Immigration Advisers: To hire or not to hire?

Imagine you've always dreamed of moving to New Zealand, a country with stunning natural beauty, friendly people, and a great quality of life. You've done your research, and you're ready to take the plunge. But then you realize there's a lot you don't know about immigrating to New Zealand. How do you get started? Do you need a licensed advisor?

Don't worry, we're here to help. In this article, we'll walk you through the process of immigrating to New Zealand, and explain why it's important to have a licensed advisor by your side.

So let's get started. The first step is to figure out if you're eligible to immigrate to New Zealand. To do that, you'll need to meet specific criteria depending on the visa you want to apply for.
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For example, the Skilled Migrant Category visa is for people with skills and qualifications in demand in New Zealand. To be eligible, you'll need to earn points based on your age, work experience, qualifications, and other factors. Another example is the Partner Category visa, which is for people married to or in a civil union with a New Zealand citizen or resident.

If you're unsure which visa you should apply for, or if you're eligible for more than one, a licensed immigration advisor can help you figure out the best option.

The next step is to start collecting the necessary documents. This includes things like your passport, birth certificate, and evidence of your English language proficiency. Once you have all the required documents, you can begin the online application process.

While the online application is convenient, it's important to note that a few key steps can trip you up if you're not careful. That's why it's so important to have a licensed advisor by your side. A licensed advisor will guide you through the process and ensure you don't make any mistakes that could jeopardize your application.

After you've submitted your application, the next step is to wait for a decision. While you are waiting for the decision, there would be several requests from your case officer or even the case officer would issue a Partially Prejudicial Information (PPI) letter, which is mainly about the facts affecting the decision of your case officer. So if ever your receive one, answering properly to this PPI letter is crucial for the successful outcome of your visa application. We have DIYers who submitted their applications themselves and then came to us to engage for their case when they received the PPI letters or were challenged by the immigration officer. For a case like this, we jump in to intervene to get some extra time to study your case and respond to the PPI letters properly and advocate your case to your case officers.

The processing time for visa applications can vary - depending on which immigration officer has been allocated to your case and whether the case officer has many cases to deal with or if the case officer is on holiday then whether each case has requests from the case officer or not. All these affect the processing time for your visa application.

For a temporary visa, your case officer will make the final decision, but for a resident visa, once the case officer has completed their assessment, the case needs to be passed to a senior immigration officer (technical advisor) for a quality check. During this cross check, the senior immigration officer will check from when you arrived in NZ for the first time until the moment your case is being assessed to ensure you did not break the visa condition and or any undeclared matters are found.

Having your licensed advisor representing you will be a great relief when you are unsure what is happening with your case. The licensed advisor should be able to communicate with your case officer or a senior immigration officer to request updates on your case. Sometimes, the licensed advisor can ask for your case to be processed with a priority.

So there you have it, a quick overview of the process of immigrating to New Zealand. While it may seem daunting at first, with the help of a licensed advisor, you'll be on your way to starting a new life in New Zealand before you know it.

So if you're dreaming of a new life in New Zealand, make sure you have a licensed immigration advisor by your side. They will have the knowledge and experience necessary to ensure your application is complete and correct, increasing your chances of having it approved. Don’t risk ruining your chances – talk to one of our advisers today.