Rather than point the finger at Australia, New Zealand needs to clean up its own act.
Each year hundreds of mainly Pasifika families are putting their trust in the wrong people and it was costing them dearly, an immigration lawyer says.
Richard Small’s comments come after a Tongan family he represented won a last-ditch appeal to stay in the country.
“They don’t know that they have lost their residency, as this family did, through unfair circumstances.
“It has been very difficult to get Immigration New Zealand to recognise immigration fraud, and they’ve done it very reluctantly after years of struggle.”
Viliami and Limiteti Talamai came to New Zealand in 2008 with their two young children hoping for a better life.
A year later when their visas expired they asked a family friend at their Auckland church to help them apply for residency.
But he was unlicensed and made mistakes on their applications.
The Talamais were told to leave the country.
Mrs Talamai spoke to RNZ News through her sister Lesieli, who translated her words.
“We knew that he didn’t have a licence, but we asked him for help because he’s Tongan.
“We can understand him when we’re communicating and are from the same culture.”
After five years of appeals and pleas, the Immigration and Protection Tribunal granted the Talamai family residency on humanitarian grounds this year.
“We cried – it was a celebration. Once we found out we got it we sat and prayed just to thank God for giving us a door for us to stay in New Zealand with our family,” she said.
“The children cried as well – we were all so happy.”
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