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‘Only fair’: Migrant given nine months to fund his return to Fiji
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September 22 2026
A migrant who lost his appeal against deportation has been given nine months to work in New Zealand so he can earn enough money to fund his return home.
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal in a decision recently said it was “only fair” that a Fijian citizen, who arrived in New Zealand in 2024, be given the opportunity to earn money for his return and initial resettlement after spending about 11 months unable to work.
The man, 34, had argued against deportation after his immigration status unravelled following a migrant exploitation complaint and an attempt to secure another work visa.
In an August 24 decision, tribunal member T R Cook rejected his humanitarian appeal but used a separate provision of the Immigration Act to order that he be granted a nine-month work visa.
“It is only fair that he be given the opportunity to earn money to fund his return to, and initial resettlement in, Fiji,” Cook said.
The man first arrived in New Zealand in January 2024 on a three-year Accredited Employer Work Visa to work as a courier driver, earning $29.66 an hour.
About a year later, he reported that he had been exploited in the job.
He alleged he had been inconsistently paid and underpaid, required to work significantly more hours than agreed, subjected to unauthorised deductions and denied some employment entitlements.
Immigration New Zealand considered there were credible indications he may have been exploited and granted him a six-month Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa.
The man then found work with a window-cleaning company.
The company became accredited in an effort to support his application for another Accredited Employer Work Visa and told immigration it regarded him as a highly valuable employee.
But his visa application was declined because he did not meet the minimum skills requirements for the role.
His previous experience as a courier driver was in a different industry and did not satisfy the relevant work-experience requirement.
After his interim visa expired on September 30, 2025, the man became unlawfully present in New Zealand and liable for deportation.
He appealed to the tribunal on humanitarian grounds.
The tribunal accepted that the exploitation he experienced had “altered the trajectory of his planned stay” in New Zealand.
But it said the circumstances leading to a person becoming liable for deportation were not usually enough on their own to establish exceptional humanitarian circumstances.
The man's new employer told the tribunal the company had struggled to attract and retain reliable workers and that losing him would be a significant setback.
The tribunal said, however, that an employee’s value to an employer would “rarely, if ever” amount to an exceptional humanitarian circumstance.
The man also said his parents in Fiji depended on money he sent home, also submitting evidences of remittances made during his stay in New Zealand.
His father was bedridden and required medical care, and evidence showed the man had regularly remitted several hundred dollars to his family.
The tribunal accepted the family would be affected by the loss of his New Zealand income but said supporting relatives through higher earnings overseas was a situation shared by many migrant workers.
It found his circumstances did not meet the high threshold required for a successful humanitarian appeal and dismissed it.
However, the tribunal said the man had been unable to work for about 11 months while unlawfully in New Zealand and should be allowed a limited period to earn money and arrange his departure.
It ordered that he be granted a nine-month work visa.
The tribunal said that if he leaves New Zealand before that visa expires, he will not be treated as having been deported, which could help avoid adverse consequences for any future travel to New Zealand.
A migrant who lost his appeal against deportation has been given nine months to work in New Zealand so he can earn enough money to fund his return home.
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal in a decision recently said it was “only fair” that a Fijian citizen, who arrived in New Zealand in...
A migrant who lost his appeal against deportation has been given nine months to work in New Zealand so he can earn enough money to fund his return home.
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal in a decision recently said it was “only fair” that a Fijian citizen, who arrived in New Zealand in 2024, be given the opportunity to earn money for his return and initial resettlement after spending about 11 months unable to work.
The man, 34, had argued against deportation after his immigration status unravelled following a migrant exploitation complaint and an attempt to secure another work visa.
In an August 24 decision, tribunal member T R Cook rejected his humanitarian appeal but used a separate provision of the Immigration Act to order that he be granted a nine-month work visa.
“It is only fair that he be given the opportunity to earn money to fund his return to, and initial resettlement in, Fiji,” Cook said.
The man first arrived in New Zealand in January 2024 on a three-year Accredited Employer Work Visa to work as a courier driver, earning $29.66 an hour.
About a year later, he reported that he had been exploited in the job.
He alleged he had been inconsistently paid and underpaid, required to work significantly more hours than agreed, subjected to unauthorised deductions and denied some employment entitlements.
Immigration New Zealand considered there were credible indications he may have been exploited and granted him a six-month Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa.
The man then found work with a window-cleaning company.
The company became accredited in an effort to support his application for another Accredited Employer Work Visa and told immigration it regarded him as a highly valuable employee.
But his visa application was declined because he did not meet the minimum skills requirements for the role.
His previous experience as a courier driver was in a different industry and did not satisfy the relevant work-experience requirement.
After his interim visa expired on September 30, 2025, the man became unlawfully present in New Zealand and liable for deportation.
He appealed to the tribunal on humanitarian grounds.
The tribunal accepted that the exploitation he experienced had “altered the trajectory of his planned stay” in New Zealand.
But it said the circumstances leading to a person becoming liable for deportation were not usually enough on their own to establish exceptional humanitarian circumstances.
The man's new employer told the tribunal the company had struggled to attract and retain reliable workers and that losing him would be a significant setback.
The tribunal said, however, that an employee’s value to an employer would “rarely, if ever” amount to an exceptional humanitarian circumstance.
The man also said his parents in Fiji depended on money he sent home, also submitting evidences of remittances made during his stay in New Zealand.
His father was bedridden and required medical care, and evidence showed the man had regularly remitted several hundred dollars to his family.
The tribunal accepted the family would be affected by the loss of his New Zealand income but said supporting relatives through higher earnings overseas was a situation shared by many migrant workers.
It found his circumstances did not meet the high threshold required for a successful humanitarian appeal and dismissed it.
However, the tribunal said the man had been unable to work for about 11 months while unlawfully in New Zealand and should be allowed a limited period to earn money and arrange his departure.
It ordered that he be granted a nine-month work visa.
The tribunal said that if he leaves New Zealand before that visa expires, he will not be treated as having been deported, which could help avoid adverse consequences for any future travel to New Zealand.
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