WTR Issue

As shared by Erlin Lumanglas

It's better to try than doing nothing. At least mabibigyan natin sila ng warning at kung anong buhay ang naghihintay dito. At least may action. Let's not wait hanggang marami tayong kababayan ang nabibiktima ng WTR issue. It's time na kumilos na ang AKLnz Pinoy para sabihan ang pwedeng sabihan.

Partner magandang idea yan but I don't think na kakagatin ng mga media sa Pilipinas ito. Mas paniniwalaan pa nilang mas mahirap pumunta sa Middle East, Africa, Europe but NZ? alam ng mga kababayan natin doon bumabaha ng milk and honey dito.

Pero subukan din natin....


This is a good suggestion. Reach out to the tri-media in the homeland. May mga members tayong kapamilya. Sana paratingin nila ang mga ganito feedback sa media outlets. Sina Gene and Weng Orejana, and Apol Bautista, mga dating kapamilya. Malaki ang maitutulong nila. At iba pa na may access sa mass media.

May mga members tayo na member din ng egroup Pinoy2nz. Lets forward these sad stories to them.

May ilang members tayo na binalaan na natin bago pa lang pumunta dito, sabi natin ihanda nila ang sarili nila sa malaking hamon. At wag munag isama ang pamilya. Tumuloy pa rin, dahil sayang daw ang visa nila. At dala din ang pamilya. Makikipagsapalaran na lang daw sila dahil sa atin e wala naman daw pag-asa. Pagdating dito, at makalipas ang ilang buwan, umiiyak na. Some of these kababayans, I have emailed privately.

Bakit hindi ipaannounce sa mga pinoy na papunta rito kung gaano kahirap mag PR ( especially yung mga hindi pa nagbebenta ng properties )? I think its better if we can just let them know and it will be their decision if they want to continue. It will be unfair kung pupunta sila rito without knowing the real scenario. Gamitin ang media.

This discussion is getting wider. the argument here is that WTR holders are not being treated fairly, stressed out, and immigration is doing nothing TO WTR'S BENEFIT.

Again, what i'm saying is why invite us to get here if there will be no support and will be left behind just like scavengers! extensions are being denied, and the kind of visa we have seems to be not properly disseminated! horror stories are everywhere, fellow filipinos even begging down for money, and now you want me to answer why did i move to nz despite the incoming recession and all the risks involved?

Did you really honestly want to have that question of yours answered? seriously?? my goodness, you really don't have a clue.

In my teeny-weeny humble opinion, our help and advise should also extend to those prospective migrants who are in the process of applying for WTR in the Philippines. If there are groups of Pinoys having discussions on how to migrate, then one of the AklPinoy stalwarts in the Philippines can give a talk and tell them the real score regarding the WTR in terms of job hunting and pr applications. If there is one brave soul who could relate their (unfortunate) experience in NZ to this group, it will be better, and a small fee for their time and effort would be a good idea too.

Siguro let's make 2 committees, one to brainstorm on helping/easing the plight of existing migrants here in nz, and the second is concentrated on a PR campaign or information drive to prospective migrants back home.

Gusto ko lang makasingit sa usapang ito, although me mga discussions kayo dito na hindi abot ng isip ko, o baka naman nagpapataasan na naman ng ihi... anyway, WTR din ako and its irritating to know that isa ako sa statistics na pinag uusapan ninyo na baka in a few months time eh uuwi na lang ng pinas dahil hindi matanggap ng employer dito dahil konti na lan ang time na natitira sa work permit. ito lang ang natutunan ko sa lahat ng pangyayari dito, naging part lang ako ng gobyernong ito para maging source ng "other income" nila. sorry to be this blunt but I feel ganito na lang ang papel ko o ng ibang migrant na pinapapasok nila dito, para me pagkakitaan. ..
As shared by Erlina Lumanglas

I sympathise with the plight of those coming on WTR-SMC and I dont think they are not given a fair chance to compete for jobs [mainly because they are on termporary permits and on a short term at that]. This plight is not just being experienced by filipinos but other nationalities as well that is processed offshore [lalo na kapag China office siguro ang nagprocess.

True, the selection fortnightly doesn't reflect how many new immigrants will be coming in to the country in a week or a few months time. however, the fact that immigration is not doing anything with the current WTR holders despite the hard time we are having here, it makes sense that we will just be eventually going home to be replaced by new comers. this is exactly what's going on right now! the statistics you want can be easily obtained if the immigration wants to bring it to the public, which i'm sure they don't, but i can assure you that most WTR holders are just going back home frustrated, disappointed, and demoralized.

with the current statistics showing the increasing rate of unemployment, kiwis returning back to nz, we don't need anything else to say that most WTR holders are just waiting for nothing. saying this is rational. you simply just have to open your eyes!

What you are talking about tariffs and trade restriction is all non-sense. these things are completely different, and are being studied economically, and governed by rules before drawing conclusions.

The thing we have at the moment is plain and simple. WTR holders are obviously having a hard time yet immigration is doing nothing. they're pretending they don't know the issue, and even the minister doesn't have a single clue. each and every day WTR visa are expiring, and these once-hopeful migrants are going back to where they come from where they sold everything they have anyway. and this is one thing you just don't understand. perhaps because you just came in the country with visitor's pass and eventually found a sponsoring company. i can't say you didn't shed effort or hardwork, but the bottomline is, it's all luck for you. however, for us, we risked not just great sum of money just to get here, but our jobs, livelihood, and even homes!

The current EOI selections do not translate to new immigrants arriving in the next few weeks or couple of months. it might even be years. who knows by time they arrive, we are on the recovery stage. its a pool, its still in their jurisdiction who'll be given the necessary visa. hence the interviews, to further cull the list.

what we should be looking at is how many have been given WTR and out of those, how many have been successful in finding a job and not in the last 12 months. Im sure INZ has those statistics and then we'll see if what you're saying is true re replacing you with new ones to battle it out..

This is the battle of the fittest, everyone should be given equal opportuniy in this job hunt irregardless if you are a citizen, resident, work visa, or the very famous WTR na kahit immigration minister hindi alam.

Approved Panel Doctors and Radiologists in the Philippines

If you need a medical examination or chest X-ray for your immigration application, you need to select a doctor and/or radiologist from our approved list.

The examining doctor/radiologist holds a supply of Immigration New Zealand medical/X-ray forms. The forms can also be downloaded from www.immigration.govt.nz/forms.

Your form will be completed by the panel doctor/radiologist and given back to you. You will be required to submit the completed medical forms to Immigration New Zealand, together with your immigration application.

Each member of your family is required to have a medical form completed. Family members 11 years and over are also required to have a chest X-ray.

Your medical examination must not be more than 3 months old at the time of application lodgement.

Please bring TWO passport sized photographs and your passport to your appointment to ensure your medical and X-ray report can be completed.

Here's the list of approved Panel Doctors, Radiologists or Clinics in the Philippines

City or County: Cebu City
Doctor/Clinic: Drs Josephina Poblete, Fideles-Quiza
Address: Velez General Hospital, 79F Ramos Street
Phone: (032) 253 2091
Type: Doctor
Map Location

City or County: Cebu City 600
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Gil Ramas
Address: Rm 314 Maria Cristina Bldg No. 3, Fuente Osmena
Phone: (032) 253 4206 Fax: (032) 233 1378
Type: Doctor
Map Location

City or County: Makati City
Doctor/Clinic: Drs Diana H Peralta and Perry Ishmael G Peralta
Address: P & D Peralta Medical Clinic, 14th Floor Jaka Building, 6780 Ayala Avenue
Phone: (00 63 2) 8172632, (00 63 2) 8100820
Type: Doctor
Map Location

City or County: Manila
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Redentor C Asis
Address: St Luke's Medical Center Extension Clinic, 1177 J. Bocobo Street, Ermita
Phone: (63-2) 524 6081 / 521 8647 / 521 0020 Fax: (63-2) 521 7753 / 526 0208
Type: Doctor
Map Location

City or County: Manila
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Jerry Te Sy
Address: St Luke's Medical Center Extension Clinic, 1177 J. Bocobo Street, Ermita
Phone: (63-2) 521 8648 ext. 16 / 521 8647 ext. 16 Fax: (63-2) 521 7753 / 526 0208
Type: Doctor

City or County: Manila
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Dionisio M Tiu
Address: St Luke's Medical Center Extension Clinic, 1177 J. Bocobo Street, Ermita
Phone: (63-2) 521 0020 / 521 8647 Fax: (63-2) 521 7753 / 526 0208
Type: Doctor

City or County: Manila
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Judith Gapasin
Address: St Luke's Medical Center Extension Clinic, 1177 J. Bocobo Street, Ermita
Phone: (63-2) 521 8647 Fax: (63-2) 521 7753 / 526 0208
Type: Doctor

City or County: Makati City 1200
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Pearla Singh-Timbol, MD
Address: Suite 304, Midland Mansion, 839 Arnaiz Street
Phone: (63-2) 817 7510 Fax: (63-2) 892-2901
Type: Doctor

City or County: Davao City
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Parkash T Mansukhani
Address: Davao Doctors Hospital, East Quirino Avenue
Phone: 63 82 224 1350 Fax: 63 82 225 4862
Type: Doctor
Map Location

City or County: Baguio City
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Julie C Cabato
Address: 2nd Floor, Rillera Building, 7 Dagohoy Street, Baguio City 2600
Phone: (63 74) 300 2993 or (63 74) 442 4609
Type: Doctor
Map Location

City or County: Makati City
Doctor/Clinic: Dr Marilyn C. Periodico
Address: Abakkus Medical Diagnostic Services 6153 Einthoven St. Cor. Osmena Highway (formerly Southsuperhighway) Palanan
Phone: 833 3548 Fax: 833 3549
Type: Doctor

Cheapest way to send money from NZ to Philippines

If you want to send money from New Zealand to the Philippines you may use the services of LM Forex and contact Larry on this mobile number - 021-611-158.

What are the Primary Steps for New Zealand Immigration Process?

The easiest way is to check the NZIS website - http://www.immigration.gov.nz. You can find lots of information about new Zealand and the immigration process.

Create an account then lodge your EOI (Expression of Interest).

Filling up the Expression of Interest forms would take sometime. Just be ready with all necessary information and documents such as passports, birth certificates, marriage certificate and school records. You need all the information from this documents in filling up the forms on Expression of Interest.

Be ready with your credit card for the payment of your EOI upon submission.

10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE COMING TO NEW ZEALAND WITH A WTR VISA

1. CFO PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION SEMINAR / GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING PROGRAM
If you are travelling with a WTR visa, you don’t need to provide an OECD certificate from the POEA BUT you do need to get an exit clearance from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, a sticker that they will affix on your passport right after you attend the pre-dep seminar which lasts for about 4 hrs.

Their general rule is to accommodate only those who have valid visas but you may plead your case with them (e.g. you already received advice from the NZIS that you will receive approved visas within 7 days), attend the seminar and return for the CFO sticker once you retrieve your passport/visa from the NZIS.

2. BOOKING A FLIGHT
Even if you’re still waiting for your visas to be returned by the NZIS, do book your flight early, preferably a month before your planned departure to avail of cheaper fares with 40 kgs baggage allowance.

Airlines allowing 40kgs / pax, include Qantas, Royal Brunei and Singapore Airlines with fares ranging from PHP 32,000 – 39,000, but you do need to provide a copy of visa / cfo clearance upon ticketing.
To book your flight, you may contact Ms. Anee Mendoza of Transnational Travel & Tours Inc. (Tel: 5337731/ 8940974 / 7533388; CP: 0917-8597400; email: trans.anee@gmail.com). She’s used to handling clients with WTR visas and is herself a member of the pinoyz2nz group.

3. BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE
It is wise to weigh your luggage bags before checking in at the airport. The airlines mentioned may allow you a 40kg baggage allowance as first time travelling migrants but they are strict in enforcing the 40kg allowance. Each kg in excess may cost you USD 28 (in the case of Brunei Air). They will also weigh your handcarry bag – you are allowed to carry upto 7 kgs only. You will be asked to transfer the excess weight to your check in luggage and you would not want to experience the hassle and embarrassment of having to stand back in line, transferring stuff from one bag to the another.

4. WHAT TO BRING
If you’re into local brands and you think you’ll have a hard time finding clothes and shoes that would fit you well in NZ, try loading your luggage with it. You may also want to include a pair of thermal clothing from Greenhills and prescription meds. No need to stuff your luggage with soap, shampoo, lotion, kitchenwares, etc. – you can buy them cheap at the Warehouse, K-mart, Pack n Save, Foodtown. Just visit these stores and compare the prices, you will observe that some items they sell cost almost the same as the ones we have in the Phils. For vitamins and cosmetics (for the ladies), you have a lot to choose from at pharmacies and the Farmers.

5. SIM CARD and PHONE LOAD
If you don’t have a roaming capacity with your smart or globe connections or you just want to shift to the local telecom provider right away, you may buy a sim card at a Vodafone booth right after you exited the airport. A sim card costs about NZD 35 and you may top up (buy load) for as low as NZD 10 (I think), the load expires in a year. You can top up your phone in many shops, like star malls (convenience shops), shopping malls, etc.

6. BOOKING INITIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
Start scouting for a place even while you’re still in the Phils. Try the trademe.co.nz website to look for the type of accommodations you want (flatting, apartment, studio, etc.). It provides search options for the number of rooms, location, and rental cost range. Ads in trademe though are posted by realty agents, so if you want to deal directly with the owners, try browsing the NZ Herald for real property ads on Wednesdays and Fridays (you’ll find the most ads during these days).

It is better, though, to check out the place first before you decide to rent them. Most often, the pictures posted are not the same as the actual place you will rent and the advertised price is about 35 to 50 NZD less than the actual rental cost. Plus, you need to talk personally to the owners or the agents about the add on costs such as the utility fee, energy fee and you need to find out if the place is accessible by bus / train and check for its proximity to markets, schools (if you have kids), church, etc.

Reasonable rates for a comfortable decent unit in the Auckland suburbs costs about NZD 175 – 250 / wk. Rental here is on a per week basis and before you move in, you may need to pay the following costs, for rental of -- say a 200/wk unit:
Utility fee 200
Cleaning / key bond 250 (refundable on departure if you haven’t vandalized the room)
Adv. Weekly Rental 200
Total 650

So, if you are coming to NZ without a friend or relative to provide you initial shelter, you may want to book for a few nights at a backpackers inn while checking out the house / apartment where you will eventually stay and take care of the more urgent things like opening a bank account, setting-up a post box and applying for an IRD.

A bedspace at a backpackers inn costs about NZD 15-20 but if you need a little privacy and decide to book a double room for you and your spouse, you may need to shell out around NZD 65 to 69 / night. If you book for 6 nights, you’ll get the 7th night for free. Check out the room rates of Queenstreet backpackers or Nomads Fusion Backpackers. They are along Fort Street, Auckland Central, walking distance to banks, post office and the Westfield mall where you will find the Warehouse, that provides the most affordable prices for basic necessities.

7. TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT
If nobody’s picking you up at the airport, you may take the bus or train from the airport to the place where you will be staying. Check out www.maxx.co.nz to find the most convenient time, mode and route for you and also to have an idea of the fare.

You may also call the Discount Taxi Ltd at 529 1000 at a public phone in the airport, inform them of your destination and ask for the fare rate. Most taxis would charge around NZD 50 to 65 from the airport to Auckland central but Discount taxis usually charge only NZD 35 for the same distance. Backpackers hotel usually have arrangements with the taxi company so it would help if you mention the name of the inn where you will be staying.

8. MONEY MATTERS

Opening an account here is very easy and fast. You may have to go to ANZ bank though coz ASB does not accept applications by a holder of a WTR visa with less than 6mos validity.

If you happen to visit the ANZ branch along Queenstreet, look for Devika. She handles the accounts of a lot of Filipinos and will help you fill out the forms, offer advice on how to manage your funds, etc. Since almost all cash transactions here are done using EFTPOS (cash card), she’ll probably suggest you get both the EFTPOS and a savings (?) account. You can use the EFTPOS everywhere from buying food to purchasing train tickets. You may use the backpackers address in opening an account.

I would like to share the contact details of our fellow Pinay who is glad to assist residents/incoming migrants (like us) who works in ANZ Bank in St. Lukes Branch Auckland.

ROSALIE "ROS" NARCISO CAGUIAT
ANZ Bank
St. Lukes Branch Auckland
098155228 (ANz St. Lukes)
0212681727 (Cell #)
095278277 (Home #)
rosaliecaguiat (ym id)

By the way, you may also open a bank account before coming to NZ. Just email the ANZ bank (website: www.anz.co.nz) and ask them to open an account for you. You may not access the account though until you appear personally in NZ to activate the account.

You may carry cash to NZ and need not declare it at the airport as long as it does not exceed NZD 10,000. It is safer to travel with travellers checks though (and no need to declare at the NZ immigration) and banks here offer higher exchange rates for TCs than currencies such as USD. They have a blanket charge of NZD 5 for conversion of USD or TCs, regardless of the amount.

Good news! You may also use your bancnet, mastercard and cirrus-cards here. To withdraw money using cirrus cards, they say you have to pay NZD 7 for each transaction.

9. POST BOX
One of the urgent things that the NZIS advises migrants to do upon arrival is to set up a post box, the address of which you may use in applying for an IRD number. You may use the backpacker’s address in the postbox application and be prepared to produce another form of identification with pix such as your Phil driver’s license, should they require you to do so.

A rental period for one year costs about NZD 135. To check the location of the nearest postshop, visit www.nzpost.co.nz.

10. IRD NUMBER
After setting up a post box, you may apply for an IRD number in the same post office, using your new post box address. You will receive your number in about 7 to 10 working days.

Good luck with the preparations!

Welcome

This is a compilation of relevant information for New Zealand Immigration process. The information has been extracted from Pinoyz2nz.

The whole purpose is to make a summary which makes it easier for the reader and this would also avoid redundancy of asking the same kind of question which has already been answered by the moderator to a different member at Pinoyz2nz Yahoo Groups.

Thanks to the moderators of Pinoyz2nz for their undying support.

Feel free to browse the site and leave your comments as content is being added.