On to Permanent Residency (Updated)

It's been a little over two years now since we first set foot in New Zealand. Time for immigration paper works again this time looking at applying for Permanent Residency. Again, depending on which category you come to NZ determines the right time to apply for PR. As for us, we're on the Work-To-Residence Permit under Talent (Accredited Employer) stream. So basically I simply have to stay employed with the employer or other employers as long as I'm granted "Variations of conditions" for up to 2 years then I'll be eligible for PR.

You may think that 2 years is quite a long wait to become PR, well, compared to a regular "Work Permit", we don't have to go through "Expression of interest", "Points assessment" and eventually "Invitation to apply" type-of-thing. I simply have to submit the necessary papers that show I have stayed employed for a valid employer under valid conditions (minimum salary required, permanent, on-going, genuine, at least 30 hours per week, etc.). After submitting all the necessary requirements, it takes up to 3 months for processing then we'll have to pay a Levy and that should complete the process.

Here's the list of the requirements that we need to accomplish in order to lodge our application:

1. Letter from employer showing that the base salary meets the minimum requirement. (Dated not less than 1 month).
   
2. Letter from employer showing that the contract is on-going, genuine, at least 30 hours per week, etc. (Dated not less than 1 month).
   
3. Complete medical examination and chest x-ray results of not less than 3 months at time of application.
4. Police certificates from all countries we have lived for more than 12 months in the last 10 years. Since I come from the Philippines, they require both the local Police Clearance and the NBI Clearance. (Dated not less than 6 months.)
   
5. 700 NZD for the application fee.
6. English proficiency requirements for my partner: (a)Letter from the University of San Carlos; (b) Letter from current employer.

We had our medical and x-ray exams on the first week of December 2008. It cost us a fortune as it is quite expensive. It took about a week for the results to be available and thank God, everything is normal. Actually it was a 3 step process; it goes something like this:

1. Setup an appointment with the Medical Center. Here we brought our partially filled-up medical forms to the nurse; the other details are filled-up during the appointment.
   
2. Go to a laboratory to get blood tests and x-ray done. The results usually takes up to a week to be available.
   
3. Once the results are available, they are sent directly to the Medical Center and we are notified about it and then we setup another appointment, this time with a doctor. In this appointment, the doctor does some final physical checks and goes through the results with us. He then signs it and puts it in a sealed enveloped for us to take home.

When we had our medical exams in the Philippines before, at Velez Hospital, they did not give us the chance to see our results. They gave it to us in a sealed envelope already. The doctor here told us that why would the results be hidden from us, after all, it's too personal for us.

The requirements from my employer, the letters, were no big deal. However, it is wise to get them later as they need to be dated not less than 1 month during which the application is lodged.

We also got a letter from the University of San Carlos for my partner confirming her degree and that the medium of instruction used is English.

The trickier part of this whole process is the NBI and Police Clearance from the Philippines. Well, as always, or should I say, "as useless", it takes ages to get these documents even the requirements for these documents themselves are quite a mission to get hold of. You will need cedula, birth certificate, 2x2 photos and the payment, of course -- you know, the usual inefficiencies in our government processes.

The trick here is to get these documents way way way ahead of schedule. In our case, the NBI clearance actually has cost us dearly. It cost me money and time and effort too.

Since I don't have any recent NBI clearance on hand, (I did have one 6 years ago which I couldn't find anymore, that's when I got my passport), I have to fill-up a new NBI finger-print form. In short, my sister-in-law has to mail the form to me then I'll fill it up in the local police station here and then mail it back. Then to top things up, I had "a hit". That means I have to wait for another 1 week for their computer to decide that I'm cleared. Yes, they literally wait on the computer; the Philippines is high-tech you see. :-?

Anyway, finally my name was cleared, so I should then have my clearance shoudn't I?? But wait, there's more! They ran out of ink! Can you believe that?? Well, maybe that's understandable as maybe someone was printing some wedding invitation letters during that time. Oh well...

Finally we got our NBI clearances and our application is now with Immigration. Fingers-crossed, hopefully everything will go well.

Some tips to prevent inadvertent delays:

• Make sure you have all the necessary requirements. Call up the immigration office when in doubt. Don't just listen to what other people are saying. Do your homework.
  
• Pay attention to the dates and times. The medical/x-ray certificates need to be less than 3 months old upon submission. The police/NBI clearances need to be less than 6 months old. The letter from the employer needs to be 1 month old.
• Request for the Philippine documents ahead of time. As you can see, police/NBI clearances first. Also if you need to request docs from the University, get them early as well.
  
• Go through and fill-up the application form carefully. Read all of the inlined instructions and make use of the checklist provided. When in doubt, consult the guide or better yet call the immigration office.
• Don't forget to sign the application form. Remember that everyone that's included in the application that's more than 17 years old must sign the application.
• Create a cover letter for the application enumerating what documents you are submitting. This is also an opportunity for you to highlight something or point the immigration officer to something that you think needs their attention.
• When submitting the application in the NZIS branch, there's no need for you to line up in the queue. Go straight inside and find the correct envelope for new applications. Put all the documents inside, fill-up the info side and seal it up then drop it in the designated drop box. If you don't know where these are or can't figure it out, just ask.
  

Update: Our residency is now approved. It took 3 months for the processing. We now sent back our passports so that they can attach the annotations and paid the migrant levy. Whooohoo!

Cheerio!

Plunket: caring for young families

Here in NZ, the young - babies and kids are quite very well taken cared of. Aside from the free maternity and medical care, there's also free care given to the young and the mothers in the form of the Plunket. This is a community where mothers can meet up for friendship, share experiences, help each other and the kids to play with each other and just hang-out. There are no fees and attendance isn't required. You can visit the Plunket center as often as you like and stay there for the whole day or just a few hours.

There's a qualified Plunket nurse that does regular checks for the babies, hands-out informations to parents and provides advices and any other help that mothers or kids might need.

The Plunket center also has a lot of toys that the kids can play with. They've got slides, swings, rides, puzzles, and many others. It's basically just another visit to the park sort-of.

The growth of the child is closely monitored especially his medical history. Here in NZ, every child born here are given a "Well Child" book for this purpose. Parents can also post pictures and  record significant milestones as he grows. It also contains a comprehensive record of his immunizations, weight and height.

A GP or General Practitioner is elected early on in order to handle all the medical checks and issues that the child might have as he grows. All regular visits and prescribed medicines are free too. The medicines are picked-up from what they call here "Chemist" and the medicine bottle even contains the baby's name, prescribed dosage, expiry date and the doctor's name.

Check out more information from these sites:

http://www.kidshealth.org.nz/

http://www.plunket.org.nz/

You all stay well.

Singapore or Australia?

Having just recently relocated to Melbroune, Australia I have been receiving a few queries as to the difference in living conditions between Singapore and Australia. To help me save some typing work in the future, I will share with you some differences and similarities that I observe for some common topics.

HOUSING: Currently it is not that easy to find a place to rent here. The conditions are similar to what we had in SG late 2007 where 5 to 10 tenants are fighting over one vacant unit. The only good thing i see here is that unlike the agents in SG who are VERY GREEDY, here they don't ask you to outbid each other when you go view a unit. Although in Melbourne, you have to send a tenancy application (with 100pt ID, i.e. birth cert copy + passport copy) and wait for a day or more before knowing that your application has been approved or not. Unlike in SG where you will know if you get the house or not on the same day.

TRANSPORTATION: There are trams, trains and buses that are very accessible. In terms of cleanliness they don't have that much difference to the buses and MRTs in SG. Although I haven't had a "smelly" experience when riding in them yet compared to the ones you experience daily in SG. As for the fare, it is not similar. Here you pay 2hr, daily, weekly, or monthly for a particular Zone (usually zone 1 which is near the city). This would be advantageous for those living farther away as there fare will always be constant. But you do miss your EZ link when your here. :)

SECURITY: To be honest, Singapore is much safer than Melbourne. In Singapore i would not be afraid to go out late at night in Clark Quay, but here going to King St (comparable to Clark Quay) at night is not a very good idea. There are a lot of delinquents and weirdos in the trams and in the city. But as a rule of thumb when living in the city, you just need to be careful and street smart so not to attract the bad type of people towards you (i. .e don't look to rich, don't stare, blah blah blah).

CHILDCARE: Don't have a kid so can't relate to this one. But I do see they have childcare centers near the city center. I also haven't heard of people having maids here unlike in SG.

TAXES: For me, nothing can beat the SG taxation scheme. But when you apply for a job here be sure to put a 50% increase to your SG salary so you won't feel the pinch of the Oz tax. I do think that salary rates here are higher compared to SG.

WORKING CONDITIONS: This has been one of the good points when living here. Work hours here are normally 8hrs long. Compared to SG where work hours are at leat 8++++ hours long. Here people put a lot of emphasis on family life, on living outside that 3-walled cell you sometimes call your cubicle.

WEEKEND/LATE NIGHT: (For late night, see security) For weekend, especially if you like shopping, Melbourne does not have that much malls compared to the ones we have in SG. But who needs redundant shops anyway (is the price of a giordano shirt different in Toa Payoh and Orchard?). In Melbourne, you can find the best bargains in DFO and Bridge road so that can greatly compensate the loss of Junction8, Vivo, and Suntec (note: i find orchard malls too expensive for my taste). But other than malls you have more (i mean a CONTINENT more) options to choose if you settle in Melbourne. You have the beaches, the snow resorts, and the entire Australian continent really. :)

All in all, it really is up to what your priorities are. If you work abroad just to save, i suggest you stay in SG. But if you work for the long term and finally to settle down then i suggest you stay in Oz. That's why i'm here anyway, so I really can't say you do the same as well.