Risk No. 1: Being in such a rush to fill in the application form that you provide incorrect answers, for instance to questions about health, character or family members
To Immigration NZ (INZ), an incorrect answer equals ‘false and misleading information’, which is a reason to decline your application. Remember they will have your previous applications to refer back to. Not having the application form available due to ‘IT testing’ until 1 December (the first day for lodgement of applications) only increases the chance of this kind of mistake.
Risk No. 2: You need to hold an ‘eligible visa’ when you lodge your residence application
Sounds simple? Not really. If your visa expires at any time between now and when you can lodge your application, and you haven’t had a new eligible visa approved, you no longer qualify for a 2021 Resident Visa.
Risk No. 3: You think you have spent long enough in New Zealand to qualify
But if you haven’t spent 821 days or more between September 29, 2018, and September 29, 2021 – or you didn’t arrive in the country for the first time on or before September 29, 2018 – you won’t meet INZ’s ‘settled’ criteria.
You could still meet INZ’s ‘scarce’ or ‘skilled’ criteria, right? See Risk Nos 4 and 5 below.
Risk No. 4: You may think you meet INZ’s ‘scarce’ criteria because your job title is similar to one on the ‘scarce lists’
INZ looks at whether your job matches the one on its list.
INZ also looks at what you declared on your last employer-supported work visa application. If you declared a different occupation – one that isn’t on one of its ‘scarce lists’ – then you won’t qualify.
The INZ case officer may request seeing your job description. How this will be reviewed is unknown currently.
Risk No. 5: You may have been working full-time for $27/hour on 29 September 2021
But, if your employment agreement doesn’t reflect that you were working, on average, 30 hours per week over an agreed paid period, then your application won’t meet INZ’s ‘skilled’ criteria.
Risk No. 6: You lose your job paying $27/hour or above, or you are no longer working in a ‘scarce’ occupation
You won’t meet INZ’s criteria for ‘skilled’ or ‘scarce’ in order to lodge your application.
Risk No. 7: INZ can decide that your job is not genuine or sustainable
This is due to employer history of being non-compliant or job created to assist you get residence.
Risk No. 8: You can include your partner in your application even if you are in New Zealand and they are currently overseas
INZ will look at the evidence you provided previously of living in a relationship and the ‘genuine and compelling’ reasons for your current separation and may decide to exclude your partner from your Resident Visa application.
Risk No. 9: You may have to leave New Zealand before lodging your 2021 Resident Visa application
If there is a family emergency in your home country and you leave New Zealand and can’t get back by July 31 next year, you’ll have lost your chance to qualify for residence.
Risk No. 10: If you lodged your application before July 31, 2022, but then have to leave NZ after that
INZ won’t decide on your application until you return to New Zealand, whenever that might be.
Credit to author Ankur Sabharwal and Stuff NZ website. Originally published on 17 November 2021 on the Stuff NZ website. Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/prosper/advice/300456098/the-top-10-risks-to-your-2021-resident-visa-application
NOTE: If you are applying under the 2021 Resident Visa category, be cautious and don’t miss out on what you can achieve by not having met requirements at the beginning – get assistance for this once in a life-time opportunity from us today: 2021residencevisa@woburn.co.nz OR call 04 569 4861.
If you would like an initial free assessment of whether you meet the new 2021 Resident Visa requirements, fill in our 2 minute assessment form here.
