New Straits Times

Transnatio­nal couple reunites after 16 months apart

- KUALA LUMPUR

FOR 16 months, Covid-19 kept them apart. Now, Nur Amanina Aziz from Kuala Lumpur is finally reunited with her Filipino husband Hariz Nondrey Gomer Lara. The couple was only together for a month after their wedding before Hariz left for the Philippine­s, where he was stranded until recently.

Bernama highlighte­d their story in a Sept 15 report on the effects of border closures and pandemic restrictio­ns on transnatio­nal couples.

“This is the moment we have been waiting for, for a long time. We’ve gone through so many things, so many hard times. When I got the approval, the feeling (of joy) was indescriba­ble,” said Amanina.

She added that it took her three attempts before the government finally approved her applicatio­n on Dec 5 for her husband’s entry into Malaysia.

Hariz flew in on Feb 10 and, after completing the requisite 10-day quarantine, the couple was reunited three weeks ago.

The couple said their current focus was to get Hariz his spouse visa so that they would not be separated again.

The Filipino-Malaysian couple got married on Sept 23, 2019 and had to separate soon after to observe the cool down period required for switching visas.

When Hariz was about to return to Malaysia to begin the spouse visa applicatio­n process, Malaysia declared the Movement Control Order and closed its borders.

Hariz’s case was further compounded by the government’s decision to ban nationals from 23 countries that reported more than 150,000 Covid-19 cases, which took effect on Sept 3.

On Nov 20, the government started granting entry to foreigners from these countries who are married to Malaysians.

 ?? PIC BERNAMA ?? Hariz Nondrey Gomer Lara and Nur Amanina Aziz at their wedding in 2019.
PIC BERNAMA Hariz Nondrey Gomer Lara and Nur Amanina Aziz at their wedding in 2019.

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