slw
9th August 2007, 03:36 PM
Hi all,
I've just been through a bit of a saga (albeit a happy ending) and wanted to pass it along to any of those also considering taking the same route as I did by coming over on a visitor's visa, getting a job offer, then applying for a work permit. It's been my experience in meeting with several different recruiters and HR personnel in Wellington that they are not aware of the latest NZIS time frames, nor are they aware that the application process itself has changed.
In my case, I was contacted by a recruiter for a job with an accredited employer, whom I'll call XYZ. After getting the job offer and taking it to NZIS - Wellington to see what I needed to do, NZIS told me that to process my WP would take 2-4 weeks. When I relayed this back to the recruiter, they seemed disbelieving, saying it should only take a couple of days because it was an accredited employer and I needed to inform them that my job offer was with XYZ (which I did). In emails with HR from XYZ, they informed me that the WP processing should only take 2-5 days.
My job offer letter had a start date of only a week later, so when I didn't show up for work because I didn't have a work permit, XYZ was, shall we say, concerned. This is when the story gets convoluted and very frustrating and I will save you the drama. Bottom line was: despite my very thorough communication with my recruiter informing them of each step of my application and time frames quoted by the NZIS, this information hadn't been relayed to XYZ. :mad:
(My mistake in that I should have contacted XYZ directly, but I've since learned that recruiters in NZ do not necessarily perform the same function as in the US as acting as a liaison between you and the employer.)
So once HR and the recruiter contacted NZIS themselves, they not only learned the time frame was (shocking!) 2-4 weeks, but learned that the application process had actually changed. Before, it was a matter of standing in line for a day to get a permit whereas now, the application is dropped into a dropbox and once initially reviewed, it waits for allocation to a case officer. They still couldn't believe it. NZIS told XYZ that, accredited employer or not, there was nothing they could do: it was going to take 2-4 weeks. Happily, they are content to wait.
I'm of mixed feelings about this ordeal. I feel that the as an employer, recruiters and HR should be more familiar with the NZIS process. I couldn't get an answer as to when it had changed. (Personally, I wasn't aware that there was any change in the process, just due to the volume applications, the time frames had increased.) However, frustrating as this was, I have to ask: if they knew how long the processing times actually were, would I still have gotten the job offer? I feel like I snuck in under the radar. :uhoh
I've just been through a bit of a saga (albeit a happy ending) and wanted to pass it along to any of those also considering taking the same route as I did by coming over on a visitor's visa, getting a job offer, then applying for a work permit. It's been my experience in meeting with several different recruiters and HR personnel in Wellington that they are not aware of the latest NZIS time frames, nor are they aware that the application process itself has changed.
In my case, I was contacted by a recruiter for a job with an accredited employer, whom I'll call XYZ. After getting the job offer and taking it to NZIS - Wellington to see what I needed to do, NZIS told me that to process my WP would take 2-4 weeks. When I relayed this back to the recruiter, they seemed disbelieving, saying it should only take a couple of days because it was an accredited employer and I needed to inform them that my job offer was with XYZ (which I did). In emails with HR from XYZ, they informed me that the WP processing should only take 2-5 days.
My job offer letter had a start date of only a week later, so when I didn't show up for work because I didn't have a work permit, XYZ was, shall we say, concerned. This is when the story gets convoluted and very frustrating and I will save you the drama. Bottom line was: despite my very thorough communication with my recruiter informing them of each step of my application and time frames quoted by the NZIS, this information hadn't been relayed to XYZ. :mad:
(My mistake in that I should have contacted XYZ directly, but I've since learned that recruiters in NZ do not necessarily perform the same function as in the US as acting as a liaison between you and the employer.)
So once HR and the recruiter contacted NZIS themselves, they not only learned the time frame was (shocking!) 2-4 weeks, but learned that the application process had actually changed. Before, it was a matter of standing in line for a day to get a permit whereas now, the application is dropped into a dropbox and once initially reviewed, it waits for allocation to a case officer. They still couldn't believe it. NZIS told XYZ that, accredited employer or not, there was nothing they could do: it was going to take 2-4 weeks. Happily, they are content to wait.
I'm of mixed feelings about this ordeal. I feel that the as an employer, recruiters and HR should be more familiar with the NZIS process. I couldn't get an answer as to when it had changed. (Personally, I wasn't aware that there was any change in the process, just due to the volume applications, the time frames had increased.) However, frustrating as this was, I have to ask: if they knew how long the processing times actually were, would I still have gotten the job offer? I feel like I snuck in under the radar. :uhoh