WTR to PR

[priya]

Hi All,

We got Work To Residence Visa ( skilled immigrant) and moved to Auckland in April 2006. My husband is the primary applicant . Both of us got job ( he is working as Contractor and I'm in Permanent position) .

We applied for PR on August 2006 . ( with all the relevant document: 3 months salary, bank statement , letter from employer ) . Its been almost 8 months and we have not got any info on our status . We tried contacting our visa officer ( very hard to communicate as VO never replies the phone calls or emails ) but unable to get any info on status .

Has anyone converted WTR to PR ? How long does it usually take to get the status of the application .

It will be of great help if someone can give info .

[MotherBear]

to the forum, Priya.

I think you have to work for a minimum of 2 years in your jobs in NZ before going forward for PR. Perhaps this is the problem. In any case, your Case Officer at NZIS should communicate with you. Perhaps you should ask to be put with someone else who is more pro-active. If nothing else, it's not very professional of him/her to just ignore you.

Take a look at this , which shows the route from WTR to PR. If you look lower down, you can see what happens after WTR is granted. It's very basic but you can see that they do specify that you need to have worked for 2 years in NZ and also that your salaries should be a minimum of $45,000.

[WacksBaby]

If you entered New Zealand as WTR (under Skilled Migrant Category) then you don't need to wait for 2 years, 3 months is more than enough as stated in the requirements or documentation that they have given us. When I applied for PR (from WTR) it only took me less than 2 months for the application when my Permanent Residency has been granted. But if you enter New Zealand as a Work Visa/Permit holder then you have to have at least 2 years working here AND salary must be at least $45,000 NZD p.a. (at the time of this writing).

Good luck!

Best wishes,
Harold

[gnom]

The WTR holder has to wait at least two years before PR. With the WP you can apply always.

@WacksBaby are you sure you had a WTR?

[MotherBear]

I think it could be that, if you have a WTR under the Skilled Migrant Category because maybe you didn't have enough points etc. to apply for PR then, if there comes a time when you are in a position to apply for PR e.g. your points have increased, you can submit your PR application before the 2 years is finished. Some people use the WTR way of getting into NZ rather than going straight for PR because it is quicker to process if they are in a hurry to get to NZ.