Family Saini

My name is Tony Saini. I am a civil engineer by profession and currently in my last semester of studies at Unitec in Mount Albert. I am working as a project engineer. I came to New Zealand (NZ) in 2010 for a better future. I studied Business Management in the past and worked with different companies including IAG and other insurers. I am a NZ citizen.

My wife’s name is Diksha Saini. We are both from India. I was studying civil engineering (June 2018 – June 2021) when we got married. After the March – June 2019 semester I went back to India and had a culturally arranged marriage on 8th July 2019. Before our marriage we got engaged in February 2019 and I then returned to NZ to continue my studies.

I returned to NZ in order to recommence my studies in August 2019 for the following semester. After the August – November 2019 semester, I then went back to India to see Diksha and we spent two months together and then applied for her visa. I thought because we would now have two months together as a couple there should not be any problems with Immigration New Zealand (INZ), but I was wrong. We had vacations planned in November and December in India. We spent time with relatives and visited various different places in order to strengthen our bond after our marriage. After completing my holidays, I returned to NZ in February 2020. During that time we both felt quite low, as we didn’t feel that we really had sufficient time to spend together and emotionally connect.

We had a case officer assigned in March 2020. Covid-19 struck and all applications were pushed to the wayside. When the application was picked up again in August 2020 we received the same questions from the case officer regarding the timeline of our relationship and requesting other evidence of our relationship. We provided everything and after two weeks we received an email that our application for a Partnership Visitor Visa (PVV) was on hold, as our relationship would fall instead under a General Visitor Visa (GVV). Border exemption applications for travel were also declined.

I have now been waiting for Diksha to join me in NZ for two years. In another two months we will celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary, but we have only spent two months actually together in person. We only have virtual conversations. Our marriage duration has crossed over two years, but we have been together for a total of only 60 days and it’s been 1.5 years since we last saw each other. This makes it even harder to persuade INZ that our relationship is genuine and stable and to be granted a PVV.

There are many cases like mine. Culturally arranged marriages make this situation even harder to navigate. Many people have been separated from their loved ones for an incredibly long period of time. This pain can only be felt by those who have gone through this prolonged period of separation. I hope the NZ Government will solve this problem as soon as they can to reunite all separated couples and families. If Diksha is unable to enter NZ to live with me, I have no other choice except to quit my job here in NZ and return to India to be with her.

We are hoping for the best outcome for everyone.

Family Garnyk

My name is Katerina Garnyk and I am writing my family’s story from Moscow, Russia.

The first time my husband (Anton), daughter (Anna) and I visited New Zealand (NZ) was as tourists for the 2013 New Year celebration. At that time, we travelled extensively through both the North and South Islands of NZ. We were so impressed with the awesome NZ scenery, extremely clean environment and friendly Kiwi people that we started to consider the possibility of a move to NZ in a serious way. To obtain a formal acknowledgment of Anton’s work experience in credit and risk finance, which would be understandable to local NZ employers, Anton began distance learning with the NZ Open Polytechnic, studying towards a NZ bachelor’s degree (Business). After extensive discussions and weighing up the various pros and cons that come with making large life decisions, we made a final family decision to move to NZ.

On 17th February 2020, Anton left our home country for Auckland, NZ, to commence his further studies towards a Master of Applied Management. Our intention was that Anna and I would follow him after a couple of months, as we needed to tidy up loose ends in Russia. That included Anna completing a full school year rather than causing a lot of disruption to her by moving her in the middle of it. Our family had never experienced life separated before we became stuck in Russia without Anton. Although the internet allows us to connect over 16,000kms, this is not proper family life. We have gone through different phases of suffering, including feelings of desperation and hopelessness, to apathy and ongoing tiredness.

The most difficult thing to deal with is the uncertainty and ongoing limbo, as the NZ Government’s shuffling and playing with migrants’ cards appears to be in accordance with their short-lived political interests, and without any logic or a clear strategy. For a time, Anna almost forgot her father and is going to celebrate a second birthday soon without a kiss and hug from her Dad.

According to current Immigration NZ (INZ) rules, only Category 3 ‘Highly Skilled’ migrants who meet a minimum salary threshold qualify for family reunification under this specific border exemption. We do not qualify under this or the limited pool of other border exemptions on offer.

Anton did not meet the required salary level for Category 3 and is now trying his best to find a new job with a higher salary. We consider the chances of him receiving such an offer to be low, and our Plan B is now for him to return to Anna and I here in Moscow next month. (Given illustration was created by Kate Garnyk, who is the wife of highly skilled Russian migrant, Anton Garnyk.

Anton completed his NZ Master’s degree studies and is now working in Auckland under a Post-Study work visa. He continues to be involuntarily separated from his wife and daughter.)