Skilled migrant applicant Paris Han says she has been granted a one-year work visa extension. Photo / Supplied.
Skilled migrant applicant Paris Han says she has been granted a one-year work visa extension. Photo / Supplied.
A would-be skilled migrant who has been waiting for more than two years for her residency visa to be processed has been granted a one-year extension to her work visa.
Marketing specialist Paris Han, 33, filed a residence application under the skilled migrant category on May 31, 2018, and her interim visa was due to expire on September 9.
But Han said she was told by Immigration New Zealand on Tuesday that she has been granted a one-year extension to her work visa.
However, there is still no decision made on her residency - 27 months after her application was first lodged.
INZ says all applications in priority queue will be allocated within two weeks. Photo / Supplied.
Although relieved, Han felt the length of time it was taking to process visas by INZ was "ridiculous".
Steve McGill, INZ's acting general manager border and visa operations, said demand for the skilled migrant category and residence from work sub-stream had risen significantly over the past couple of years.
"This has resulted in longer decision times for applicants," he said.
In February, the agency had formalised the priority allocation of highly paid applicants and applicants with current occupational registration under these categories as a way to better manage the queue of residence applications.
McGill said the oldest unallocated skilled residence application from an onshore applicant in the non-priority queue was from January 18, 2019, and December 14, 2018 for an offshore applicant, as at August 24.
"INZ can confirm that applications in the priority queue are now being allocated within two weeks of an application being put in the priority queue," he said.
McGill said INZ had cleared the priority queue last Friday.
"While it is expected that we will continue to receive priority applications, the low volume of priority applications means INZ is now able to make steady and regular process through our non-priority queue."
INZ offices were closed during alert level 4 at the end of March 2020, which meant the processing of all visa applications were put on hold at the time.
Even after INZ's onshore offices began opening under alert levels 3 and 2, the agency was required to follow strict guidelines - including limiting the number of staff who could return to work at level 2.
McGill said this impacted on the number of residence applications being worked on.
Offshore applicant Raj Kamal Singh, who has been waiting more than 18 months for a decision on his residency application, said he was worried the delay could affect his chances of getting residency elsewhere if it was declined.
"I was 41 when I applied, I will be 43 this year and in two years I'll be 45 and do not stand any chance not only in NZ but in any other country as well," said Singh, who lodged his application from India.
INZ confirmed it received a skilled migrant category residence application from Singh on February 25, 2019.
"Due to Covid-19, INZ is not currently processing applications from individuals who are offshore unless they meet the strict border exception criteria," McGill said.
"This is because legally INZ is unable to grant a visa to an individual who is unlikely to meet border entry requirements."
He said INZ does not routinely contact individual applicants in the queue but did so with Singh about processing timeframes and priority criteria.
"Residence applications take longer to process as there is more at stake and there is greater scrutiny of each application, which means there is a flow-on effect and the allocation of new applications to an immigration officer can take longer."
