Chef work visa saved after experience was questioned

[Applicant A], a Chinese national, applied for a work visa under a skill-shortage list as a chef. To qualify he had to show the required period of genuine chef experience. He had worked at two restaurants where his role went well beyond basic cooking, but the documents first before Immigration New Zealand did not independently confirm the full scope of that experience.

Rather than guess at what would satisfy the officer, we asked exactly what an independent source meant here. It was clear that independent confirmation could realistically only come from his former employer, so we obtained a detailed letter from the owner of the two restaurants setting out his senior duties, planning menus, training staff, managing costs and food quality, health and safety, and acting as second-in-charge, which together accounted for more than two years of relevant experience. We invited Immigration New Zealand to phone the employer to verify it.

Immigration New Zealand accepted the response, was satisfied that he was a genuine chef, and granted the work visa. He continued in the role and later obtained residence through his work.

The most efficient move when work experience is questioned is to find out exactly what evidence the officer will accept before drafting anything, because a response built on a wrong assumption just invites a second round. Independent confirmation from the employer who supervised the work, set out in specific terms, carries the response in a way the applicant’s own description cannot. And offering the officer a direct line to verify turns a paper claim into a checkable fact.