Another chapter in my lifelong immigration story

New Zealand is a country that relies on skilled labor from overseas. The government grants various visas to skilled workers in a myriad of industries, and they have working holiday schemes for seasonal workers as well. In 2021, as the country was navigating the COVID 19 pandemic and the shortage of desperately needed healthcare workers, Immigration NZ, under the instruction of then Prime Minister Jacina Ardern and the Labour party, created a more expedient path to residency for people already under certain skilled worker and critical purpose visas, in a particular list of fields.

I and my family, happened to not only have met criteria because of my profession, but because of when we entered the country, which was part of the narrow window that was included in the list of criteria. We submitted our applications March of 2022, which was the earliest that we were allowed to, and in February, we were notified that we were granted New Zealand residency!

I am elated and relieved. When I think of all of the hoops that my family and I had to jump through to get residency and then citizenship in the United States, this process seems surreal to me. Immigrating as a family with "less skills" and little financial resources is a much different process than possessing a skill that a country needs and having the means to apply. One leaves you feeling like you are begging for acceptance, another reinforces your value to a community. (We always had intrinsic value, but the fact is that society assigns importance to its members based on what they can get from them)

I am grateful for the unique insight I received from experiencing both processes first hand.

This visa comes with certain conditions. We have to be physically in NZ for a certain amount of months per year for the next two years. After 2 years, the visa becomes permanent, even if we leave the country and stay away for many years, or never return. Five years from now, we are eligible for NZ citizenship.

With our visa, we can vote, purchase a home, and our children are now eligible for free or government subsidized University education.

Needless to say, the Sillik Family is happy with this milestone achieved.

Another chapter in my lifelong immigration story.

I keep encountering manifestations of my mantra that has guided me for the last three years.

Go Where you are Valued!