Pinoyz2NZ 7th Meet

Another successful meet last Saturday. Many, many thanks to the organizers and speakers of the event especially to Beah, Jes, Atty. Cat, Armi, Lenny, Rhose and Reyjim. Also to Annycel for closing their resto to accommodate us.

A total of 86 kiwi-wannabees attended the gathering. Some of them are still on the researching stage while others are only a few days to their visa. I take my hat off to those who are already in the last leg of the application and yet they still go to the meet to answer inquiries of the new ones.

Beah made me seat next to people who are still deciding on whether to apply to NZ or not. I really don’t know the answer. I just gave them an idea of how the visa processing works and the fees being charged. It was only then that I realized that we spent more than Php210K for our application. This is on top of the Php32K we paid to our unscrupulous immigration consultant. Wow, that’s really a lot of money. I just look at it as an investment with a great ROI (I hope). Having laid the expenses and timetable on the table, I tell the newbies to also consider other destinations like Canada and Australia. NZ’s immigration procedure has become more expensive and lengthy than it used, maybe other countries’ policy is better. But of course they also have to consider the lifestyle and environment NZ has to offer.

Some of the topics discussed are: immigration consultants (is it necessary?), EOI, IELTS tips, WTR, Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), and of course my topic – Medicals. Though I know my subject matter very well, I am not really a confident speaker. Buti pinag-tyagaan nila ako.

There would be more gatherings like this in the future. The organizers and speakers will eventually pass the torch to others but the essence of the group will always be there. That is to help each and every one realize their kiwi-dream. Mabuhay ang bayanihan!