WHV have been treated unfairly
Hannah made this Official Information request to Michael Wood
The request was partially successful.
From: Hannah
Dear Michael Wood,
Recently, a large number of Chinese WHV applicants have been rejected by the immigration office after providing their academic qualifications. We have been treated unfairly!
Compared to the previous criteria in which high school and higher education were recognized, this year high school education is considered the only criteria!!! Many applicants were rejected by INZ after submitting their bachelor's or master's degree.
I would like to know if the applicant has a higher degree, doesn't it also mean they completed high school? This is not a change in the rules.
This sudden tightening of processing requirements is not fair to us. Since the previous years of WHV approval criteria recognized high school and higher education, the applicant thought that the previous criteria would be followed this year, while the visa officer said that the previous implementation was a "mistake" and refused to accept our documents, therefore we believe the sudden adjustment of the acceptance criteria is very unfair to us. .
We understand and respect that INZ are trying to correct its previous practice, but since we have not received any official explanation in advance, therefore, we request you to consider our situation, give us a proper solution and re-introduce the applicants before the application for next year.
From: Hon Michael Wood
Michael Wood
Kia ora,
On behalf of Hon Michael Wood, thank you for your email.
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Deputy Leader of the House
Private Bag 18041 |Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160 | New Zealand
Office phone: +64 4 817 8847 | Email: [4][email address]
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4. mailto:[Michael Wood request email]
From: M Wood (MIN)
Kia ora Hannah,
On behalf of Minister Wood, the Minister of Immigration, thank you for your below query
Under section 12(1) of the Official Information Act (the Act), to be eligible to request official information, you must be:
* a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident;
* a person in New Zealand; or
* a corporate entity (that is, a company or an incorporated society) which is either incorporated in New Zealand or has a place of business here.
Your query below also does not outline a request for any specific information. We are therefore responding to your query as correspondence without reasonable delay.
We note your suggestion that Immigration New Zealand consider allowing flexibility regarding the education requirement of the China Working Holiday Scheme (WHS), such as accepting university degrees as well as high school and university degrees received in other countries to meet this requirement.
The only acceptable evidence for the China WHS is a senior high school qualification (gao zhong xue li) granted in respect of a minimum of three years' full-time study, and that this evidence must be verified by the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Centre.
We can also confirm that this senior high school qualification has always been a requirement of the China WHS, since the scheme was first agreed to between the governments of New Zealand and China several years ago.
The Government is not considering amending this requirement. Each application will be assessed by Immigration New Zealand in accordance with immigration policy.
More information on meeting the criteria of the China Working Holiday Visa can be found here:
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zeal...
If you do wish to contact Minister Wood, you can find contact details on the Beehive website. Alternatively, if you wish to request information under the Act, you can find guidance on the Ombudsman website: https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/what...
Kind regards,
Office of Hon Michael Wood
Minister of Immigration | Minister of Transport | Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety
Executive Wing | Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160 | New Zealand
-----Original Message-----
From: Hannah [mailto:[FOI #19862 email]]
Sent: Friday, 8 July 2022 9:35 PM
To: Hon Michael Wood <[Michael Wood request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - WHV have been treated unfairly
Dear Michael Wood,
Recently, a large number of Chinese WHV applicants have been rejected by the immigration office after providing their academic qualifications. We have been treated unfairly!
Compared to the previous criteria in which high school and higher education were recognized, this year high school education is considered the only criteria!!! Many applicants were rejected by INZ after submitting their bachelor's or master's degree.
I would like to know if the applicant has a higher degree, doesn't it also mean they completed high school? This is not a change in the rules.
This sudden tightening of processing requirements is not fair to us. Since the previous years of WHV approval criteria recognized high school and higher education, the applicant thought that the previous criteria would be followed this year, while the visa officer said that the previous implementation was a "mistake" and refused to accept our documents, therefore we believe the sudden adjustment of the acceptance criteria is very unfair to us. .
We understand and respect that INZ are trying to correct its previous practice, but since we have not received any official explanation in advance, therefore, we request you to consider our situation, give us a proper solution and re-introduce the applicants before the application for next year.
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