[Going2NZ]

I sent our ITA in on April 26 to the London branch. Other than a email confirming receipt, I hadn't heard anything in over two weeks and was beginning to get anxious. So, I kept my fingers crossed for luck and sent an email hoping to prompt a reply from my case officer in London – well, it worked. It worked! Uhoh...

It worked!?! Holy cow! Now I'm in a panic because it worked! I have an NZIS interview Wed at 1pm London time and I feel like so much is riding on this single, short conversation. <taking deep breaths and trying not to panic>

So, please think good, positive thoughts on Wed morning (it'll be 7am Texas time) and if you had any experiences with the London branch COs, please post some reassuring stories or any advice. I would sure appreciate it!

This forum has really become my touchstone for this whole process. I can't imagine going through this without the support and sharing I've found here.

Susan

[bbq]

Hi Susan

I know of plenty of people who have been interviewed by London COs, and every single one of them got PR or WTR, none so far as I know have been declined.

When I had my interview, the opening line from them is that they have 3 options

1) Decline
2) WTR (which I have found out is normally for those who require NZ registration in their profession - e.g. Plumbers
3) PR

He told me that option 1 is not really an option if you get to the stage of having an interview

so, relax, its OK, and good luck

cheers

alex :P

[MB]

Susan,

Congratulations on the interview. I'm sure you will do fine.

You will find a lot of advice here, most of it directly about or strongly relevant to London COs and their interviews. Put in "telephone interview", "phone interview" or similar as search words in the forum's Search function, unless you have already done so. You'll even find lists of questions asked.

On the whole, London interviews seem to be shortest of any branch's interviews. They process so many applications, many from the US and UK, and (thus) seem to me to be at or near the head of any progressive or efficient ways of processing applications. These (usually 15-30 minute and fairly relaxed) interviews are a good example of this. As you will see when you do your keyword-based search suggested above, there is a more or less standard list of about a dozen questions, from which any interviewee gets asked about six or eight questions. The overriding theme is to see if you are both realistic about NZ (weather, job prospects, housing, etc.) and committed to migrating. The officer is not trying to catch you out. Question categories are, as I say, chiefly settlement prospects and employment prospects.

My big tip re. the interview (and, boy, aren't I proud of it? :laugh ) is to ask some likely interview questions out loud at home, with your partner or a friend/relative. Although this can lead to one or two slightly awkward "umm...err" moments and pauses, it's a terrific way to highlight questions to which you merely think you have substantial answers worked out in your head.

Two other tips I think valuable:
1.) A few good details -- figures, names, percentages -- go a long way. It's nice to say "Yes, we've researched schools in Chch and clicked round a few of their Web sites"... but how much better, with just a little extra work, to say "Yes, there are at least two primary schools in the neighborhood we are targeting. We have been in e-mail/phone contact with Principal Jane Doe at Smith Primary, who has even suggested three good pre-schools for the six months before school age." Or whatever is relevant to your situation - realtors, NZ pals, job agents, bankers, etc.....
2.) Don't forget that the London interviewer you get may have personal experience of being far from home for years at a time themselves. While you don't want to pry it is plain thoughtful, and could be revealing, to get some thoughts or tips from the interviewer.

By the way, our interviewer was in D.C. Interview lasted a bit longer -- just under an hour -- but he was great.

All the best! :nice1

[Simon & Emily]

I can't add any further advice, as I think these two posts sum it all up, but just try to relax and be yourself. As Matt said, if you've got this far you're very unlikely to be turned down for entry. The only question may be what type of visa to offer.

Good luck (not that you need it :yes ),

Emily

[Jo and Andy]

Good luck with your interview, I was next to Andy as he did ours and it went really well, seemed very relaxed no trick questions or anything.

We are just waiting for the letter or email confirming what we have.

Good luck and relax.

[Anita & Marco]

Hello,
GOOD LUCK with the interview. And all the others: thanks for the information. We also sent our ITA to London on 26th April. The website of the NZIS tells us they received it, but did not hear anything - not even an e-mail confirming the receipt.
How did you receive the information on the case officer, because we would like to get in touch, but this does not work out without having a contact person.

Will keep my fingers crossed for you
(and I am a bit jealous)

Regards,
Anita

[Going2NZ]

Great advice all. Thanks so much! I appreciate all the good wishes and coaching.

I've spent the last few weeks putting together a list of questions based on this forum and our personal circumstances – I actually feel much better about the whole interview today. I guess the "reality" of what we are trying to do overwhelmed me. But its amazing what a little sleep can do to your brain! My husband has agreed to do some interview rehearsal tonight so I think I'll be ready. He'll be much tougher than the case worker, I'm sure of it.

That is an excellent point about the details - since I'm a semi-obsessive note taker, I'll just get my notebook out and write up a reference list. While the CO was very business-like, he did let me know that they are most interested in expectations, job search and overall approach to moving to NZ. And an even better point about the CO not trying to trip me up. I need to keep in mind that they want us there.

Anita, the case worker contacted me yesterday by email. Prior to that, I had another email from a different person about including paperwork for my mother-in-law in our application. (Thats another story...which we might have a solution for)

To be honest, I thought the first person was the case worker but she may have been a screener or gatekeeper of some sort. At any rate, I sent her an email Monday morning (London time) asking about the status and received an email from the case worker several hours later. I would recommend a politely-worded doing the same. I'm sure they are overwhelmed and my thought was that showing interest and following up had to be positive so why not?

And I do understand about the jealous part :oops: This process seems to ge so fast for everyone else but yourself...sort of like picking the short line at the grocery store which is always the slowest one.

Hoping for a :cheers celebration tomorrow morning!! I promise to post an update.

Susan

[clarabell]

Yes, you must let us know how it all goes!
Best of luck :yes

[Anita & Marco]

Hi Going2NZ,
Thanks for your reaction, which made us do exactly what you told us (send an e-mail to NZIS London) - just needed a push in the right direction.

Look forward to your post regarding the interview tomorrow.
Regards,
Anita

[jen]

My partner has his interview tomorrow morning with the London office, too, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed for both of us!

Has anyone experienced delayed judgement on their PR? Our situation is that we can’t prove we have been in our relationship for over a year. Our acceptable “paper trail” starts in Oct 2004 with a 2-week trip to NZ (passport stamps, photos of the 2 of us there). The impression we got from asking our case worker is that they will ‘defer’ PR until this October, and if at that time we can give her more proof (no problem as by then we will have joint bills and a marriage certificate) we’ll be given PR then. I wondered if anyone had been in a similar situation, or if we misunderstood her?

Good luck Susan & thanks to everyone on the forum for all the useful advice. I read the forum daily & have bookmarked threads for reference on everything from Wellington suburbs to the cost of moving pets from the US (we have two soon-to-be-very-expensive dogs :eek )

[debnjohn]

And I do understand about the jealous part :oops: This process seems to ge so fast for everyone else but yourself...sort of like picking the short line at the grocery store which is always the slowest one.

Susan

That is just SO true! I felt exactly the same way. Common sense tells you not to be jealous, but it's such a fraught experience.

Good luck to all with interviews - you'll all be fine, honestly.

John.

[Going2NZ]

Whooohooo! We're in! "Approved in principal"

As soon as they've received two additional (but minor) documents he said we are good to go! More details later, just had to let everyone know.

Susan :cool

[Simon & Emily]

Congratulations :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap

Emily

[Babette & Andy]

Susan that's brilliant news :clap Well done you guys.

Feels strange though doesn't it - like you're in the middle of the roller coaster ride of your life and you're wondering what's ahead . . .

Best of luck for the next phase of your journey. :nice1

Babette

[Anita & Marco]

Susan,
Congratulations :clap :clap
Enjoy the moment!!! :cheers Feel happy for you.


Regards,
Anita
PS we just received e-mail that we are in the managed queue and will be appointed case officer within a month.
waiting-waiting-waiting-waiting-waiting

[jen]

Congratulations to you! So glad you got good news :clap

We never got our call this morning - triple checked the arranged time, date & the phone number but couldn't find anything wrong. We sent off an email to the case officer, but at that point it was around 6pm London time so not surprisingly we haven't heard from her. I thought I was on my last nerve this morning, but hopefully I'll only need to hang on another day or so :(

[Going2NZ]

Finally, have a chance to update everyone on the details...

The CO was very nice and quite laid back, we spent probably half-an-hour talking. It would have been less time but he was having computer issues and since he seemed to be typing in my responses while I was talking, it was a bit slow.

So, the questions:

Lots of are-you-who-you-really-say-you-are questions: birth date, mother's maiden name, what year did I get my tertiary degree (had to ask him to tell me if that was the same as a masters :oops: ), etc.

What were my plans for getting a job?

Where did we plan on living?

Had I or my partner ever dealt with making career changes?

What if I couldn't find a position in my field? What was my back-up plan if that didn't work out?

Ditto question for partner.

What kind of job was I looking for (what field/industry)?

Where had I gotten information about NZ people, culture, society?

What were my salary expectations?

What were my expectations about cost of living?

Did I know people in NZ?

What was our plan for settling in - in other words, how were we going to adapt to the country?

I mentioned my husband's time in Germany, my life as an Army brat and how we both spent most of our lives getting used to the current "new" place. He mentioned he was a military kid too and spent a few years in Germany as well. Very nice man, easy to talk to. Definitely NOT trying to catch you out.

I know that I didn't quite believe what everyone has said but it really was quite conversational and chatty rather than an interrogation. And, this is so American of me I know, I got a kick at how he wrapped it up with a "Smashing! Well, thats it then." "Smashing" is definitely my new phrase!

Susan

[Anita & Marco]

Hi Susan,
Good story.
You'll definitely be okay!!!! :clap :clap :clap

You just have to wait for those visa
Regards,
Anita

[Going2NZ]

First, thanks for all the wonderful encouragement and support. You folks stopped my panic before it took over my life.

Second, for those who haven't hit this point yet (I feel like such an "expert" now! ;) ), it truly isn't the horrid interrogation you think it will be.

And, third, I got the phone call this morning and we are approved. No, wait, let me say that again just to savor the moment...we are approved - full PR! I'm not trying to be insufferable, I'm just flat-out amazed that we decided this was what we wanted in January and here we are 5 months later planning our move with NZIS's blessing. As we say in Austin, go figure! Or as my dad used to say, "Holy cow!" :eek

Thanks, y'all!

[MB]

:raebanana :clap :cheers :raebanana :clap :cheers :raebanana :clap :cheers :raebanana :clap :cheers

Well done, guys!

ALSO: well done to other forum folks with good news recently. I'm flying round trying to get ready for my Auck trip, and working here 'til I leave, etc., but I've kept an eye on folks' progress. Well done from our family!
:raebanana :raebanana

:nice1