A meeting held between the Southeast Asian community leaders and the senior management of Immigration New Zealand on Thursday, 19th December 2019. The impetus of the meeting was to address Immigration New Zealand policies affecting South East Asian communities.
Southeast Asian community representation included Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Community Action Group. President Mr. Naveed Hamid and Principal Advisor Mr. Farrukh Gul Qaisrani represented PANZ.
The Immigration New Zealand was represented by GM INZ, National Manager Engagement, National Manager Education and Tourism, and National Relationship Manager.
First Major Announcement
In a first major announcement relevant to the Pakistani community, National Manager Engagement confirmed that;
All Pakistani visa applications will not process in the Mumbai office. All visit visa applications will be moved to Beijing.
All partnership visa applications will move to the Hamilton Office.
Second Major Announcement
After prolonged discussions, the National Manager made a second major announcement. The National Manager announced that in culturally arranged marriages, spouses will first get a 3-month visit visa, and then they can prove the requirement of a genuine and stable relationship while they are in New Zealand. This followed by work permits and permanent residence.
We thank the community for their continued support to achieve this outcome. We also thank our legal team (Mr. Farrukh Gul Qaisrani) for submitting robust submissions based on New Zealand Law and International Conventions, technically making our case relevant. The discussions with Immigration New Zealand are continuing to bring further positive changes for the community.