Ref: 2122-0088

 

Dear Vivek,

 

On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 9^th of July 2021 requesting under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following:

 

“. Work to residency Long-term skill-shortage visa holders already proved
that they are skilled enough for residency at the time of approval of visa
- hence what was the point of putting them back with SMC queue where
everything needs to be verified from scratch.

2. Do you think it is ethical to merge WTR with SMC

3. If a person completed 2 years on WTR and applied for his/her residency.
should he not get an open work visa for the future so they can look for a
better job and be flexible in choosing an employer? rather than being
rejected by the company as they don't want to wait for the VOC to take
time as Immigration NZ is delaying it.

4. After application for Residency from work, if someone's partner can get
an Essential skill work visa and get the primary applicant an open work
visa, will it affect the primary applicant's residency application in any
case?

5. Does an OIA information request affect a migrant's residency
application in a negative way?

6. Is it legal for a company to reject a migrant based on the visa status
and not check his her skill?

7. Is it legal for a company to advertise a job and mention in the
advertisement that "visa holder can not apply"?

8. How was the processing time affected by merging WTR-LTSSL(RFW)?

9. If the RFW(WTR-LTSSL) processing time increased, were the applicants
updated via some method of communication, apart from changing a number
from 6 months to 18 months on the website?

10. What were the measures take for reducing the time to process for an
RFW(WTR-LTSSL) as they already spent 24 months and RFW and now because
immigration merged RFW(WTR-LTSSL)  and SMC together they will again have
to wait for 18-22 months?

11. Does Immigration New Zealand has an ethical department?”

 

Your request is being processed in accordance with the Act and a response
will be sent to you in due course.

 

If you have any enquiries regarding your request, or its urgency, feel
free to contact us via email at [1][MBIE request email].

 

Nâku noa, nâ

MINISTERIAL SERVICES

               

Corporate, Governance and Information

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Level 4, 15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

[2]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services

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Any opinions expressed in this message are not necessarily those of the
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. This message and any
files transmitted with it are confidential and solely for the use of the
intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or the person
responsible for delivery to the intended recipient, be advised that you
have received this message in error and that any use is strictly
prohibited. Please contact the sender and delete the message and any
attachment from your computer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[MBIE request email]
2. http://www.govt.nz/

hide quoted sections

Good Morning,

 

Thank you for your email of 09 July 2021 requesting information under the
Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA).

 

Under Section 12 of The OIA, requests can only be made by;

Any person, being-

(a) a New Zealand citizen; or

(b) a permanent resident of New Zealand; or

(c) a person who is in New Zealand; or

(d) a body corporate which is incorporated in New Zealand; or

(e) a body corporate which is incorporated outside of new Zealand but
which has a place of business in New Zealand,

may request a department or Minister of the Crown or organisation to make
available to him or it any specified official information.

 

From the limited information we have on hand it is unclear that you are
eligible to make an OIA request.

 

Before we can proceed with providing you a response you will need to
provide evidence that you are eligible to make a request. Proof of
eligibility can be provided confidentially to me via email which is shown
in the attached file.

 

Please provide a response with evidence by 03 July 2021.  If no response
is received by this date, your request will be closed and considered
withdrawn on the basis that you are not eligible to make a request under
section 12 of the OIA.

 

If you have any questions please let me know.

 

 

Kind Regards,

Lautalie Leausa Vaa
SENIOR BUSINESS ADVISOR

Operations Support, Border & Visa Operations, Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

[1][email address] | Telephone: +64 (0)4  896 5342
Level 1, 15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

-----Original Message-----
From: Vivek <[FOI #16023 email]>
Sent: Friday, 9 July 2021 9:45 PM
To: *OIA <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Changing to open Work Visa

 

 

Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

 

I am on my second Work to a residency visa.

 

I have completed my 24 months on first WTR-LTSSL and applied for Residency
already.

 

Initially, this residency would take 6 months at max for processing time
hence we used to get 6 months in addition to 24 months time.

 

But as we all know that immigration NZ has accepted unethically assigning
applications with a higher salary and running a priority queue secretly
for 1 year has made them delay the SMC queue.

 

We also now know that the Work to Residency visa is merged with SMC and no
appropriate reasoning was provided for the same.

 

This raises the following question in my head and I would like them to be
answered in a way that a layman would understand as your response will be
shared with appropriate news channels, and people overseas who think about
pursuing a future in New Zealand.

 

1. Work to residency Long-term skill-shortage visa holders already proved
that they are skilled enough for residency at the time of approval of visa
- hence what was the point of putting them back with SMC queue where
everything needs to be verified from scratch.

 

2. Do you think it is ethical to merge WTR with SMC?

 

3. If a person completed 2 years on WTR and applied for his/her residency.
should he not get an open work visa for the future so they can look for a
better job and be flexible in choosing an employer? rather than being
rejected by the company as they don't want to wait for the VOC to take
time as Immigration NZ is delaying it.

 

4. After application for Residency from work, if someone's partner can get
an Essential skill work visa and get the primary applicant an open work
visa, will it affect the primary applicant's residency application in any
case?

 

5. Does an OIA information request affect a migrant's residency
application in a negative way?

 

6. Is it legal for a company to reject a migrant based on the visa status
and not check his her skill?

 

7. Is it legal for a company to advertise a job and mention in the
advertisement that "visa holder can not apply"?

 

8. How was the processing time affected by merging WTR-LTSSL(RFW)?

 

9. If the RFW(WTR-LTSSL) processing time increased, were the applicants
updated via some method of communication, apart from changing a number
from 6 months to 18 months on the website?

 

10. What were the measures take for reducing the time to process for an
RFW(WTR-LTSSL) as they already spent 24 months and RFW and now because
immigration merged RFW(WTR-LTSSL)  and SMC together they will again have
to wait for 18-22 months?

 

11. Does Immigration New Zealand has an ethical department?

 

I request you to please answer all the questions with the same numbering
pattern as the readers would be able to understand and correlate the
answers to a specific question.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

A Migrant

I was more than happy to share my full name, email address, phone number
and email address but I do not want a target painted on my back and any
changes/delays unnecessary focus on my residency application.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[2][FOI #16023 email]

 

Is [3][MBIE request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests
to Ministry of Business, Innovation &amp; Employment? If so, please
contact us using this form:

[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[5]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

[6]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any opinions expressed in this message are not necessarily those of the
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. This message and any
files transmitted with it are confidential and solely for the use of the
intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or the person
responsible for delivery to the intended recipient, be advised that you
have received this message in error and that any use is strictly
prohibited. Please contact the sender and delete the message and any
attachment from your computer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[FOI #16023 email]
3. mailto:[MBIE request email]
4. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
5. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
6. http://www.govt.nz/

hide quoted sections

Hi there,

 

Just following on from my previous email, please provide a response with
evidence by the corrected date of 03 August 2021.

 

Kind Regards,

Lautalie Leausa Vaa
SENIOR BUSINESS ADVISOR

Operations Support, Border & Visa Operations, Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

[1][email address] | Telephone: +64 (0)4  896 5342
Level 1, 15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

From: Lautalie Leausa Vaa
Sent: Thursday, 29 July 2021 9:03 AM
To: Vivek <[FOI #16023 email]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Changing to open Work Visa -
DOIA 2122-0088 [IN-CONFIDENCE: RELEASE-EXTERNAL]

 

Good Morning,

 

Thank you for your email of 09 July 2021 requesting information under the
Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA).

 

Under Section 12 of The OIA, requests can only be made by;

Any person, being-

(a) a New Zealand citizen; or

(b) a permanent resident of New Zealand; or

(c) a person who is in New Zealand; or

(d) a body corporate which is incorporated in New Zealand; or

(e) a body corporate which is incorporated outside of new Zealand but
which has a place of business in New Zealand,

may request a department or Minister of the Crown or organisation to make
available to him or it any specified official information.

 

From the limited information we have on hand it is unclear that you are
eligible to make an OIA request.

 

Before we can proceed with providing you a response you will need to
provide evidence that you are eligible to make a request. Proof of
eligibility can be provided confidentially to me via email which is shown
in the attached file.

 

Please provide a response with evidence by 03 July 2021.  If no response
is received by this date, your request will be closed and considered
withdrawn on the basis that you are not eligible to make a request under
section 12 of the OIA.

 

If you have any questions please let me know.

 

 

Kind Regards,

Lautalie Leausa Vaa
SENIOR BUSINESS ADVISOR

Operations Support, Border & Visa Operations, Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

[2][email address] | Telephone: +64 (0)4  896 5342
Level 1, 15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

-----Original Message-----
From: Vivek <[3][FOI #16023 email]>
Sent: Friday, 9 July 2021 9:45 PM
To: *OIA <[4][email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Changing to open Work Visa

 

 

Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

 

I am on my second Work to a residency visa.

 

I have completed my 24 months on first WTR-LTSSL and applied for Residency
already.

 

Initially, this residency would take 6 months at max for processing time
hence we used to get 6 months in addition to 24 months time.

 

But as we all know that immigration NZ has accepted unethically assigning
applications with a higher salary and running a priority queue secretly
for 1 year has made them delay the SMC queue.

 

We also now know that the Work to Residency visa is merged with SMC and no
appropriate reasoning was provided for the same.

 

This raises the following question in my head and I would like them to be
answered in a way that a layman would understand as your response will be
shared with appropriate news channels, and people overseas who think about
pursuing a future in New Zealand.

 

1. Work to residency Long-term skill-shortage visa holders already proved
that they are skilled enough for residency at the time of approval of visa
- hence what was the point of putting them back with SMC queue where
everything needs to be verified from scratch.

 

2. Do you think it is ethical to merge WTR with SMC?

 

3. If a person completed 2 years on WTR and applied for his/her residency.
should he not get an open work visa for the future so they can look for a
better job and be flexible in choosing an employer? rather than being
rejected by the company as they don't want to wait for the VOC to take
time as Immigration NZ is delaying it.

 

4. After application for Residency from work, if someone's partner can get
an Essential skill work visa and get the primary applicant an open work
visa, will it affect the primary applicant's residency application in any
case?

 

5. Does an OIA information request affect a migrant's residency
application in a negative way?

 

6. Is it legal for a company to reject a migrant based on the visa status
and not check his her skill?

 

7. Is it legal for a company to advertise a job and mention in the
advertisement that "visa holder can not apply"?

 

8. How was the processing time affected by merging WTR-LTSSL(RFW)?

 

9. If the RFW(WTR-LTSSL) processing time increased, were the applicants
updated via some method of communication, apart from changing a number
from 6 months to 18 months on the website?

 

10. What were the measures take for reducing the time to process for an
RFW(WTR-LTSSL) as they already spent 24 months and RFW and now because
immigration merged RFW(WTR-LTSSL)  and SMC together they will again have
to wait for 18-22 months?

 

11. Does Immigration New Zealand has an ethical department?

 

I request you to please answer all the questions with the same numbering
pattern as the readers would be able to understand and correlate the
answers to a specific question.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

A Migrant

I was more than happy to share my full name, email address, phone number
and email address but I do not want a target painted on my back and any
changes/delays unnecessary focus on my residency application.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[5][FOI #16023 email]

 

Is [6][MBIE request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests
to Ministry of Business, Innovation &amp; Employment? If so, please
contact us using this form:

[7]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

[9]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any opinions expressed in this message are not necessarily those of the
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. This message and any
files transmitted with it are confidential and solely for the use of the
intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or the person
responsible for delivery to the intended recipient, be advised that you
have received this message in error and that any use is strictly
prohibited. Please contact the sender and delete the message and any
attachment from your computer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[FOI #16023 email]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[FOI #16023 email]
6. mailto:[MBIE request email]
7. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
8. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
9. http://www.govt.nz/

hide quoted sections