[intelinside]

Hi All ,

I was planning for applying for Immigrating to NZ . I am currently in US on work Visa (H1) for past 3 yrs in a IT firm as a Application Development Lead.I did my Masters from US university.

what are my chances of Immigration to NZ?
to claim points in education in skill labor shortage it says degree level 6 , how is the level calculated . Does the MS from US mean Deg level 6.


Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Seth:)

[JandM]

Hello and welcome. :)

I haven't been through all the process you're talking about. However, there are people around who are very knowledgeable, and no doubt will help out when they see your query. Basically, there is a list of approved institutions. If the university where your degree came from is on the list, it may be recognized straight away. If it isn't, you will need to submit details of your programme of study to NZQA, the body that assesses qualifications, and they will decide what level to count it at.

If you use the Search button on the blue bar above, you'll be able to find where people have discussed their own cases, and there's probably a link somewhere to the place in the NZ immigration regulations where you'll find all the details.

[TrentBridge]

Hello, welcome to the forum. :)

[Kiwi-In-Texas]

Hello and welcome.

[bobo]

(1)what are my chances of Immigration to NZ?
Very good. There is still a shortage of devs in general here. IMHO there is a real shortage of senior/Lead devs.


(2)Does the MS from US mean Deg level 6.

From NZQA
The NQF has 10 levels - 1 is the least complex and 10 the most. Levels depend on the complexity of learning. Levels 1-3 are of approximately the same standard as senior secondary education and basic trades training. Levels 4-6 approximate to advanced trades, technical and business qualifications. Levels 7 and above approximate to advanced qualifications of graduate and postgraduate standard.

Hope that helps.

[JandL]

The best way is to go is to visit here:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/skilledmigrant/apply/eoi/default.htm

and fill out an EOI (expression of interest). It will tell you as you go through how many points you will get, so you can gauge if you can get in. If you have 140 points or higher your good to go, if you have between 110-140 then you might have a few weeks wait but again you should be good, believe they are picking about 115+ currently. Any less that 100 and you wont be accepted.

You don't pay for anything until you want to submit the application so you can use it as a guide. There is a quick check here but its basic and doesn't take you through all the options:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/pointsindicator/

[tea drinker]

Hello and welcome from me too :)

[M-Squared]

Welcome to the forums! :nice1

[intelinside]

Thanks for all your comments and reply .

I have got a lot of information from the Forum.

One more question i have is .

for skilled Jobs . I am a IT professional working in the area of Software development and B2B integration.

My degree major is Masters Electrical engineering major in communications .I have taken many computer courses in the program.

does this mean that there is a mismatch in the area of work and area of education . so will i qualify for skilled education and skilled work?

any comments and ideas are appreciated.

Thanks
Sethu

[JandL]

As long as you can prove that computers were involved (IT is so diverse anyway) you will be fine. During your degree you should have been given a transcript showing the names of the courses, you could posibly expand on these and include information showing the course content, for example the OU give students a brief summary in the student prospect guide.

[intelinside]

Thanks Jand L for your quick comment.

I was having a look at the EOI application .
I am confused with the SECTION -E "Skilled Employment in NZ"
Is this section only for people with skilled jobs/Offers in NZ . in that case do we need to fill Questions E-2 to E-8:
E-3 :Please indicate why your job is skilled

E-6 : Is your skilled employment outside Auckland? Refer to the Guide under Employment outside Auckland in the section Summary of Terms.

E-7 : Is your skilled employment in one of the identified future growth areas? If yes, please provide the growth area name.
Refer to the Guide under Identified Future Growth Area in the section Summary of Terms for the future growth
area names.

E-8 :Is your skilled employment in one of the areas of absolute skills shortage? If yes, please provide the absolute skills shortage occupation name.

I am confused cos' my job Information Technology professional falls under absolute skills shortage and Identified Future Growth Area? do we need to fill these questions or

similar questions not same are being asked in section G "Recognized Work Exp" That would suffice.

Let me know

Thanks
Seth

[JandL]

Skilled employment in NZ is as it says, have you ever been employed within NZ.
You can only get points for future growth area if you have worked or will be working in the area inside NZ, not previous experience outside of NZ.

The quick EOI does not state this, but the full EOI does which is why I suggested it :).

[intelinside]

Thanks JandL for your comments, Its just that looking at the complete EOI your heart skips a beat ;-) . after reading through it line by line over and over you make more sense of it .

Thanks any way .

Seth

[JandL]

Just take your time, they say it takes 2 hours. Took me 3 days, its the basis for your ITA anyway so best to make sure its right :).