Since when is being pregnant an illness?
Once again, Immigration New Zealand are making the lives of an immigrant couple a living nightmare becuase the woman has got pregnant.
How dare she!
A Brazilian couple who moved to New Zealand to start afresh have been caught in bureaucratic limbo because of an unplanned pregnancy.Marcio Tulio de Moura, 35, and his wife, Barbara Ohana de Sena Vieira, 26, applied for new temporary work visas this year but their applications were held up when a medical exam showed Barbara was pregnant.
She is five months’ pregnant and Immigration New Zealand says she does not meet the health requirements for a permit.
Mr Moura is eligible to apply for residency as a skilled migrant and can include his partner and their daughter, Ana, 4, but only if new work permits are granted.
It just makes me want to scream with frustration! Why are they still doing this? Why on earth is Pregnancy deemed to be such a danger to New Zealand? We have 2 people, working – one skilled as a stonemason, and becuase one of them is going to have take time off to give birth, they are deemed “unacceptable”?? Does New Zealand really want to be known as a country that behaves like this? Its clear they are not trying to rip the system off – they already been here contributing for 2 years.
Ms Vieira said she briefly considered an abortion – which is illegal in Brazil – but the couple want another child and decided against termination.
Right now, I am ashamed to live in a country that has put any family in that position. 
Immigration NZ manager of operations Simon Smith said a decision on the couple’s applications was pending.
I hope he has a fit of common sense! The information provided by the couple is being “assessed” so lets hope for their sake and their sanity that Immigration get that assessment done really fast, becuase to me – this is unacceptable. These people should be able to enjoy this pregnancy, not look on it with any amount of dread and uncertainty.
Yes, New Zealand needs to ensure that people don’t “rip the country off” and become pregnancy tourists – something that should have been negated anyway by closing access to automatic citizenship for anyone born in New Zealand. But surely this is just going too far.
Pregnancy is not an Appendix 10 Condition, so when applying for a residency permit, it actually doesn’t automatically disqualify you.However, Ms Vieira and Mr Moura are applying for Work Permits, and the rules are different, and as far as Immigration is concerned – you do not have an acceptable standard of health if you are pregnant, Which is quite frankly – nuts! Ok – look closely if this is a first time application – do you investigations – but not when people have given 2 years of their lives to your country already and proved themselves!
I wish them all the luck in the world!
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Richard O’Brien is to be allowed into New Zealand :)
Really chuffed to be able to blog some good immigration news for a change: The associate immigration minister – Kate Wilkinson has apparently agreed to let the great Richard O’Brien have residence in New Zealand despite not fitting any of the current criteria.
O’Brien, 68, would still have to pass police and health checks, but Ms Wilkinson had said she would make exceptions on requirements for him to be 55 or under and have a job offer in New Zealand.
So basically – what they are saying is that he can apply under the Sibling Sponsorship rules, but not have to match teh age and job offer requirements – so its not quite as Rubber Stamped from the sounds of it as it might at first look. Still – its a step in the right direction.
They are expected the application to take about a month – so all I can say is I hope they don’t get my dad’s waste-of-space case officer (because it will go through the London Office) and I hope the even bigger waste-of-space Medical officer has retired by now on the grounds of gross imbecility. Otherwise Mr O’Brien could be in for a long haul.
But good news! It’s about time.
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Worries over the New Silver Fern Visa
Well, I said it probably wasn’t as good as it sounded, and seems I’m not the only one concerned. Migrant Action Trust says:
“It’s too late when these people come here and realise there are no jobs. They get stuck here and the Government doesn’t care. It is left to people like us to pick them up
Because of course this visa doesn’t give you a job, nor is it likely to make it easier to get a job. You have 9 months, and if at the end of that you haven’t found work – you need to leave.
Besides all 300 spaces for this year were taken within 30 minutes of the new visa being opened for business. I have to say I think this was a monumental waste of government resources setting this up and placing such a tiny number of spaces. Unless the government is actually going to clamp down on people who come here with a tourist visa and look for work – I just don’t see the point of it myself.
With this visa you have to go through all the rigmarole (and cost) of getting through the Medical and Police checks – and yet you are not actually applying for a permanent visa – just the chance to see if you could get a permanent visa. And even then – it only gets you a WRT visa from the looks of things.
The worst thing is that INZ say as part of the requirements that you must:
- have a minimum of NZ$4,200 available funds to meet your living costs while you are here
Now I have no idea what planet they live on – but I think it is outrageous that they are still claiming you can survive in New Zealand with that level of funding. This is for 9 months remember.
Say you rent a flat. In Carterton where it’s cheap. A 3 bed house will set you back about $240 a week. That’s a smidge less than a Studio apartment is Wellington the size of a hotel room. If there’s 4 weeks a month, that’s $960 a month. For 9 months.
That’s $8640.
That’s just to put a cheap roof over your head. No food, bills, phone costs, travel costs. And certainly no money to find out everything that this country has to offer.
I think people will be very disillusioned at the end of this, and I think they are being right royally ripped off. I guess we have to wait and see what happens with the first batch to come through the system.
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A ritual cleansing of Immigration Paperwork.
The amount of paperwork generated by having to fight INZ was truly scary, and was taking up space in my filing cabinet that was better used for other things. Like Toilet Paper.
So, to say goodbye to the past 18 months, we have just had a ritual burning of all the crap. We have kept any original letters, but everything is scanned onto the computers anyway.
Blimey – it felt good!
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How to get your case against INZ heard.
Don’t bother going through all the rigmarole of an official complaint the way we did. You will get treated like crap and ignored anyway. Instead – try what Rhonda Aylward did, and confront the Prime Minister at the Waitangi Day celebrations with your ex-immigration-minister -“Licenced Advisor” who somehow managed to get a license despite running a scam of his own in the past involving $1,000,000,000, a Chinese “business partner” and 10 investor residency applications using the same $1,000,000,000.
Hmmmm.
So – the details we do know about what is going on (sourced from various newspaper articles, videos and a forum post on MovetoNZ by Rhonda herself. Unfortunately, the early newspaper articles are no longer available online):
§ 11.9.07 Press Release from the National Party
o Immigration spokesman Lockwood Smith says the system should show more common sense.
o Points out that Rhonda had a skilled job and was contributing
o Points out that the aged care sector was crying out for caregivers while government took the job off the skilled list.
o The Daily news had publicized Rhonda’s case when her job as a rest home caregiver was no longer accepted as suitable for PR
o Her File ended up with the then Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove
o He overturned a decision by NZIS and granted a 12 month work permit to work as a caregiver
o Willow was granted a 12 month student permit to allow her to go to school.
o The permits were fast racked and the fees waived.
o The NZIS decision would have meant that Rhonda had to leave her Kiwi son Cail behind because his Kiwi father would not let her take him out of the country.
o Rhonda believed that media coverage of the case forced the ministers hand
o Rhonda’s sister Roxanne Nolte was sponsoring her for residency.
o Roxanne had only been resident at this point for 2 ½ years so had another 6 months to go before able to legally sponsor Rhonda.
o In 2004 Rhonda successfully stopped Willow’s father forcing his daughter to be returned to South Africa. Willows father now lives in the UK.
· 14.9.07 Rhonda writes on MovetoNZ
o Rhonda and Willow given 12 month permits
· 8.6.09 Letter from minster says “” I have carefully considered your submissions and I am not prepared to intervene. The previous associate minister advised you to provide certain information to Immigration New Zealand by 24 February 2009, yet you have not done so. I do not believe that an extension is warranted.”
· 16.6.09 on MovetoNZ Rhonda says the extra info was the medical certificate.
o Medical was booked for 15th Feb
o 12th Feb. her mother in Invercargill has heart attack
o Rhonda uses the money saved for the medical to visit her mother
· 16.6.09 on MovetoNZ NZ Rhonda also says:
o NZIS have said she does not meet PR criteria because she split with her husband
o She has to leave on 23
o .10.09 with her SA daughter (7 years)and leave her NZ son (5yrs) behind
o Herself and Willow are the only members of her family who do not have NZ residency
o She would have to sign over custody of her children to her mother to allow Willow to stay
o She was granted a 12 month work permit with a view to getting PR, and has since has a 6 month permit which expires on 2.5.09
o Her grandmother, mother, sister, brother, uncle, aunt cousins and other family all have NZ residency.
o She was currently working as a cleaner at Taranaki hospital, after a work accident left her unable to work as a caregiver.
o NZIS gave her an open work permit for 6 months to allow for the change in occupation while she was applying for PR.
o On the 20th April she contacted her local MP Chester Burrows
o He passed her on to Viv Chapman who said it was highly unlikely she would get pr because:
§ The economic climate meant Kiwis should do the job
§ She couldn’t support herself as evidence by not being able to afford the medical
§ Her work/ financial situation had not improved
o She is in Paid employment and that just because she cannot pay a lump sum of hundreds of dollars this does not mean she cannot support her family.
o It is highly unlikely that she will get an extension past 2.5.09 (this was written on 16.6.09)
o Her sons father (A kiwi citizen) is still adamant that Cail must stay in New Zealand.
o She believes that NZIS have bought her silence for 18 months with the extensions.
· 22.10.09 Video Clip from Taranaki Daily News
o Fight for residency began in June 2007
o Visa was extended 3 months later (9/07) after minister intervened
o In February 2008 she was told she did not meet criteria for residency as she didn’t earn enough
o Appeal to the minister ended with a another reprieve till 23.10.09 which is when her work permit expired
o On 23.10.09 Rhonda had 42 days to leave or appeal – but she intended to do neither of those things.
o Rhonda says that she has now being diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder which her psychiatric doctor says is brought on by immigration constantly giving hope and then declines.
o Says that every time she is declined a different reason is given
§ She doesn’t earn enough money
§ Her sponsor (sister) doesn’t earn enough money
§ No proof that Willow can live with her
· Apparently she now has a letter of support from Willows father.
· 8.2.2010 Taranaki Daily News says
o Rhonda at Waitangi on Friday to confront PM
o Organized by licensed advisor (ex minister) Tuariki Delamere
o He is told that case with be looked at by PM
o By Sunday, Rhonda still waiting for confirmation of this.
o Rhonda has been fighting for residency since 2006
o Temporary work permit issued in October will run out on 10.2.10
o She then has 42 days to leave the country or become an overstayer.
o Rhonda says she is not leaving.
So, for me, there’s an awful lot about this case that does not make sense. In fairness, there’s actually a huge amount of information missing, and it would be highly unlikely to be reported unless it gets to the Residence Review Board, where you can get what amounts to a blow by blow account of the processing of an application.
So – here’s what we don’t get:
§ Why did Rhonda not ask for an extension to do the medicals?
§ Did she ask for an extension and it wasn’t granted?
o You simply cannot put in an application for residency without one, so at the moment she doesn’t actually appear to have applied for residency.
§ Why did her family not help out with the medical costs?
o If you are sponsoring someone you have to agree to support the applicant for 2 years.
o So why can’t the sponsor support her in this?
o And with so many family here, why are they not helping to fund the $300-$400 it costs to get a medical in New Zealand?
§ Why wasn’t an appeal made in October 09 when she was given 42 days to do so.
o Her refusal to do this makes no sense to me. I get that it is highly frustrating to have to go through these processes, but refusing point blank to work through the process does not really get much sympathy.
§ How can New Zealand force a mother to leave one of her children behind, and force a 5 year old kiwi child to live without his mother?
§ Have NIZ actually done as much as they can to help Rhonda, and has Rhonda done everything she can to help herself?
o I know exactly how hard it is to jump through the hoops, but you just have to do it.
o You cannot decide not to put in applications or medicals and then hope that someone takes pity on you.
o That is brutally unfair to the rest of us who also have to fight for years to get our families into the country.
§ Has this even gone to the residence review board?
o The RRB has the authority to overturn NZIS decisions f there are special circumstances.
o As far as I am aware, they can instruct INZ to take into account these circumstances (such as having a child that you would be forced to leave behind) if you do not meet the normal criteria.
§ What does the boy’s father think of all this?
o Does he support Rhonda in staying here?
o I can’t help but wonder why no one is focusing on the fact that if she left and took his son – he would lose all access to his son too and Cail would never see his father.
I’m mixed on this. On the one hand – I cannot see how any civilized country can force a mother to leave her child behind. In New Zealand child pornographers can have their identities hidden forever to “protect the child” and yet – this mother is not allowed to stay in New Zealand, even if she doesn’t fit the bill as a suitable migrant – to protect her child. There is something very wrong with that.
On the other hand, if the reports are correct (and I stress IF – because there’s a lot missing here), Rhonda doesn’t actually seem to have done that much to help her own situation, other than play on the fact that she would lose her son. I do not understand why applications and medicals are not getting done, and appeals are not being lodged through the RRB when you have the right to do so.
I can’t help but feel a little out of sorts with this – and I feel awful for feeling that way. But we too have had to fight our way through the nightmare processes, and we have had to do so by jumping through every hoop NZIS have forced us to jump. Every step of the way we have worked with the process, and I sometimes wonder if we would have been better off just going to the papers too and embarrassing the country into letting my family in, without all the expense of dozens of unnecessary medical tests (at UK Prices), repeat Applications fees, and being treated like garbage by the establishment.
It’s certainly something to think about.
I wish Rhonda and her children the best of luck. This is a horrid situation to be in, and I hope she manages to get it resolved, and I do hope she gets to stay with her Children, in New Zealand, so that Cail will be able to know his father as well.
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Passing the Medical Assesment
I’ve just received an email from the head of the Family Residence unit in Wellington in response to some questions. It took about 2 hours for him to reply – so things are looking up in the service department.
Back at the start of November I blogged about having to get further medical tests for my brother’s residency application.
Today, the Family Residency Manager has told us that my brother has “an acceptable standard of health”.
So we are through one major hurdle.
Unfortunatley we still have no idea how long the applciation will take before a case officer is assigned, but it does confirm that they are indeed getting the background work done prior to the CO been given the case to help timeframes along.
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Well that was a waste of one year of my life.
Filed under: NZIS & Immigration issues, The Family Sponsorship Saga
Finally – we come to the end of a really shitty year for me. It started with finally deciding we had enough of NZIS pissing about over the medicals, and has ended with the Ombudsman telling us to basically get stuffed.
Our letter starts off quite well, talking about our reference to the lack of published complaints process, and how they now made it accessible. So that’s a tick in the “Done” box. (lets ignore for a moment that the Ombudsman was complicit in keeping it hidden as well). Then we get to our “Concerns about delay”. This is where things get a trifle “distressing”. Basically all the ombudsman is doing is copying parts of a letter they have received from INZ about this.
That’s it.
No investigation, no review of the evidence I provided (and there was a LOT of it – it took 3 A4 envelopes stuffed to the brim to hand it in). Just a cut and paste of what INZ told them to say.
Brilliant.
I’m so glad I wasted my time actually writing to the Ombudsman, let alone ensuring that the files I sent were complete and fully referenced. It seems all I had to do was ask them to ask the nice people at INZ to repeat their crap because I was too stupid to read it the first 27 times.
Importantly – INZ have once again not been completely honest and upfront – and it disturbs me that the Ombudsman – who is let’s remember supposed to be “Independent” is so easily misled.
INZ say,
“escalation of the complaint to the DS [deputy secretary] would have resulted in yet another person having to review the full case history and [dad] would still have needed to provide further medical information”.
Well, what a load of bollocks.
For a start – this refers to the fact that once I discovered what the complaints process actually entailed – I found that the Branch Manager should have investigated the complaint himself – not hand it off to the Head of the Family Residence team. This has nothing to do with the Deputy Secretary – it has to do with following procedures properly and doing the job properly. After all – how many times was I told rather snottily that the staff were “just following the process” and couldn’t possible be helpful by breaking the process to speed things along. They always say this when they want to get out of some screw up, and hide behind it when they don’t want to bend the rules to fix said screw up. I’m sick to death of INZ cherrypicking when to follow the rules and when to ignore them depending entirely on what suits them personally. Either the rules apply to everyone – or to no one.
Secondly – if just one single person involved had had the guts and intelligence, let alone the decency to actually go back to the Medical Assessor and ask him what the hell he thought he was doing, then we should not in fact have had to provide any further medical info.
Then INZ (via the mouthpiece of the “independent” ombudsman) says:
“[the Head of the Family Team] made a real effort to explain to [me] that the residence application was subject to her father providing medical evidence to the Medical Assessor notwithstanding the fact that [I] had her personal perception of what constituted an acceptable standard of health.”
What a load of bullshit!
She broke procedure by inferring quite clearly that Dad had an appendix 10 condition, which he did not, and it is completely outside of her job to make that call. She also could not be arsed to contact the MA to ask for clarification, and became abusive when I asked repeatedly for her to clarify what the MA wanted to know.
Further – it was not MY opinion of my father’s health. By this point he had had so many tests it was not funny – and they all said the same thing – he was in excellent health. “My opinion” – my arse!
INZ also believes
“every effort was made to resolve the situation without the need to escalate it further”.
You have got to be kidding. I’ve dealt with a number of complaints over the years – and I’m telling you – the head of the family team screwed it up big time. You do not start having a go at someone and being rude to them when they make a complaint – you fix the bloody problem. The case office refused to speak to us – how on earth is that making “every effort”? He could have sorted this out months before we even made a compalnt – he just couldn’t be bothered to take an hour out of his day to talk to us.
INZ do go on to say (via the helpful mouthpiece that is the independent ombudsman, of course):
It has duly noted [my] comments and Mr Ross Wells, Manager of the Business Improvement and Risk arm of the Department of Labour has been informed of the situation. Mr Wells proposes to raise the issues when the department outlines its Performance Improvement Action to the State Service Commission, in the near future.”
Well, blimey – that’s OK then. Just a thought – TELL ME THAT IN A LETTER TO ME YOU BLITHERING IDIOTS!
Sheesh – these people really have no clue about how to deal with a situation like this properly. I need to see some action – not a meaningless “apology” that only covers about half of what INZ staff screwed up on. Not that I understand a word of what that says mind you – sounds like “pseudo-scientific-bollocks” to me. It does however win the award for the most capitals used in a sentence that says nothing whatsoever of any importance.
The only other thing the Ombudsman tells me on this score is that she understands my dads application was approved in March. No shit Sherlock. But thanks for telling me. That was nice of you. Really.
Right – then we get on to a heading of “Recent Correspondence”, which concerns that fact that no real action was to be taken against the case officer and the FRT even though they badly mishandled the case, lied and abused us.
The Ombudsman says (No really – they actually said this themselves this time):
“I consider that the appropriateness of whether disciplinary action should be taken against a staff member is an employment issue and properly for the Chief Executive of an organisation to determine”.
So basically: bugger off and shut up.
This is something that is very disturbing about life in New Zealand. Companies and organisations can hide behind the phrase “Employment issue” and use it to slam the brakes on any complaint you have about someone working for that organisation or company. You have no right whatsoever to know the outcome. I happen to know for example that the member of staff in the Labour Whips office who so elegantly called me a “dingbat” still hasn’t been sacked – despite that fact that she has now twice sent abusive emails about people “accidentally” to those people. (I think she should be sacked for gross stupidity apart from anything else). But I was not told that by the people who oversaw the investigation – because I didn’t have a right to know.
By claiming this is an “Employment issue” – the ombudsman neatly and effectively stonewalls most of my complaint – and the far more serious elements of it: why INZ staff can get away with lying – not just to applicants and their families, but to MP’s and also it seems to the ombudsman herself.
I think that’s called a Whitewash isn’t it? Or a cover up?
And finally, the ombudsman sums up with the most unbelievably gobsmacking ending I think I ever seen in answer to a complaint:
“I am pleased that your complaint has culminated in a satisfactory outcome”
Well, after almost a week on from receiving this letter – I am still shocked by this. I really do not know what to say (and as you can see – I usually have quite a bit to say on this subject). How on earth do you answer someone telling you that you are satisfied with something when you are obviously going to be bloody furious?
The fury of that alone is still burning. How bloody dare she?
You now what: as an “immigrant” in New Zealand, I may not have the right to advise people, I may not have the right to free speech, and I may not have the right to insist that INZ treat all applicants with decency and fairness, but I damn well DO have the right to decide for myself whether I am “satisfied” with the outcome of this farce. Similarly, the ombudsman may have the right to “discontinue this matter” but there is no way in hell she has the right to determine for me and my family that this outcome is anything like satisfactory.
Unbelievable.
So, how has this process affected my feelings about having emigrated to New Zealand?
Well, I really wish I could say that it hasn’t changed my perception and view of the place. But honestly – with this and with the IALA crap – my opinion of New Zealand is not much better than my opinion of the UK. I think when you have to scratch the surface of life here, such as when faced with having to deal with obstinate and lazy INZ staff, you find a level of corruption and dishonesty which is completely at odds with New Zealand’s reputation. Much like the 100% pure label that is getting a well deserved drubbing right now – the reputation for being upfront, uncorrupt and decent isn’t actually true in many cases.
I guess what it comes down to is that if you follow the (legal) advice of our local MP and “Don’t Rock The Boat” as an immigrant – then your life here will be very pretty and lovely. But the minute you stand up for something because you have been wronged, our experience shows you will be reminded quite severely that you are an “immigrant” and told to shut up and stop making a fuss.
I personally think this shames New Zealand, and is the very reason why Mary Anne Thompson was allowed to get away with fraud and dishonestly getting residence for her family. At the very highest levels there is a huge lack of willingness to deal with the problem department that is INZ. Everyone knows its broken, and needs fixing, but no one has the guts to do it. And if you as an immigrant try and take a stand – you will it seems face a bewildering lack of concern for what is happening.
It lets down future migrants, it lets down the people of New Zealand, and it also lets down the many staff at INZ who do their jobs properly, fairly and honestly. The fact that the same person is still in cahrge of family applications in London, is still bullying applicants, still doing a crap job, and gets to carry on doing it is scary.
I know I am not the only one who faced these issues. And thankfully – it is not (yet) illegal to publicise these issues on the Internet. So for the time being – the only support immigrants will get is knowing that they are not alone.
Do I think people should complain?
Hell yes! But because I also believe that INZ will not do anything, and obviously the ombudsman doesn’t give a toss either – I also think its worth making the details available on the Internet. Start a blog, put the information up on a forum or do something else, but get the information out there. I’m happy to publish people’s stories anonymously if you do not want to be named. In many cases lately – the people who get bad decisions from INZ overturned are the ones who go to the media. That says a lot about what is going on.
On this matter, and for me though – this looks like the end of the road. I will be writing to the ombudsman to express my disgust at the pointless exercise, but it looks like no matter what INZ staff do, no matter what lies they tell – nothing will be done about it. But I still have the right to tell them what I think of them. For the moment at least.
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Medical Assessments – back to the grindstone.
Filed under: Getting to New Zealand, NZIS & Immigration issues
Well, once again, even though INZ say clearly they won’t even look at an application for a gazillion years – they have already sent my brother’s paperwork to the Medical Assessor and asked for some further tests. Now one difference we did notice is that this time, the letter was sent by a “support officer” whereas with my parents application, it was an immigration officer who sent out this letter. Im wondering if that means they are using lower grade staff to do a lot of the background work before the Immigration Officers take up the case and make the decisions. Sensible if they are – except I understood that it was up to the warranted officers to make the decision as to whether an application had to go to the MA or not.
I’d check – but that would be “systematic”.
The other thing which I am being gently “optimistic” about is that they aren’t asking any questions about the epilepsy – which would suggest that they are comfortable with this aspect of my brothers health. I would like to be wildly optimistic and say that this means the epilepsy is in the clear – but the last MA – having got conformation that my dad’s Diabetes was not an issue then went looking for other things to make a fuss about. So we can’t quite tick that one off just yet.
What they want to look at is Liver Function. It seems on the forums that a lot of people are being picked up on this. My brother does have lowered function, but then Epilepsy medication will over time bugger up your liver to a certain extent. It does not however tend to result in needing transplants or anything hideous.
Most people in this situation of needing renewed LFT’s take Milk Thistle supplements and avoid alcohol for a while before the second blood tests. I’m quite a fan of Milk Thistle anyway, and Brother has been taking a daily since the original set of tests were done and the LFT’s came out higher than normal. (Sometimes having someone in the family who can read blood tests results is handy!). And thankfully – the second bloods were taken before the Alcohol-Fest which is Toast Martinborough.
They also want to test for Hepatitis C. At first I thought this was a re-test and was quite worried, thinking that there must have been a bad test result. Which would be odd. But looking back at the original medical – they don’t actually test for Hep C as standard, only Hep B.
(Note: A lot of people believe wrongly that you are not allowed to look at the medicals once they are done. You can. And you should. You should also take copies of all medical test results – so you have something to prove your case if you start getting the run-around. You may also need – as we did – to be able to give the full set of medical paperwork to your own doctors for a second opinion.)
There is an annoying aspect to this though. Once again, INZ have made a silly mistake with the application. The paperwork for the MA has a comment on it that the original lab results were not sent to them. As we know we sent them to INZ, it means that INZ forgot to pass them on.
It would be nice if they would just take a bit more care with these things, and at least try to prevent screwing things up. Its not rocket science!
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Someone gave NZIS a kicking :)
Mrs Stanners, the lady with the Kidney Failure has been granted a medical waiver meaning she will get residency in New Zealand.
The only shocking thing is that it took the media and the Associate Immigration Minister to get it done.
Apparently many people have offered Kidneys to Mrs Stanner, but it seems her brother is going to see if he is a suitable match. I really hope so – and I hope the case officers involved in this are bloody ashamed of themselves.
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When compassion should be automatic.
So once again – a lady may have to leave New Zealand next January when her work permit expires because she can’t get a residency permit. The lady in question is married to a Kiwi, and has two Kiwi child, aged 2 years and 6 months. During her first pregnancy she developed a kidney problem which became worse during her second pregnancy and has now become a serious medical issue. She has failed the medical component of the immigration application.
“Immigration is tearing our family apart. If I have to go back to the Philippines, I am surely going to die – I’d rather die with my family beside me.”
Now without a doubt – if Mrs Stanners were allowed to stay in New Zealand, it will cost the health service a lot of money. It seems she is highly likely to need dialysis or a transplant. This is not a case like we saw with my dad, where the numpties at immigration, and their medical assessors didn’t know the difference between age related kidney deterioration and kidney failure. Mrs Stanners has just 15% function in her kidneys now.
But for crying out loud! Its not as if the woman knew she had a duff kidney and then married a Kiwi to get access to New Zealand’s “world class” healthcare system. These things happen, and I can’t help but think that Immigration New Zealand gives this country an appalling name when it does not switch its brain on and think these things through.
Mrs Stanners now has to apply for a medical waiver. Fair enough – that is what the system is there for. But did you know that some people are given medical waivers automatically? Shouldn’t be possible – and yet I’ve seem people “advise” on forums that you can get them without applying – because it happened to them. Hmmmm.
But not for Mrs Stanners – who has had to ask MP Jim Anderton to intervene and contact the associate Immigration minister – who is being very careful not to offer any guarantees.
The thing that upsets me most about this sort of situation is that it leaves Mr Stanners in the position of either being apart from his wife – or leaving the country he was born in. I do not understand an immigration policy that makes it so hard for Kiwis to stay in New Zealand if they marry a non-kiwi. The policy seems to say that if you marry outside of New Zealand – we don’t really want you back. It’s a bit odd.
I really hope that someone sees some sense here – and a little compassion. It makes no sense to split this family up. Aren’t they going through enough? Mrs Stanners life is going to revolve around frequent dialysis and hospital visits, without this she may not see her children grow up.
These are the sort of stories that people need to read un understand if they plan on emigrating here. You need to look at the types of visas people are getting, and what happens to them. Emigrating is stressful at the best of times, but when something goes wrong – in this case you develop a serious medical condition while you are still on a temporary visa – then the stress levels are beyond belief.
Be very careful.
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