The Indian Weekender, 13 November 2020

10 NEW ZEALAND
Time to show
‘compassion’
for partners
separated by
border closure
Friday, November 13, 2020
The Indian Weekender
SANDEEP SINGH
With new government firmly in place,
minus the “handbrake” that was
blamed for most of the immigration
mess created under the first term Labour
government, it is time to show ‘compassion’ for
partners separated by border closure.
It has been more than seven months since
NZ borders were closed in March this year to
all non-citizens and residents and a minuscule
segment of travellers with a critical purpose
to visit NZ, causing mayhem in lives of tens
of thousands of people who were ordinarily
resident in the country.
Rini Mohandas was granted a visa to join her
NZ based husband on March 13 this year just
a few days before borders were closed and she
was not allowed to enter the country.
Since then her visa has expired, and the
couple has no idea when and how soon they
can join together and re-start their lives in NZ.
“We are only requesting the government
to show kindness and compassion and allow
us to join with our spouses. We are happy to
bear our quarantine cost,” Rini told the Indian
Weekender.
Rini married her childhood beau - who
had first arrived in New Zealand in 2017
on a student visa and then progressing
on different work visas – in November
2019.
“I was working in Dubai when my
beau went to NZ to study and work and
pursue a dream of Kiwi life in 2017.”
“After a serious discussion with
everyone in our families I had decided to
resign from my job in Dubai and return to India
to get married and start a new life together with
my husband in NZ,” Rini said.
“Now it is heart-breaking that we have to
experience separation across borders plus no
certainty of the future,” Rini said.
The story of Rini Mohandas, who was
granted a General visitor visa based on her
relationship with NZ based partner just before
border closure is not alone.
Krishna (name changed) is a permanent
"After
a serious
discussion with
everyone in our families I
had decided to resign from
my job in Dubai and return
to India to get married and
start a new life together
with my husband in
NZ"
resident who had first
applied for a partnership
visa for her newly married
husband in February 2019,
which was initially declined.
However, when applied again,
her husband was granted a General Visitor Visa
based on the relationship in February 2020 but
could not enter NZ before borders were closed.
Now the couple has no clarity on the
government’s, or INZ’s accurate position on
allowing such couples entry in NZ to join with
their partners.
“We have applied for Exception to travel to
NZ multiple times which have been declined.”
“When we call INZ pointing to Prime
Minister’s previous announcement of allowing
partners to join their NZ based partners
the staff does not have any clarity and just
respond saying that they are not processing
general visitor visa based on relationship,”
Krishna said.
According to some estimates, there is a small
cohort of around 100-150 such partners who
were granted General visitor visa based on their
relationship with NZ based partners whose visa
have expired after seven months of border
closure and are clueless about their future.
There are at least few thousands more
partnership visa applications languishing
within immigration system as uncertainty
prevails around what kind of applications are
actually being processed.
Earier this year Immigration NZ responded to
a query by the Indian Weekender on the number
of pending partnership visa applications, “INZ
can confirm that as at 14 August, there were
2,258 offshore temporary relationship-based
visa applications on hand and 2,238 offshore
residence relationship-based visa applications
on hand.”
Partnership-visa mess was
created in the first term Labour
government
Partnership visa-related problem was one of
the biggest immigration-mess created in the
first-term Labour government much before
Covid-inflicted border closure exacerbated
the scale and extent of the problem,
forcing thousands of families to live in
perpetual separation.
Undoubtedly, Immigration New Zealand and
the government has the cover of current border
closure that came into place in March this year
to keep the Covid out of the community as an
excuse for perceived inaction on partnership
visa processing.
However, the responsibility of keeping the
partners and families, separated and creating an
ignominious two-tier system - where partners
of temporary visa holders (work visas and
student visas) were treated differently and
unfavourably, - in comparison to partners of
residents and citizens clearly rests with the first
term Labour government.
Despite, government’s self-avowed focus
on getting the partnership visa issues of NZ
citizens and residents fixed and prioritised over
partners of temporary visa holders who are
ordinarily resident in NZ, the issue remains far
from addressed and resolved.
Thousands of partners and families remain
separated because of lack of clarity in
immigration policy and inconsistency in INZ’s
visa processing, which is further complicated
by Covid-inflicted border closure.
While the Kiwi-Indian community has a big
share of representation in this cohort, but it also
includes a large number of partners from the
broader South Asian region and other nations
that can be loosely categorised under “nonvisa-waiver
countries.”
Now with PM Jacinda Ardern’s new
government firmly in place with a record
mandate, along with an ethnic migrant (Priyanca
Radhakrishnan) as the new Minister for Ethnic
Communities, it is time that the government act
decisively and compassionately to end the long
and treacherous forced separation of partners.
Timeline of govt’s announcements for
partners to enter the country after border
closure
March 19 – PM announces border closure
for everyone except citizens and residents. PM
assures that partners and families of NZ citizens
and residents will be allowed in the country as
long as they are travelling along with them.
June 12 – Former Immigration Minister
Iain Lees-Galloway removes requirement for
NZ citizens and residents to travel along with
their overseas based partners and families, for
getting their entry into the country.
September 9 – Immigration Minister Kris
Faafoi make an announcement allowing
Australian citizens and citizens of 61 visawaiver
countries intending to live together with
their NZ based partners to be eligible for travelexception
to enter the country
September 14 – Immigration Minister Kris
Faafoi announces on a live video interview
with the Indian Weekender to extend the
travel-exception to partners of “non-visawaiver”
countries to enter the country and join
their partners.
September 15 – INZ issues an internal
circular to immigration advisers and lawyers
advising on how they intend to process different
types of relationship and partnership-based
visas. It clarifies that how their offices will be
processing and deciding offshore applications
for some relationship-based visas, but will not
be processing General Visitor Visa based on
relationship.