By Gurbir Singh:
New Zealand, ‘the safest country in the world’ continues to attract thousands of migrants from all over the world annually. Over the years, Indians, too, have continued to make a beeline for this country.
This trend is visible in the registration of Expressions of Interest (EOI) under the Skilled Migrant Category over the years.
Their keen interest in New Zealand is clearly reflected from the fact that in almost every fortnightly selection since 2017, the Indians have recorded the highest percentage to register their Expression of Interest.
According to INZ’s latest 23rd Jan selection statistics in the Skilled Migrant category, the highest Expression of Interest registered is again by Indians at 25%, followed by those from China & Great Britain -12% each, South Africa at 11% , followed by other nationalities.
As a result 1080 EOIs that had a total of 160 or more points, representing 2,482 people will now undergo preliminary verification to determine if an invitation to apply for residency will be issued.
The make-up of the 1080 EOIs selection type was: Offshore 227 – (100 with job offer, 127 without job offer)), Onshore 853 – (850 with job offer, 3 without job offer).
According to information provided for interested applicants online by INZ, this is how the Pool works:
All applicants who meet the prerequisites and the minimum points score are accepted into the EOI Pool. INZ then ranks these EOI in the pool from highest to lowest points claimed, and makes regular fortnightly selections from the pool.
The frequency and number of selections from the Pool is based on a number of factors, including:
• the number of places available in the Skilled/Business stream of the New Zealand Residence Programme
• the quality of Expressions of Interest in the Pool, and
• the total number of Expressions of Interest in the Pool at selection time.
As outlined on INZ website, applicants who score points above a set selection mark are than selected in sufficient numbers to meet the New Zealand Residence Programme numbers for skilled and business migrants.
Expression of Interest of applicants remains in the Pool for six months or until a selection occurs. If it hasn’t been selected during that time, it will be withdrawn. INZ lets the applicant know if their EOI is withdrawn, and they may submit another EOI if they wish.
If the EOI is selected from the Pool, preliminary checking and verification will be done to see whether the claims made in EOI can be verified as credible and legitimate. Then, depending on the outcome of that process, INZ will either send the applicant an Invitation to Apply, or let them know that their EOI has been rejected, not proceed further.
The unquenchable thirst of Indians to move overseas is not likely to decline any time sooner and with shortage of skilled migrants in New Zealand, they will continue to head for this country’s shores.
– from NewsViews
