Immigration NZ should have a heart
Stuff reports:
It was Mileka Hamilton’s dying wish to meet her uncle from South Africa for the first time.
But now that special meeting won’t happen leaving a nine-year-old girl, with a rare bone cancer, shattered
Fifteen years ago Mileka’s uncle Kyle Peverett was caught smuggling one-kilogram of cocaine into Switzerland. He was jailed for seven months, pled guilty, served a three year suspended sentence and was deported. He was 17.
Thanks to a generous donor, Peverett’s ticket was booked for a month-long visit to New Zealand to see his niece. But the night before he was due to leave, his visa application was denied by Immigration New Zealand.
Mileka’s health is deteriorating and she wasn’t up to talking on Monday. Her arm was amputated due to a tumour and the cancer has spread to her heart and lungs.
Of course he normally would not be eligible for a visa. But his niece is dying. If that is not grounds for a compassionate waiver, what is.
Documents obtained from Immigration New Zealand state his application was denied because he had been deported from another country for transporting drugs and they were not satisfied he had “strong employment” in South Africa.
Immigration NZ acknowledged his reason to visit was “genuine and very unfortunate” but said he did not provide enough sufficient evidence to show he was genuinely only intending to temporarily stay in New Zealand.
Peverett, now 32, has just started his own IT business in Johannesburg. He declared his monthly income was approximately $350 – $580 NZD a month.
Immigration NZ were not satisfied that he had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate strong employment commitment in South Africa. He had money in his account, but they noted the funds were newly deposited without “any evidence to demonstrate the source or history”.
“They maybe thought he hasn’t got enough money and there’s no reason for him to want to go back to South Africa,” his mother, Julie Rossouw, said. “Which is nonsense because he’s just started up a business… It’s still early days.”
Yes there is a risk he might try to overstay, but then you just find him and deport him. The relatively small possibility of his overstaying is dwarfed by the total probability his nine year old niece is going to die.
It’s a no brainer. The Minister should intervene.