NZ simplifies its visas for foreign students

New Zealand is trialling a new type of visa for international students that makes it simpler to progress from one programme of study to another.

The pathway student visa will allow students to undertake up to three consecutive programmes of study with selected education providers on a single visa that is valid for up to five years.






"This is welcome news for students looking to New Zealand for their education journey," says Ziena Jalil, Education New Zealand (ENZ) South and South East Asia Regional Director.

"This visa enables students to, for example, start their study with an English language course, transfer to a foundation programme for a year, and then go on to complete a degree programme.

"At the moment a student would need to apply for three separate visas in this scenario. This news improves the New Zealand study experience - giving students more time to focus on choosing the right qualification, location of study and education provider that meets their study and career goals."

New Zealand education providers who offer study pathways in conjunction with one another will formally agree on a process to manage the education progress of their students and ensure they're supported between programmes.

"New Zealand offers a high-quality learning experience, great lifestyle opportunities and qualifications that provide skills for the future," says Ms Jalil. "We're pleased students who choose New Zealand may be able to access this pilot for a more seamless study experience."

The new visa was announced by Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse on November 27.

To find out more about New Zealand education visit: www.studyinnewzealand.com 

The Nation December 14, 2015 1:00 am

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/NZ-simplifies-its-visas-for-foreign-students-30274847.html

New Zealand launches five-year pathway visa

The visa, which was identified as a priority action in the 2014 international education industry strategic roadmap, aims to simplify the visa process for international students and thus make New Zealand more competitive as a study destination.





“The industry and government believe that pathway student visas will help retain more international students and make New Zealand more competitive”

It will also make the country more attractive by granting work rights for students for the full duration of the visa if their first programme of study qualifies for work rights under existing immigration rules.

“The industry and government believe that pathway student visas will help retain more international students and make New Zealand more competitive with countries such as Australia which already offer pathway programmes,” commented Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce.

“The international education industry is already worth NZ$2.85bn in foreign exchange each year and pathway student visas are an important initiative that will help us in our goal to double the value of international education to New Zealand by 2025,” he added.

Under the new visa, international students can undertake up to three consecutive programmes offered by a single provider or a group of providers, without having to obtain a new visa.

For example, they could study for three consecutive years at a school, or enrol on a year of English language training, followed by a year-long foundation course, before progressing to a three-year degree.

The 18-month pilot period started earlier this month at more than 500 primary, seconday and tertiary institutions, all of which had an application approval rate of 90% or higher in 2014/15.

The pilot will enable Immigration New Zealand to monitor transition rates and determine how well the arrangements between education providers work.

“We hope it will serve to both attract new students and encourage current students to remain in New Zealand for further studies”

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse predicted that it will also make the department more efficient, as fewer students will need to apply for visas each year.

“The pathway visa is great news for New Zealand’s international education industry and it sees one of the priority actions in the Strategic Roadmaps realised a year on from their development,” John Goulter, general manager for stakeholders, communications & intelligence at Education New Zealand, toldThe PIE News.

“While it’s too early to forecast impact, we hope it will serve to both attract new students and encourage current students to remain in New Zealand for further studies,” he said.

As well as the pathway visa, New Zealand has also introduced e-visas for students who apply online, as a further measure to simplify the system.

E-visas, which don’t require applicants to send off their passport, will be available to people renewing work, visitor and student visas from within New Zealand (excluding Chinese nationals), and people from visa-waiver countries applying for these categories.

Along with these changes, the country’s online visa enquiry system, VisaView, has now been extended to education providers. The online platform, which is used by employers to check migrants’ eligibility to work in New Zealand, will enable providers to check whether an overseas student can study with them.

http://thepienews.com/news/new-zealand-launches-five-year-pathway-visa/

Immigration New Zealand’s fees are increasing

 The changes will take effect on 7 December 2015. 

The changes include an increase to application fees and the introduction of the immigration levy on applicants for temporary visas (work, student, visitor), limited visas and some resident visas (unless the applicant is exempt). The immigration levy will be charged upon application and will replace the current migrant levy, which is paid by applicants for residence after they have been approved in principle. In addition to the fee increases and the introduction of a levy, a number of other changes to clarify, align or streamline fees regulations will also be made, such as removing the $92 discount that applies to some applications and there will be different fees for applicants who use Immigration Online.

Generally, there will be a lower fee for applicants who use Immigration Online, rather than paper.  There will be no cost increase for a visitor visa or student visa application made using Immigration Online.  Certain work visa applications made using Immigration Online will also benefit from a lower fee. The total cost for paper-based visitor visa applications will not change from the current cost for an initial one year period. This gives tourism markets time to adjust to the move to online applications. 

From year two, fees for paper-based visitor visa applications will increase but visitors that have moved to immigration online applications will experience no change in overall cost.

For more information see:

• Fees and immigration levy rates [PDF 345KB]
• Questions and answers – updated 24 November 2015
• Cabinet paper – Immigration Fee and Levy Review 2015

Tips for using a registered migration agent - Australia

Sinhalese - සිංහල

Consumer guide (127KB PDF)

Tips for using a registered migration agent (142KB PDF)

IELTS 2016 Test Dates- Sri Lanka

Processing time frames

How soon can you expect your temporary visa application to be finalized?

The tables below show the percentage of temporary applications processed in the branch within 25 days for the last three months.

Mumbai

Visa type	Aug 2015	Sept 2015	Oct 2015
Student	92%	93%	91%
Visitor	94%	93%	95%
Work	85%	83%	83%

 

New Delhi

Visa type	Aug 2015	Sept 2015	Oct 2015
Student	NA	NA	NA
Visitor	87%	89%	91%
Work	67%	72%	76%

 

We expect to receive a complete application to enable us to make a quick decision, for information regarding what documentation is required please refer to the relevant checklist.

In some cases, additional information is needed for INZ to decide your application, for example a labour market check or a medical referral. If this is the case the processing of your application may take longer. We are committed to delivering timely service and we will keep in touch with you throughout the process of your application and explain any delays in the process.

Visitor visa and work visa applications

The processing time frame is between one to five weeks. Complete applications will be decided quicker than incomplete applications. All applications are subject to verification checks and the average processing times are as given above. However, the processing time may differ across different applications depending on the level of verification deemed necessary.

If the application does not include the required documentation, it is likely that the application will take longer to be processed.

Student visa applications

All student visa applications are processed by the Mumbai Area Office. The processing time frame is between two to four weeks depending on the level of verification and assessment required. If a decision can’t be made within these timeframes, you will be notified.

Partnership/Entry for a cultural marriage/Partner of a worker

You will hear from Immigration New Zealand within 10 working of INZ receiving your application. The processing time may differ across individual applications based upon the documentation provided with the application.  It is likely the processing of an application may take longer where the documents mentioned in the checklist are not submitted with the application.

Partner/Dependents of a student

Applications for Partners or Dependents of student or work visa holders can be decided only once the supporting partner’s application has been completed. In cases where the supporting partner’s application is still in process, the partner or dependent application will be placed in a queue and allocated only once the supporting partner’s application is finalised. You will hear from an Immigration Officer within 4-6 weeks of the decision made on supporting partner’s application.

It is likely the processing of an application may take longer where the documents mentioned in the checklist are not submitted with the application.

Residence Applications:

The order and manner of processing residence applications are stated below :

a. First priority

• Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) applications with job offers will have priority;
• All business categories;
• Residence from Work category applications :
  • Talent (Accredited Employer);
  • Talent (Arts, Culture and Sport);
  • Long Term Skill Shortage List;
• Refugee Policy;
• Partnership and Dependent Child applications where the partner or parent is,
  • a New Zealand citizen, or
  • the holder of a permanent resident visa, and who has been absent from New Zealand for a period of at least two years prior to the date of the application being accepted for consideration apart from short visits within that period. (Note that in the case of a partnership application the New Zealand partner and the applicant must have been living together for 12 months or more in a partnership that is genuine and stable).

b. Second priority

• Partnership and Dependent Child applications (other than those stated above).

c. Third Priority

• Parent category;
  • Tier 1
  • Parent applications lodged prior to 16 May 2012
  • Tier 2
• Adult Sibling and Adult Child category.

Family residence applications

Partner and Dependent Child

All applications lodged under this category are processed by the New Delhi Area Office. You will hear from Immigration New Zealand within 10 working days of INZ receiving your application lodging your application .  Partnership and Dependent Child residency applications will be allocated to an Immigration Officer within 4 weeks of lodgement. These applications are normally processed within nine months of being allocated to an Immigration Officer

Parent

All applications lodged under this category are processed by the New Delhi Area Office Demand for non-priority residence places currently exceed the number of places available. There have been changes made to immigration family instructions which will help New Zealand attract and retain skilled migrants, and ensure that family migrants can settle well and are self-sufficient.

See the Parent Category web pages for more information.

The time taken to allocate an Expression of Interest (EOI) or an application for processing varies depending on which tier you submit your EOI under, or whether you have an application lodged under the previous Parent Category.

If you have already lodged a Family Parent Category application before 16 May 2012, your application will remain in a queue until a place becomes available. These applications will be processed after tier one EOIs.

Parent category residence applications are usually processed within 12 months after allocation.

Sibling and Adult Children

All applications lodged under this category are processed by the New Delhi Area Office.  On 16 May 2012, the Sibling and Adult Child Category of residence closed. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) no longer receives applications for residence under this category. INZ will return any applications under this category received on or after 16 May 2012 without processing them (no fee will be charged).

Any applications for residence under the Sibling and Adult Child Category that were accepted for processing by INZ on or before 15 May 2012 will be processed. These will need to meet the requirements of the residence instructions that were in place at the time the application was accepted by INZ.

These applications will be processed with other Parent Category applications in order of the date received and if there are places available after processing of tier one Parent Category applications.

See the Sibling and Adult Children web pages for more information.

Skilled Migrant Category

Effective 3 November 2013, all applications lodged under this category are processed by the London Area Office of Immigration New Zealand. Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for clients residing in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan will also be processed at London Area Office.

Please continue to submit your EOIs to the pool for processing.

For more information regarding Skilled Migrant applications and Expressions of Interest (EOIs) timeframes, refer to our London branch page.

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Under current immigration residence criteria all individuals included in an application for New Zealand permanent residence are required to demonstrate that they have an acceptable standard of health for the grant of New Zealand residence, or, failing this, they qualify for a "medical waiver".

The current list of health conditions which indicate that an individual is not of the acceptable standard of health is as follows:

BMI Calculator

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https://www.kiwicover.co.nz/your-health/bmi/calculator

Fake Immigration New Zealand website scam

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Immigration New Zealand has been made aware of a new scam website. The website appears to be a direct copy of the home page of the official Immigration New Zealand website, with a slight change in the domain name.

PM announces immigration rule change

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Homeschooling

Homeschooling is an option in NZ. Parents and caregivers who want to educate their child at home need to first get approval from their local Ministry of Education office.

http://parents.education.govt.nz/secondary-school/secondary-schooling-in-nz/homeschooling/

How you get a car licence

There are three stages to getting a car licence. At each stage you earn a new licence with fewer restrictions and more responsibilities:
Stage 1: learner licence
Stage 2: restricted licence
Stage 3: full licence.

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/getting/cars/car-licence.html

Salary Data & Career Research Center (New Zealand)

Salary Data & Career Research Centre (New Zealand)

Do career research and find in-depth salary data for specific jobs, employers, schools, and more. Know what you're looking for? Start a search below,

http://www.payscale.com/research/NZ/Country=New_Zealand/Salary

Anti-Auckland immigration policies?

The Government is considering changing its immigration policy to encourage more migrants to settle in the regions, rather than in Auckland.

NZ migration hits new annual record

The number of people coming to live in New Zealand has reached new record highs.

Official figures show the country had a net gain of 56,800 people in the year to April - well up from the 34,400 the previous year and and 4800 in the April 2013 year.

Auckland International Airport

Photo: RNZ

More people arrived from India, China and Britain. About three-quarters of migrants from India, and half of migrants from China, arrived on student visas.

Migrant arrivals were up 16 percent from the April 2014 year, while departures were down 11 percent.

For the April month, New Zealand had a seasonally adjusted net gain - or more arrivals than departures - of 4700 people.

From September 2012 to October 2014, net migration was positive and mostly increasing, Statistics New Zealand says.

This was mainly due to fewer New Zealand citizens leaving for Australia, and more non-New Zealand citizens arriving.

New Zealand had a net inflow of 100 migrants from Australia in April 2015 - the first month New Zealand has had a net gain from Australia since 1991.

The net loss of 1900 people to Australia in the April 2015 year was the smallest since 1992.

Analysts say higher immigration should help alleviate skill shortages but also put more pressure on housing markets.

High numbers of Indian students have helped drive the rise in people migrating here.

The number of migrants arriving on student visas from India was up 5200 in the year to April.

Richard Goodall from the Auckland Institute of Studies said most tertiary students there were from India, whereas until recently most came from China.

Nationwide, more than twice as many people arrived on student visas (8,500) than people on work visas (3,900) in the year to April.

All you document translation needs

Plz go near Aluthkade court area in Colombo. There are so many places which you can get your translations done for cheap rates and faster too.

Skill shortage list 2015

http://skillshortages.immigration.govt.nz/assets/uploads/long-term-skill-shortage-list-2015-03-30-.pdf

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