after the getting the fbi reports on tuesday i started the final pass assembling our application. i was curious about the latest estimate for processing the application so i went to the london office section of nzis site.
then i saw it.
casually mentioned in the “news” section was an announcement that all applications need to be first processed by nzqa – another nz organization that certifies that degree programs and work experience are equivalent their counterpart in nz. i understand the intent of the rule, but as nzis mentions the process takes 2 to 3 months and this would be very bad for us. firstly there is no way we could have the nzqa certification before the application submission deadline at the end of february. adding to the pain both of our medicals expire (3 months old) in early february so any delays in submitting our application would require that they be repeated.
since i first read it i’ve had some time to relax a bit and come in off the ledge. we’re going to move forward and submit what we have assuming that the new rules don’t apply to those already in the pipeline (like us). we haven’t heard anything from nzis and given the timings it doesn’t seem like they could change the rules midstream. the only nagging concern is when you’re working with any govt agency sometimes following the process wins over what makes sense.