The interview went well, or at least it felt like it did. Our case officer called right on time at 9am this morning. She was nice, but there was no chit chat, just right into it after a few questions to make sure it was me on the phone and not someone standing in for me. Nearly all of the questions were ones we had prepared for, either from our immigration agent or in forums we had found online. As expected, most of them had to do with my job prospects: what do I do, what skills have I gained at my job, and how could I use them in NZ, what obstacles might we face and how would I overcome them? There were a few questions towards the end about where we’d like to settle and how would we go about it, and my familiarity with the country (ex. the cost of living), but most of the 45 minutes was spent on employment. I emphasized how I had moved in the past and been able to quickly find a job and establish social networks (including in NZ) and how finding employment is the #1 priority so hopefully that will satisfy them that I have a high potential to successfully find a job and settle.
The CO asked me to forward her some copies of email we’ve received during our job search that show interest in our mad skills or stating that we need a work visa to be considered, so I sent those off. She will make her determination within a working day or two and then a second person will review the file to make sure her decision is on the up and up, but we should know one way or the other within a couple of weeks. An outright decline of our application is unlikely according to our immigration agent (she wouldn’t have told me they’ll have a decision within 2 weeks if it was) but there’s still the possibility of being offered a job search visa. For us, that would be the same a having the application declined, so we’re crossing our fingers and toes and hoping that the interview went well in their eyes as well. We knew from the outset that the interview was going to be the big hurdle of the application and it’s nice to have it finally over one way or the other. But all we can do now is wait…
Kiwi Bound 