled employment in NZ.

Must say that puzzled me too. I couldn't see how they would stick a Sec.18A on you when you didn't already have a job offer, but with you mentioning in your original post about seeing it in a letter, I thought something else must have gone on and I'd missed something. Anyway, I'm glad Kokopeli has sorted it out for you in the end.

[Bunstar]

I'll show you why I'm so confused - this is an extract from our Approval in Principle letter:

"Changes to your details
Although I have approved your application in principle, it is still important that you tell me of any changes to your personal circumstances. Such changes may include:

- A change of marital status
- A change of address
- Any legal liabilities or disqualifications that you receive
- Changes to your qualifications or professional licences

The Immigration Act 1987 requires you to advise INZ of any changes in your circumstances that may affect your application. Not adhering to this requirement may affect the outcome of this application, and any further applications that you may make to the INZ. This requirement remains in effect until the Section18A conditions are lifted off your Residence Permit."

This is the one and only reference to Section18A conditions in our letter, or any other correspondence we've had!

Clear as mud!

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Bunstar

This requirement remains in effect until the Section18A conditions are lifted off your Residence Permit."

Now that is confusing. Why mention it at all if they aren't imposing a Section 18A on you?