‘Pop-up’ application centres for Immigration New Zealand
TT Services establishes ‘pop-up’ application centres for Immigration New Zealand
As part of its global visa services partnership with Immigration New Zealand (INZ), TT Services has established Pacific Access Category (PAC) registration centres in the Fijian cities of Suva and Lautoka. The two centres, capable of supporting 800 to 1200 applications a day, went operational just four weeks after conception and will remain open until PAC registrations close on 30 April.
The PAC is a unique system in which INZ allots a certain number of residence visas through annual ballot to nationals of certain Pacific Island Countries. Registrations increase exponentially during the month-long registration period, and special arrangements are made to support the rush. Following the country’s return to democracy, the scheme is now open to Fijians for the first time since 2006.
In addition to registration receipting and transfer to INZ, TT Services’ offering also included data entry and upload – an additional service intended to reduce the pressures on INZ visa officers during the peak.
With barely four weeks to go before the 1 April go-live, the Suva-based TT Services transition team set out establishing arrangements to support the receipt of potentially hundreds of applications a day. Quick work led to the sourcing of spacious, secure and centrally located premises, the provisioning of 250-300-seat ‘pop-up’ centres in both cities and the training of 55 temporary staff.
First-rate IT infrastructure was established to ensure a smooth, secure registration and data entry process, and robust physical security arrangements were put in place to ensure a safe, orderly and secure experience for clients and staff.
Speaking about the ‘pop-up’ centres, Sridhar Krishnamurthy, TT Services’ Director-Operations, commented, “we share an ex-cellent working relationship with Immigration New Zealand, and this is our way of providing enhanced services to a long-standing partner.”
ENDS