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Introduction
The
New Zealand Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux is concerned
by the rise in migrants seeking our help and support.
We
received 6,849 enquiries about immigration issues in the 1998/99
year. When we consider the migrants who are included in our enquiries
on health and welfare (a total of 67,664) and financial and budgeting
(52,615) then NZACAB reports that our migrant communities are facing
a crisis.
Our
migrant clients have alerted us to three areas that are causing
undue stress and distress:
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Qualifications
Of
particular note is the situation of immigrants who arrived in New
Zealand before the change of rules determining entry eligibility
in 1995. They arrived believing their qualifications would be recognised
as they had gained points as part of the entry qualifications. They
learnt on arrival that this was not correct. They are still here,
often unable to save on low incomes to pay for the fees for re-qualification
or to move to a country where their qualifications are recognised.
They
effectively fall into the cracks between existing services. An example
is the government support for settlement for migrants through the
recent launch of the Migrants Helpline. However, it is not funded
to support all those who have been in New Zealand for more than
two years.
Until
the Migrants Hotline, the only support available was that provided
by community agencies such as ours. We applaud the move to assist
with the assimilation of new migrants.
The
following case study of an anonymous CAB client illustrates the
support CAB gives to immigrants:
Doctor
A woman from China, has been in New Zealand for six months. She
has a medical doctorate, but her qualifications do not meet the
New Zealand criteria. She says she was not told she would need to
re-train when she applied (successfully) for permanent residence.
She has registered for employment, but has not yet achieved any
job interviews. WINZ declined income support, on the basis that
her husband (still in China) is responsible for supporting her and
their child. However he, (a computer engineer) can only send a small
amount of money. The woman is willing to do unpaid voluntary work
to increase the chance of obtaining paid work.
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Professional
bodies
Immigrants
professionally qualified in medicine, dentistry, veterinary practice,
and engineering in particular, have found that they have been granted
entry on the basis of their qualifications. But if they have qualified
in countries other than Australia, Canada, South Africa or Great
Britain that they are refused registration by the appropriate body
in New Zealand.
Despite
being granted residence on the basis of their qualifications which
were approved by NZQA, these professionals found after their arrival
that they did not meet the standards set down by the various professional
bodies in New Zealand. For many this has meant either undertaking
requalification and paying full fees, taking up menial work, living
on the unemployment benefit or leaving New Zealand.
The
irony is that many unemployed migrants are in fields that have a
demand for qualified professionals. Many do not remain in the profession
they were qualified in, or become employed in less senior positions.
(Basnayake 1999).
Two
case studies illustrate this:
Doctor
A doctor from Bangladesh with some qualifications from Australia
and post-graduate work in England has re-sat some exams, and is
now required to pay $2500 for final clinical re-examination. He
is concerned that he won't be able to obtain work as a doctor in
New Zealand even after passing exams. Although he and his family's
preference is to settle in New Zealand, they plan to go to Australia
as they see more opportunities there.
Doctor
An Afghani refugee is a doctor with ten years experience and excellent
English. He's required to pay $5,000 (which he does not have) to
sit an exam before being allowed to practice. He had been offered
a job as a hospital orderly, and found that insulting. He pointed
out that in some European countries where a foreign doctor wishes
to practice, they have to choose a particular field of medicine
and are then placed under the supervision of a specialist in a hospital
for one year. At the end of that time they can become licensed to
practice in that field, so at least they have the ability to earn
a living and can later do whatever is required to expand their qualifications
to meet local requirements.
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Immigration Consultants
Immigration
consultants are not self-regulating. They are often based overseas
and are beyond New Zealand legislation. They often charge large
sums for information that is freely available through the excellent
'Settlement Kit' provided by the New Zealand Immigration Service.
A Romanian
couple was assured by an immigration consultant that they would
gain residence. They had spent $5000 to date, but all documents
had been lost, and their temporary visa had only six weeks to run.
They wanted to re-file application, as the man has two job offers
contingent on obtaining permanent residence.
Doctor
A doctor had been given advice by an immigration consultant in Hong
Kong that if a New Zealand hospital sponsored his application, he
would obtain a work permit. At the time of his enquiry, he was sitting
exams through a hospital in Wellington. However, on approaching
government departments, he was told that he would have to leave
New Zealand at the expiry of his visa as sponsorship was not, in
fact, a guarantee of a work permit or residency.
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Employment
The
EEO Trust's recent research "Employment experiences of Sri Lankan
migrants in New Zealand (1999)" confirms the experience of our clients.
Many highly motivated and skilled migrants are not being treated
equally as prospective employees.
It
has also been officially noted that poor skill matching, which may
be linked to a lack of recognition of migrants' qualifications,
is a key issue for government to consider (Department of Labour,
1999).
Further,
evidence shows that migrants generally have a positive net impact
on government expenditure through their contribution to tax revenue.
However, settlement and matching difficulties, if prolonged, impose
costs on individuals, communities and on New Zealand through lost
opportunities (Department of Labour 1999).
Teachers
A couple who were originally from Sri Lanka, migrated to New Zealand
in 1997. The man has tertiary qualifications in mathematics, chemistry
and information technology. He was a teachers' college lecturer
in Australia and has secondary teaching registration from Scotland.
The woman has a degree in biology and chemistry and was also a secondary
school teacher. They were awarded maximum points for their qualifications
and employability factor by NZIS. On this basis, they resigned from
their jobs to come to New Zealand, but found that getting a teaching
job was not easy. Both did full New Zealand teacher training and
obtained registration. The man has applied for about 200 relevant
teaching positions all over New Zealand, but has never been shortlisted
for an interview. Nor has any school contacted his referees, despite
NZQA, Ministry of Education, and Teacher Registration Board recognition
of his qualifications and experience. As a result, he is very depressed.
They are bona fide migrants with high qualifications and skills
that are in need in New Zealand. After three years of unemployment,
their hopes have disintegrated and they are in financial hardship.
Engineer
Qualified civil engineer has been here for four years, now New Zealand
citizen. In every situation he has tried for, has been told to get
New Zealand qualifications - has never succeeded in getting to the
interview stage.
Banker
Man immigrated to New Zealand with wife and two children in January
1999, having checked that his qualifications as a banker (two degrees
from Bombay) were recognised here. He qualified for permanent residence
on the points system. He has 27 years senior management experience
in India and Hong Kong. He has applied for many jobs in Auckland,
and often been shortlisted by recruitment agencies, but never interviewed
by prospective employers. Sometimes he is told that the job has
been filled "internally", but subsequently seen the same job re-advertised.
He is also told that he is over-qualified.
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Recommendations
Requirements
for successful resettlement have been identified as:
- orientation
and information services
- facilities
for learning the language of the host society
- affordable
accommodation
- equitable
opportunities and employment services.
In
addition there is a need for support for the maintenance of cultural
identity and inclusive environment (Bihi 1999). As has been discerned
for refugee resettlement (Bihi 1999), we see a need for a comprehensive
policy based on close co-ordination between different government
departments that deal with immigrants. The main ones are the departments
of Immigration, Work and Income, Housing, Health and Education.
This need appears to be recognised, in that efforts are being made
in that direction, but there is need for more work to be done in
this context.
The
general skills category used to allocate points, which was implemented
by the previous Government, has clearly caused hardship and despair
for many migrants who believed that their qualifications would guarantee
them a better life than the one they left behind. The reality for
many has been very different because they have been unable to gain
employment in their preferred areas.
We
note that policy has been changed so that now professionals cannot
enter New Zealand before they receive registration from the appropriate
professional body. But that does not assist those who arrived here
prior to the change, nor does it address the issue of whether professional
bodies are unfairly discriminating against overseas professionals.
Greater
co-ordination of policy and services targeted to the needs of the
"forgotten immigrants" would contribute to the objectives of "increasing
New Zealand's human capacity, and contributing to the development
of a culture of enterprise and innovation" (Department of Labour
1999).
Lastly,
NZACAB notes that there has been considerable political and media
comment on the number of skilled people emigrating from New Zealand.
NZACAB wishes to draw attention to the incoming skill / knowledge
and expertise that would appear to adequately counter balance the
purported 'brain drain' if we were to provide adequate support.
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NZACAB
recommends that:
- there
be specific recognition of the support needs for those who arrived
more than two years ago.
- the
concept of "bridging courses" to enable migrants to qualify to
practice in New Zealand be accepted as a key strategy to retain
and incorporate the knowledge and skills of new migrants. This
would include temporary registration with the various registration
authorities while training is undertaken for registration.
- there
be further work on requiring a Code of Ethics to be implemented
for Immigration Consultants.
- endorses
the recommendations of the EEO Trust in their report "Employment
experiences of Si Lankan migrants in New Zealand".
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References
Basnayake,
Asoka 1999, Employment experiences of Sri Lankan Migrants in
New Zealand. Equal Employment Opportunities Trust
Bihi,
Abdi 1999, Cultural identity, adaptation and well being of Somali
refugees in New Zealand. Paper presented to the Association
of Social Science Researchers
Department
of Labour. December 1999, Briefing to Minister of Immigration
Labour
Party September 1999, Policy on Immigration, Settlement and Ethnic
Affairs
The
Alliance 1999, Policy on Immigration
©
NZACAB March 2000
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