All right, so you have successfully submitted your application and payed its fee. Now you have to send them your chest X-Ray exam. The reason you have to do this exam, according to the New Zealand embassy website, is because some countries (Brazil included) still have high rates of tuberculosis cases1. And, as we know, tuberculosis is highly contagious. I guess that's the main reason on why New Zealand obligates you to do the exam.
You can't do your exam anywhere. It must be a place recognized by New Zealand2. I made my exam in Curitiba at Instituto Forlanini3. It cost me R$ 45.00. The exam is very quick (takes about 10 minutes). After that you just have to come back in a couple of hours to get the papers.
I have seen some people on the Internet saying that they payed R$
200.00 in Porto Alegre and in São Paulo, for the same exact exam. In those cases, I believe it's
cheaper to go to Curitiba and make the exams there. You take the exam on the same day (that is, no need to pay for hotels or anything similar) and, in the bargain, you will get to know a little that great city! =P
With your exam ready, it's time to send it to the New Zealand embassy in Brasília. Remember that you don't need to send the X-Ray itself. You only have to send the sealed envelope they give you.
In my case, I sent it using the Correios (Brazil's national mail company). Even though they were on strike, the exams still arrived in the embassy (from Curitiba) in just 3 days by SEDEX4. It cost me R$ 35.00. If they weren't on strike, the deadline for the deliver would be just 1 working day by SEDEX.
I have seen stories on the Internet of people that sent their exams directly to New Zealand. Personally, I don't see any advantage of doing that. First, because you will pay a lot more unnecessarily. Second, because it takes more time to get to New Zealand (and if they don't receive your exams in 15 days, your time is up!). I am still trying to find a reason on why a few people prefer to send the exams directly to New Zealand (I guess some people just don't trust the embassy for that... who knows?). In my case, everything went well and I don't have any complains about the embassy.
After you send your exam, all you have to do is wait. In my case, the response only took about 1 week after they receive the exams! You will find that you were approved by visiting the Immigration website. You will also receive an email telling you that you are approved, but it takes some hours to come.
So, we have come trough the end of the visa series. Don't hesitate in sending me your questions if you have any. I will be glad to answer them!!
See you!
## Glossary & Links ##
1) http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/DD2D2D27-DD49-4A62-96CC-3A1F32223C8E/0/1121.pdf
2) http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/qanda/whsonline.htm
3) http://institutoforlanini.com.br/
4) SEDEX: Serviço de Encomenda Expressa (http://www.correios.com.br/SEDEX)
No comments:
Post a Comment