The Road to Residence
There is no doubt that the introduction of the new Skilled Migrant Category policy has changed the landscape (and plans) for a large number of prospective migrants. The biggest change to those that qualify, being the potential need to work in New Zealand for between one and three years, depending on the skills they bring to the table. You can read more on these changes in our recent blog (SMC Analysis), however in short form, the changes mean that depending on your level of qualification, training (in a registered occupation) or potential NZ salary, applicants can either apply directly for Residence or may have to accumulate New Zealand work experience (one to three years) first.
Argued by some in the industry as a dramatic shift, the reality is New Zealand has operated this sort of “work to residence” option for many years - now it just applies to a wider pool of potential applicants. It also isn’t the “end of days” scenario that many were predicting and speaking to one potential client last week, they were not at all fussed by the thought of having to work here for two years, before then being able to apply for Residence. I imagine as the dust settles, people will become comfortable with this plan and of course there is always the potential for things to change again, post our elections in October.,
However it did give me pause, to think about some of the logistical issues that this option presents, particularly when it comes to those older applicants (nearing the age cut-off), those with teenage children, who they wish to include in the process and those who might consider studying in New Zealand, to become “more eligible”, e.g. having to work for a shorter period by having a higher level of qualification.
There are some opportunities and some obstacles in all of this, which I am hoping to clarify or breakdown for you in this post.
Age - Time Marches On
No matter how hard you might try, ageing is something none of us can avoid and of course age is a key consideration for all of our skilled migrant pathways. The cut-off age to apply under the SMC category, the Straight to Residence path or the Work to Residence pathways is 56 years, which means your application (for Residence) has to be submitted before this crucial birthday. However if you are 55 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 6 days old and you lodge your Residence application you are “safe”. You will of course continue to get older, but as far as INZ is concerned, your date of birth is frozen in time.
Under the previous (exists until October) Skilled Migrant system, that wasn’t generally an issue, because the moment you secured the right job offer and had the points required, you could apply and thus you had all the way up until your 56th birthday to make it work. That still applies for some people, but if you fall in to the category where you need to accumulate work experience first, you effectively have to move that timeline backwards. For example, if you have a Bachelor’s Degree, and dont qualify under the Green List, you would need to work here in NZ for three years before being eligible to apply for Residence. If you factor in the time it takes to secure the job and then also secure the Work Visa, your effective cut-off age becomes 52 and a half - leaving you three and a half years to achieve the above before being able to apply for Residence.
You also have to consider that working here for three years may result in a job change or two along the way and so any time spent not working during that period of time, pushes your deadline out even further.
For those who fall in to this category, some really careful planning needs to be deployed, to make sure that you have the time available to complete all the steps necessary to make this work. Not impossible by any stretch but being aware of the restraints and making sure you stay on the right pathway to get to that end goal of a Residence application are crucial.
The Teenage Problem
Similar to the age issue, having older dependent children included, for those who have to accumulate work experience here, creates logistical challenges as well. Let’s take the same example of a bachelor degree qualified potential applicant, needing to work here for three years, who has a teenage child they wish to include, aged 16 years. There would be no issues in securing the Work Visa and a dependent Student Visa to come over and take up the job offer. However factoring in the three years, that child is now going to be 19 years old at the time Residence can be filed. That child would have finished secondary school and without Residence, the only way to study here at tertiary level would be to apply as a full-fee paying international student.
There are visitor visa options for the child that could be explored as well, but obviously it does create a delay in them being able to pursue further studies or even go out in to the workforce. This is a situation we have had to face before as previous Skilled Migrant Residence applications were taking more than 24 months to process, leaving a lot of dependent children in limbo. There are creative (and sometimes more drastic) ways to manage this but the key point is it needs managing - the earlier the better. Anyone in this situation, needs to be mindful of the timing and how that impacts on not just them, but also any children included.
Study Pathways
This one has always been tricky and potentially made more complicated with recent changes. Historically, there have been a lot of offshore “student agents” who have very heavily promoted the idea of coming here to study, leading to an “open” work visa, eventually leading to Residence. It was always a risky and very costly process and unfortunately a lot of these agents were only promoting this pathway based on the commissions they secured for each student who enrolled. There are heavy and often complicated tie-ups between training institutions, agents and even some LIA’s that in my view generate too many conflicts of interest.
With the new SMC program, there has been a very quick call to now promote higher level qualifications such as a Masters or PhD program, which if completed here would then reduce the work experience needed from two or three years to either one or none. Not a bad idea, assuming that this policy remains in place. However the other side of that equation, where courses are being pushed in subjects that lead to a potential application under the Green List could hit a bit of a wall. In a weird policy glitch, work experience on a post-study Work Visa does not qualify for work experience under the work to residence (Green List) category - something I am sure many people are going to miss.
For me, I have always encouraged applicants, particularly those that are already skilled and qualified, to work with what they have, rather than undertaking an expensive, length course of study to try and meet the criteria. Policy’s change, rules are updated and what might have worked when you started, could end up being an expensive piece of paper on the wall.
If you want to study here to upskill or to integrate or even to increase your English ability, then by all means, the Student Visa option is a very valid one, but as a “shortcut” to Residence, which many agents promote this as, it is usually very far from it.
Other Considerations
There are many other things to consider when you are trying to map out your road to Residence and some of them have nothing to do with the actual Visa process itself. The key one, which is constantly changing and often overlooked is the labour market. The availability of jobs, the security of jobs and of course your ability to move from one to another (if the first disappears) are all things you need to bear in mind.
Of course you can’t predict what will happen, even with the best economic indicators and despite New Zealand entering a technical recession our job numbers remain comparatively very high - although things can and do change. You do still need to factor in the potential for this to happen, with the chances increasing, the longer you have to work here. Managing this risk over a year is a lot easier than three years. Being aware of what your options are, should you need to move jobs is important because the process to switch roles is not always as clear or as obvious as you might think.
However, for those will skills, a good command of English and the commitment to make this work finding a job has never been a show-stopper, even if the first job they find ends abruptly. I once has a client move between four jobs during their Residence process (more by choice) and it worked out in the end for them.
The simple fact is that this new Skilled Migrant Process, makes planning your move even more important (it was pretty crucial before) and understanding the time you need, the things to plan for and how to make sure you dont miss the opportunity, are all tools on a good advisers belt.
Lastly, if you are wondering why this blog is coming to you a little earlier than usual, it is because New Zealanders will all be taking a day off on Friday to celebrate Matariki which, is the Pleiades star cluster and a celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. This also marks the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar and is commemorated through a national public holiday. A good chance for a mid-winter short break and to spend time with friends and family.
Until next week.
