New Zealand Immigration Accepts 330 Visa Applications in Error

New Zealand immigration had to cancel 330 Silver Fern Job Search Visas approved due to a technical glitch in the online application processing system. There is a limit of 300 visas per year; however, 630 were approved this year.

The Silver Fern Job Search Visa scheme was opened for accepting applications from highly skilled young professionals across the globe on May 4, 2012. The quota is usually filled with in half an hour since the scheme was first introduced in 2010.

The Silver Fern Job Search visa is a multiple entry visa valid for six months from the date it is issued and allows the visa holder to stay in New Zealand for up to nine months.

The applicants must be between 20-35 years of age, hold a recognized bachelors degree with a minimum two years of work experience and must have IELTS band of 6.5. Furthermore, the applicant must have NZ$4,200 to meet the living costs and must not have been issued the Silver Fern Job Search visa previously.

New Zealand Immigration’s service support general manager, Rob Stevens, said, “A technical fault occurred shortly after the Silver Fern opened which enabled people to submit applications after all the places had been filled.”

“We have obtained the exact time that each payment was confirmed from the payment system, and used this to determine the first 300 applicants,” Mr Stevens said.

“We are resolving the problem with our IT vendors to identify why it occurred and to prevent it from happening again,” he further added.

New Zealand Immigration sent email few hours after the applicants had received acceptance confirmation of  their applications and payments for the Silver Fern Job Search visas  apologizing for the technical fault that allowed the acceptance of applications in error.

The affected applicants were advised to re-apply again once quota will reopen next year. The applicants will get their fee refunded.

New Zealand Immigration minister Nathan Guy has asked for enquiry into the matter to find out the causes of the technical glitch.

Tags: immigration New Zealand, New Zealand, New Zealand Silver Fern Job Search Visa, New Zealand visa, Silver Fern Job Search Visa, Silver Fern Searfch Visa, Silver Fern visa