Reconsideration reverses a declined work visa

[Applicant A] is a copywriter from South Korea who had already worked in New Zealand for a year on a working holiday, including a period with [EMPLOYER]. When [EMPLOYER] offered her an ongoing role, she applied for a work visa, but at the first stage she did not have proper representation and her response to Immigration New Zealand did not fully answer its questions. The application was declined.

We asked for a reconsideration and explained that new information can be considered at that stage. To prove the work history, we provided her Korean national pension records and tax records covering 2015 to 2022, and a letter from a current employee of her old company who agreed to be contacted directly. We showed her degree was on Immigration New Zealand’s exemption list and met the skills requirement on its own. We connected her writing-heavy duties to the copywriter role, added the employer’s support letter and work samples, and filed a corrected employment agreement with the trial clause removed.

Immigration New Zealand reversed its decision and granted the work visa on 30 October 2024, sixteen days after we lodged the reconsideration. The visa runs to 30 October 2029 for the copywriter role with [EMPLOYER].

A decline is not always final, because at the reconsideration stage new information can be provided and considered, and gaps left at the first stage can be filled. The strongest proof of overseas work history is independent, such as national pension and tax records, backed by a named person the officer can actually contact, which directly answers a failed verification. And where a qualification is on the official exemption list, it can satisfy the skills requirement by itself, which can resolve a concern even while the work history is being argued.