"My time within the immigration sector started in 2009 when I began working for Immigration New Zealand in their Hamilton branch in an admin role, it didn’t take long to work my way up into the position of Immigration Officer where I worked on temporary applications, mainly employment based work visas and then onto relationship based visas."
And now 15 years later, through her devotion to improving the lives of the migrant community, we are so pleased to celebrate Holly's incredible milestone and achievement.
To continue this celebration, we reached out to Holly to ask her a multitude of questions. These touch on all aspects within the immigration industry, including her own personal experiences, and we can't wait to share her answers with you all!
1) Reflecting on your 15 years in the immigration industry, what have been the most significant changes you've observed in New Zealand's immigration policies and processes?
It’s hard to keep track, there have been so many changes (for better or worse). The first significant change in residence categories I experienced was closure of the sibling and adult child category, to this day we speak to many people who would benefit from having this category open. Other memorable moments were the introduction of the Immigration Act 2009 to replace the 1987 Act, a change from ‘permits’ to ‘visas’, constant changes of eligibility for the skilled migrant residence category (it is certainly the toughest it’s ever been at present) and of course the best thing to happen to roughly 200,000 people – the 2021 Resident Visa category.
2) Can you describe a particularly challenging case you've worked on at VisaMaxNZ and how you navigated it to achieve a positive outcome for the client?
It’s hard to pick one! There are so many cases that continue to stick with me, but I guess quite a significant one was for a couple, one of them had been granted a visa to come to NZ to study and the other had applied to follow, but not as a partner, this visa was unfortunately declined. They had unintentionally provided what INZ could have determined false and misleading information with the declined application. I met online with them and determined the most appropriate pathway to apply again and had to complete a large overhaul of the information that had been provided with the declined application, this very much had the potential to swing either way due to INZ’s firm stance on false and misleading information. It was important to be upfront with INZ over why the incorrect information had been provided, and to have substantial documentary evidence to back up the claims we were now making with the new application. Receiving the approval and letting the couple know that they can be reunited (as the student had already migrated to NZ months before we received the decision) was absolutely fantastic.
3) What do you find most rewarding about working with migrants and helping them settle in New Zealand?
For me it is very much the joy of helping people achieve their dreams. I often struggle with the fact that the pathway of many people’s lives are paved by the country they were born in, or are a citizen of. This should not determine how the world treats you, but in this day and age it does, so to overcome a lot of the barriers that are put in place for someone to migrate here and deliver the news that they are able to stay in New Zealand permanently as resident is absolutely the biggest reward of working in this industry.
Another notable mention would be reuniting couples, my favourite category of visa is partnership, most likely stemming from my experience as an immigration officer in the partnership team, and the feeling of assisting couples to be able to live together here in New Zealand is extremely rewarding.
4) How has your role evolved over the years, and what new skills or knowledge have you gained that have been most beneficial to your clients?
I have worked my way up from one of the entry points of the industry, working in the mail room of the Immigration office in Hamilton, to becoming an immigration officer. Due to a decision to move back to my hometown in Hawkes Bay, I had to ‘jump the fence’ from the public to the private sector. There are not a lot of employment opportunities in Hawkes Bay for working in the immigration industry, but I was lucky to secure a role working on reception for a local immigration law firm. It was here where I met Bevan and later became his PA working on cases together, which secured the working bond that we have to this day. After spending a solid 7 years working at the law firm I then accepted a role at VisaMaxNZ, however in making this move I was required to become licensed in order to be able to provide immigration advice, so here I am! Now provisionally licensed and halfway through my studies.
The skills and knowledge I have gained are due to the years I have remained in the industry and also a desire to think outside the box to find solutions when applicants don’t fit into the very square immigration rules of our country.
5) Based on your extensive experience, what advice would you give to someone just starting their career in the immigration advisory field?
Be a sponge and be prepared to adapt quickly.
Now more than ever immigration changes are constant, and lately, immediate. You will often be required to find alternative solutions for applicants at the drop of a hat. It is an industry where study cannot truly prepare you for the ‘real world’ as the GDNZIA course relies heavily on immigration officers applying the rules in a sensible and fair manner which doesn’t happen in a significant amount of cases.
One of the hardest facts for me to accept in this industry is, you can’t help everyone. But you can do your best to help those that are eligible, so keep fighting the good fight.
On behalf of the team at VisaMaxNZ, congratulations Holly. We can't stress enough how lucky we are to have you.
