INZ Webinar light on detail – “waste of time,” one immigration expert says
A webinar hosted this morning by Immigration New Zealand with regard to the recently-announced One-off 2021 Resident Visa failed to reveal many new details. In the wake of confusion created in a section of the media following the announcement, it was expected that the webinar would clarify doubts and give concrete details about the visa including the paperwork, requirements and more.
Instructions for the new visa had not yet been decided including the fees, health and character requirements and there will be another webinar in November to announce these details, it was revealed at the webinar.
Attendees were told that it will be an online application process and that these applications will be "lockdown-proof" and will be processed at more than one INZ office. Another important thing worth noting was that an applicant needs to have met the eligibility criteria both on the 29 September and also at the time that their application is made.
It was made clear that the criteria for including a partner in the application will be as per the current Residence process, that is, having lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months and that there is no English language requirement and no age cap.
During the webinar, it was also mentioned that people should not expect that there will be further additions to the eligibility criteria. It was worth noting was that INZ is encouraging those with a Residence application already in the queue to apply for the new visa category (while your current Residence application remains in the queue) as it is likely to be faster than the one in the queue and you can withdraw your older Residence application once you have secured a Resident visa through the new process.
Indian Weekender spoke to immigration experts, who opined that the webinar was disappointing and “more of a waste of time”, as they expected to get more useful information.
Delamere Tuariki
“In terms of learning anything new, and learning about the actual details of the policy, it was a complete waste of time for the advisers who were tuned in to this webinar. To me, it seemed more about INZ self-congratulating themselves about how wonderful they are.
“They did confirm that there would be no exceptions to the policy; something we all knew anyway. If you miss out by 1 day on the time in New Zealand, or your pay rate was $26.99 on 29 September 2021, there will be no exceptions.
“Of all the inequities the one that makes me very angry and in fact disgusted with this government is that they have told NZ citizens and their migrant partners here in New Zealand on work visas, and who may have met the 821 days in NZ, and may have met the $27 an hour, that they can get stuffed. Even if the NZ partner is a covid ICU medical doctor and is earning $200,000 a year, and the couple has NZ citizen children.
“Jacinda Ardern and Kris Faafoi have told those NZ citizens and their partners that we do not value you as much as we value a partner offshore, whose NZ based partner is a person working for the minimum wage picking kiwifruit and with only a level 5 qualification
Arran Hunt
“We had the webinar with INZ this morning and, as is usual, we learned little from it. INZ was just providing their interpretation of what information had been released, without really knowing anything more. This is not the fault of INZ themselves. They can only work with what they are provided. Instead, it shows a disconnect between those writing the policy and those being asked to enforce it.
“We've seen this previously with INZ webinars where INZ had been given limited information by the Minister, and some of that information would later be found to be incorrect, such as that the Minister would soon be announcing the SMC EOI draw start date and event that never occurred. Similarly, they appear to have been left out of the decision to lapse 50,000 visas.
“With this new S6 visa, despite being the team that knows immigration best, the knowledge and experience of INZ have again been underutilised. This leaves them in a position when all they can do is to provide us with how they interpret what little information the Minister has provided, but not much more than that. We thank them for at least doing that, but it would be good if the Minister could involve INZ, and the industry, in the formulating of policies.”
Alastair McClymont
“Experienced Immigration Lawyers and Advisors have been expressing concern about the 2021 Resident Visa announcements and potential traps and loopholes. A recent INZ webinar did nothing to alleviate these concerns as the actual policy wording (known as Immigration Instructions) has not yet been released. While we can anticipate many of the requirements of the new policy, there is still much that hasn't been announced and INZ still has a lot of work to do before providing details.
A webinar hosted this morning by Immigration New Zealand with regard to the recently-announced One-off 2021 Resident Visa failed to reveal many new details. In the wake of confusion created in a section of the media following the announcement, it was expected that the webinar would clarify doubts...
A webinar hosted this morning by Immigration New Zealand with regard to the recently-announced One-off 2021 Resident Visa failed to reveal many new details. In the wake of confusion created in a section of the media following the announcement, it was expected that the webinar would clarify doubts and give concrete details about the visa including the paperwork, requirements and more.
Instructions for the new visa had not yet been decided including the fees, health and character requirements and there will be another webinar in November to announce these details, it was revealed at the webinar.
Attendees were told that it will be an online application process and that these applications will be "lockdown-proof" and will be processed at more than one INZ office. Another important thing worth noting was that an applicant needs to have met the eligibility criteria both on the 29 September and also at the time that their application is made.
It was made clear that the criteria for including a partner in the application will be as per the current Residence process, that is, having lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months and that there is no English language requirement and no age cap.
During the webinar, it was also mentioned that people should not expect that there will be further additions to the eligibility criteria. It was worth noting was that INZ is encouraging those with a Residence application already in the queue to apply for the new visa category (while your current Residence application remains in the queue) as it is likely to be faster than the one in the queue and you can withdraw your older Residence application once you have secured a Resident visa through the new process.
Indian Weekender spoke to immigration experts, who opined that the webinar was disappointing and “more of a waste of time”, as they expected to get more useful information.
Delamere Tuariki
“In terms of learning anything new, and learning about the actual details of the policy, it was a complete waste of time for the advisers who were tuned in to this webinar. To me, it seemed more about INZ self-congratulating themselves about how wonderful they are.
“They did confirm that there would be no exceptions to the policy; something we all knew anyway. If you miss out by 1 day on the time in New Zealand, or your pay rate was $26.99 on 29 September 2021, there will be no exceptions.
“Of all the inequities the one that makes me very angry and in fact disgusted with this government is that they have told NZ citizens and their migrant partners here in New Zealand on work visas, and who may have met the 821 days in NZ, and may have met the $27 an hour, that they can get stuffed. Even if the NZ partner is a covid ICU medical doctor and is earning $200,000 a year, and the couple has NZ citizen children.
“Jacinda Ardern and Kris Faafoi have told those NZ citizens and their partners that we do not value you as much as we value a partner offshore, whose NZ based partner is a person working for the minimum wage picking kiwifruit and with only a level 5 qualification
Arran Hunt
“We had the webinar with INZ this morning and, as is usual, we learned little from it. INZ was just providing their interpretation of what information had been released, without really knowing anything more. This is not the fault of INZ themselves. They can only work with what they are provided. Instead, it shows a disconnect between those writing the policy and those being asked to enforce it.
“We've seen this previously with INZ webinars where INZ had been given limited information by the Minister, and some of that information would later be found to be incorrect, such as that the Minister would soon be announcing the SMC EOI draw start date and event that never occurred. Similarly, they appear to have been left out of the decision to lapse 50,000 visas.
“With this new S6 visa, despite being the team that knows immigration best, the knowledge and experience of INZ have again been underutilised. This leaves them in a position when all they can do is to provide us with how they interpret what little information the Minister has provided, but not much more than that. We thank them for at least doing that, but it would be good if the Minister could involve INZ, and the industry, in the formulating of policies.”
Alastair McClymont
“Experienced Immigration Lawyers and Advisors have been expressing concern about the 2021 Resident Visa announcements and potential traps and loopholes. A recent INZ webinar did nothing to alleviate these concerns as the actual policy wording (known as Immigration Instructions) has not yet been released. While we can anticipate many of the requirements of the new policy, there is still much that hasn't been announced and INZ still has a lot of work to do before providing details.
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