This is the true story of one of my earlier clients. It gives a good insight into the "Experience of an international student in New Zealand - No job and visa was about to expire!" Quite a scary situation after investing a lot of time, money and effort to come to New Zealand to study. Hear the rest of this real story to see what happened. This story is also a good indicator of how a good and committed school will support its international students.
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Nga mihi (regards)
24th March 2015. A date I will remember for a long time because on this day I became a Licensed New Zealand Immigration Adviser bearing Licence No.201500460. It was the culmination of a journey that had started in February 2014 when I applied for the Graduate Certificate in New Zealand Immigration Advice (GCNZIA) from the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic. This is the ONLY qualification at this point in time which allows an individual to qualify to apply for a license to practice as a New Zealand Immigration Adviser. The course is heavily subscribed and getting an admission is a task in itself. But I was fortunate to have the right credentials and references to secure my seat and got down in earnest to going back to school some 20 odd years after I had last sat in a classroom.
The course is delivered online via the versatile Moodle platform and every student is expected to do an enormous amount of self study. There is a weekly tutorial via video conferencing where all the students (of that tutorial group) and tutors get together, discuss, learn and move on to the next week. The course has an intensity that is ferocious at times and some students withdrew after a few weeks or changed into the part-time mode that is more easy paced. The assignments and timed tests come in a barrage and there is a huge amount of research and essay writing involved. Assignment submissions work to a strict deadline and if you miss it there are no comebacks. This course and its pace tests the expectation that a student undertaking a Level 7 qualification in New Zealand is capable of self-study, research, essay writing, creating presentations and staying the course. I would advise anyone contemplating this course to be prepared mentally prior to committing to it.
The final challenge of the course is to write four exams over two days and I mean actually write with a pen on paper. For someone like myself who is mostly on a computer or tablet and barely writes anything on paper anymore, this was the final challenge. But I overcame this and emerged successfully with an overall 81.75%. I could have possibly done better but was not dissatisfied with this outcome for someone who was back to school after a very long time. The graduation day in beautiful Tauranga was an unforgettable experience too and laid the foundation for applying for my license.
Getting the qualification under the belt is only part of the process towards getting a license. Then a formal application is made to the Immigration Advisers' Authority (IAA) who then assess an applicant for eligibility. Only upon satisfactory assessment is when a license is granted. So overall it is quite a challenging process to become a Licensed Immigration Adviser (LIA) and I am glad I can proudly claim to be one today.
I want to assure my readers that this blog is not an attempt at a vain show off of my achievements but is primarily aimed at being of benefit to two types of readers:
A) For those who are planning to start a migration process with Immigration New Zealand you should be confident when dealing with a LIA because now you know that it is not everyone who can qualify and become one. The stringent process and the very law itself under which the licensing regime was introduced (Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007) has but one purpose - to protect the interests of migrants. In fact the motto of the IAA is Licensed professionals = Protected migrants. So be assured when you are dealing with me or any of my colleagues from the licensed fraternity.
B) For those who are contemplating becoming a Licensed Immigration Adviser (LIA) this is an insight into what is in store for you. Plus as a full license holder I am happy to consider becoming a supervisor for a handful who are about to embark on this journey. The latest licensing requirements state "All students who begin their study towards the Graduate Certificate in New Zealand Immigration Advice in July 2015 will be required to hold a provisional immigration adviser licence for two years before they may upgrade to hold a full licence. Students may apply for a provisional licence after they have completed Courses A and B, or following graduation." (Source: IAA website) And provisional license holders can provide advice on all immigration matters but must be supervised by a full licence holder. So if you would like to work under my supervision, I am happy to consider. Besides currently being a self employed immigration adviser, I am also teaching at an Adult Community Education school. I will gladly extend my passion for teaching into the New Zealand immigration domain as well.
And with that I end my first blog as a LIA and will be contributing more thoughts as I progress in this new career. Thanks for reading and come back to check my new posts if you have any interest in New Zealand migration. I will be sharing case studies too and some of you may find echoes of your own situation in these. So hopefully you will bookmark this blog and visit often. And if you like my posts, I will appreciate if you can share it with your family and friends. As a new LIA setting off on an exciting new journey any support will be appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.
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Nga mihi (regards)
