NZIS in London -On the spot!

ruthyroo · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 39

Okay, Hubbie has a teaching job lined up, he's had his NZQA report and we are waiting for his NZTC rego - both of which he needs before we can apply for the work permits & visas we need to travel. But as always time is getting short and my query is... is it possible to turn up at the NZIS offices in London, armed with all the appropriate info, and get the work permit / visas issued on the spot - like you can with other types of visa? Rather than posting it all off and hoping it's back in time? Or should we use an visa agency? We'll probably have about a month to play with, but don't know if that's be long enough. All advice gratefully received. fingers crossed

Graham Barnes · Posted: Thu May 06, 2004 2:27 am Post subject:

Hi,

I'd be interested in the answer because I'm in exactly the same position. We're just finishing off our medicals and will be sending in our visa applications in mid-May, to start teaching mid-August. Lfying out end of July, so we've got a bit more time to get it all sorted.
The teacher registration can take quite a long time because all overseas applications need to be formally rubber-stamped by a Council meeting; these only take place once per month, so depending on when they start processing your application, it could take up to 7 weeks or so if you just miss one. Their meeting dates are on the NZTC website. I 'phoned them up a few times to check progress and found some of their staff (particularly Meg Jamieson) very helpful indeed. Once they got my NZQA report, I found they moved very quickly, but if you do not get qualification equivalence, it can take a long time for them to assess your other written evidence.
I presume your husband is applying through the POL category of WTR which may save time as it requires no labour check. I phoned up NZIS in London a week or so ago, and they told me processing time for this category was quite short...about 10-14 days after being assigned a case officer (which takes a week in itself). The Council can also issue a "holding letter" saying that your application is being processed, but you won't get your visa confirmed until this comes through. In the meanwhile, you could send off your visa application now to get it in the system. NZIS will check everything else whilst they are waiting for your registration to come through. You can turn up in person is you want to; lots of other forum contributors seem to have done this and it has the advantage of "peace of mind"; i.e. they will check that your paperwork is OK on the spot.
Give them a call if concerned...I found them very helpful. 09069100100, but watch out for the £1/minute charges!
I presume your husband will be starting at the end of July (Term 3)? You might just get everything through in time, but you won't have any slack for unexpected delays. Good luck though!

I'm starting at Dilworth School in Auckland (Physics) in August, and my brother is currently teaching Biology/Science in Dargaville...where has your husband been offered a job?

Graham

ruthyroo · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 39

Hi there

Thank you so much for such an informative response. Yep we are aiming for the Term 3 start time, flighs and everything else are already booked - so we are really up against it timewise. Ach well got to have faith! DH will be HOD Social Studies at Rotorua Lakes, so looking forward to having a pet geyser in the back garden (he's a geographer!).

I think we will hang off till we find out whether we made the April council meeting - if so we should be fine... worst case scenario I'll take a couple days off and head for NZIS in London to do it in person. Not sure I want to send the passports away without knowing when they will be back. Sleepless nights for a wee while I think!

Thanks again for all your advice, most helpful and reassuring. Enjoy!

Ruth

veronica · Posted: Thu May 06, 2004 8:21 am Post subject:

yep, you can just go down to NZ house and get the work permit stamped in your passport., but make sure you have all the relevanat paperwork. As I said in another post, this is what my son in law did in December. He was told it may take the best part of a day but he went the last working day before Xmas and was the only one there so was back again by lunch time.

Moorf · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 9:34 am Post subject:

If applying for a WTR visa do you need a job offer? Or can you get a WTR visa if you occupation is on the POL in readiness for when you get a job offer?

Graham Barnes · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 9:55 am Post subject:

No. You still need a job offer first. The advantages of WTR are that it leads to PR after (I think) two years without having to worry about the points; and your employer does not need to do a labour check.

Graham

ruthyroo · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 39

God these people are inconsistent! After your helpful email, all our plans went awry when i called the NZIS in London to be told that a) you can't have TWP issued on the spot, all they will do is check that the paperwork is correct and that b) the processing time for TWP is now 6-9 weeks!!! Maybe I just get through to really unhelpful people. Dh has since phoned and sorted it out but got a completely different response to me. We are now going over on a tourist visa, (as the NZTC won't arrive until two weeks before we leave) and apply for work permits as soon as we are there, with the headteacher kicking u pa stink to get them issued pronto. I hate officialdom. Confused

abourmike · Posted: Wed May 19, 2004 11:15 pm Post subject:

Hi every one.
So it seems it is possible to go to N.Z. House in London and get you visa sorted in a day if your documentation is correct.
Would this be the case if I was taking my wife and two kids applications as well, or would they only do this on an individual application?
My job offer is for 28th June and I am still awaiting my police certificates, so anything that speeds the process up will be an advantage.

Thanks for any clarification on this matter

Mike

ruthyroo · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 39

Hi Mike
Can't clarify except to tell you what I was told, which was that NZISwould check that all the paperwork was in order on the spot, but that the work visa would then go through the usual processing time for issuing it - which we were told is 6-9 weeks. All very depressing - sorry! Maybe you should phone them and see what they say as they do seem to be fairly inconsistent with their responses - see all the different ideas above! Good luck, Ruth

fudman · Posted: Wed May 26, 2004 12:38 am Post subject:

Hi

I was at NZ House last week and was infromed that I could not receive the work permit on the spot and would take 2-3 weeks to process, despite having an approval in principle for a job with the NZ Govt.

Confused

Fudman

fudman · Posted: Wed May 26, 2004 12:46 am Post subject:

Hi

I was at NZ House last week and was infromed that I could not receive the work permit on the spot and would take 2-3 weeks to process, despite having an approval in principle for a job with the NZ Govt.

Confused

Fudman