NEW ZEALAND (Commonwealth Union)_Two top hospital doctors who are unable to obtain residency through the immigration Green List are reconsidering their transfer to New Zealand, claiming the process is a nightmare. The pair, a cardiologist and a haematologist, say their family of five will not be approved until 2024, which means they will be unable to buy a home and settle down. Their specialties as an interventional cardiologist and haematologist do not qualify them for the Green List, and the family of five may be forced to return to the United Kingdom.
Sarah Hartley is a consultant haematologist who received a vital work visa to come to Tauranga Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is waiting in what was supposed to be a year-long line under the 2021 fast-track housing with her cardiologist husband Rob McIntosh. This was adjusted to an 18-month timetable, although Dr. McIntosh stated that current processing speeds would push their expected arrival date to 2024.
According to Dr. McIntosh, “At its peak, they were processing approximately 570-odd people a day and approving visas at that rate, and that’s been slowly reducing in recent weeks. They are currently only handling 235 applications per day. And there are 102,000 individuals still on the waiting list, so if we’re at the end of the line and they keep their present rate and it doesn’t reduce any more, we’re looking at a 22-month delay.”
Immigration was processing residence applications based on the expiry date of applicants’ temporary visas, and the couple believes they are at the end of the line because they had only recently gotten fresh work visas when they filed for residence in March.
With over 100,000 patients still waiting, Dr. McIntosh estimates it will take another 14 months to complete them all. The Tauranga hospital consultants are unable to purchase a home or enrol their three children, Alex, 10, and twins Iona and Abigail, 8, in permanent schools.
