The Government has raised visa fees from 01 October, with most Work Visa application costs doubling. Accreditation and Job Check fees have come through somewhat unscathed with only moderate increases, while Resident Visa application costs have increased, in most cases by at least 50%.
The increases were announced by the Minister (Erica Stanford) as necessary, based on increasing operations costs, verification processes and the ongoing investment into ICT systems (namely the ADEPT processing system).
However, with increased charges, can applicants and employers expect faster processing times and what implications do these new fees have for people rushing to beat the deadline?
Current Application Timeframes
For anyone who has attempted to secure a job check or support one of their staff through the Work Visa, you will probably have noticed that things are taking longer than usual. This slow down in processing is largely due to INZ removing their previous “high trust” model and checking applications more rigorously. Unfortunately, those employers who became accustomed to INZ basically approving whatever was put in front of them, have realised the hard way that you need to be well prepared.
There is also a degree of “triaging” now being applied to both the job check application and Work Visa stages, meaning that well prepared and well documented applications, are likely to get through the process more swiftly.
The increase in processing fees, has little real impact on INZ’s ability to move things through their systems more quickly and the reality it, it always come back to how well prepared the application is, particularly when it comes to the evidence of labour market testing, usually supported by the recruitment effort. Having a good recruitment agent assisting in the process, as well as an adviser to manage the job check, can make the world of difference.
Getting it Right
Whenever INZ sets a deadline, whether that be a change in policy or in this case an increase in fees, there is always an inevitable rush to the finish line as people try and beat that change or increase. The same can be said for this situation and in the build up to 01 October, we saw a lot of potential applicants rushing to file, to save on fees.
The risk however is that a rushed application could lead to a decline and then having to pay not only the cheaper (pre-01 October) fee, but then the higher fee, that now applies, as well. If INZ picks up your application that you submitted before the increase and finds that items are missing, or mistakes have been made, then they might ask you to fix them or in some cases (offshore temporary Visas) may simply decline the application outright.
I expect there to be a fair few applicants and employers, who will be caught out by this, having saved some money to file quickly but now needing specialist advice to try and salvage that application as heads for a decline.
No matter what changes the Visa process manages to throw up, it pays to plan, prepare and overcompensate when it comes to the documentation and process – something a good adviser will bring to the process.
About the Author
Paul Janssen is the Manager of Turner Hopkins Services, a specialist New Zealand immigration consultancy, based in Takapuna, Auckland. Paul is fully licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority and has nearly twenty years of industry experience, assisting families, individuals, and businesses to navigate the complexities of the visa system.
Paul and his team work together with their clients, providing realistic and practical advice in a timely and easy to understand manner. Identifying issues at the outset, mapping out the steps involved and managing all aspects of the relocation process.
Additional articles from Paul
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The Immigrant Visa Process 2024: Six Tips to Stay Ahead