This week, Trinity's Immigration team has helped an amazing South African family in their forever life in New Zealand. This case is very special to the team due to the complexity and also the relationship our Immigration team has created with the family.
We had this family come to us after a declined 2021 Resident Visa application. The family had been given wrong advice with their application by an offshore Licensed Immigration Adviser and, in fact, was never eligible to the 2021 Resident Visa to begin with. After meeting with them and hearing their story, our team was on board to help! We started brainstorming pathways for them to find security in New Zealand. A lot of NZ resident visa categories were still closed when they sought our help, so we were working around possibilities - which made it difficult to manage expectations.
Their young adult son had been left in South Africa due to the borders being closed and the family had been forced to live separately for a long period of time. Our first step was to reconnect the family and then we planned to gain security for the entire family.
When the Skilled Migrant Category reopened we undertook this application for them, however this was a complex application as the principal applicant's job title wasn’t considered as 'skilled employment' under the ANZSCO code. But after consulting with his employers, we decided that he should be assessed under a higher ANZSCO code.
While this was being processed, his work visa situation went pear shaped due to his employer not submitting a job check within the timeframe. The family were caught up in the teething stages of the new Accredited Employer Work Visa process and it took working with some incredibly helpful Immigration Officers and Managers from Immigration New Zealand to set them straight.
It has truly been a year of nothing going right for this family, we empathised with them through their frustrations and constantly had to think outside of the box throughout this year working together. There were so many components which did not fit in with Immigration policy. We truly believe that Immigration is not 'one size fits all' and that as Licensed Immigration Advisers it is important for us to strategise and assist our clients in planning for future success, not just what box they fit into currently.
This week, this family who have undergone several hurdles this past year, have been told they are now New Zealand Residents. They can now have a sense of security for the first time since Covid-19 shut down the world back in 2020. Cases like this remind us why we work in this industry and just how much we can help to change people's lives.
- Jamee Zohs, Immigration Business Manager and Licensed Immigration Adviser at Trinity
