Immigration New Zealand is continuing to reject requests for travel exceptions for partners of NZ citizens and residents, despite the Minister’s public announcement on the lifting of restrictions.
Ramya Joshi (name changed) who was on a short trip back to India in March before being locked out of NZ borders had applied for travel exception as late as today, June 12, buoyant after the Minister’s public announcement on Tuesday, June 9, only to be rejected again.
“The announcement made by the minister is not yet implemented and unfortunately we do not have a timeframe on when these changes become applicable,” the email response from a customer service officer categorically said.
“You may periodically review the INZ website for any updates and announcements: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/covid-19,” the email further stated in response to Mrs Joshi’s query about the rejection and the Minister’s public announcement.
Notably, Minister for Immigration Iain Lees-Galloway had told the media on Tuesday, June 9, about a cabinet decision taken a day before that would lift the restriction on overseas partners and children from travelling to New Zealand.
Ever since border closure was implemented on Thursday, March 19 (23.59 pm), NZ citizens and residents were required to travel along with their overseas partners and children in order to get permission to enter back into the country, leaving many families separated and stuck overseas.
The latest announcement by the Minister on Tuesday, June 9 had brought much hope and delight amongst many currently separated families, who were expecting to finally get a travel exception from border closure.
However, it seems, overseas partners and families are still short of luck, as the frontline staff of Immigration New Zealand continues to reject applications for exception requests, along with defiantly suggesting that there was no timeframe for possible implementation of the said changes as announced by the Immigration Minister.