Meeting eligibility requirements vs proving legal requirements

These are the two aspects of the immigration process which I think are always confused too much. While it may be easy to meet eligibility requirements, to have a visa application approved, it is necessary to prove that you meet them. 

The information on the INZ website and application forms is generally only the eligibility requirements, the legal requirements are found in the legislative instruments such as the Immigration Act 2009 or the Immigration Instructions, which give definition and qualification to the eligibility requirements.

For example, to get a work visa you need a job or job offer. This may be pretty easy, but the legal requirements tell us what kind of job and how this must be proved. This involves factors such as: it must be full time, which means more than 30 hours per week, it must be with a compliant employer, which is defined in various important ways, the job duties and description must align to the ANZSCO code that suits it best, the payrate must be within a certain range, the applicant must have a certain degree of experience or qualification, and so on. All of these legal requirements need to be proved before a visa is granted, even though eligibility is met with the job offer. 

There are also requirements in immigration law which are different to employment law. So if an employer has specific conditions for Kiwi employees that are generally OK, this may not be the case with INZ. How employees are paid for example has specific conditions for immigration that do not exist for NZ citizen or resident employees.

Being able to meet the eligibility requirements is a good indicator that it is worth making an application, and it is likely that you can submit the application. However, submitting an application does not mean that it will be approved, unless the legal requirements are not only met, but also proved.

Compare this to an application where only eligibility requirements are required to be shown, for example a passport application. To get a passport all you need to do (in New Zealand) is apply online with your RealMe login or New Zealand birth certificate, your basic details, a passport photo and payment. If you fill in the form and provide the documents listed on it, then it would be highly unusual for the passport application to be declined. 

A visa application however is not like a passport application, it is more like a job interview or more accurately, a court case. If you apply for a job, you may meet the requirements listed in the job advertisement, but whether you get the job or not will depend on your application and how well it was made, the job interview process and the discretion of the HR person interviewing you. Applying for a job just by showing you meet the requirements on the advertising is not a complete application and does not give you a high possibility of success.