Immigration NZ to consider dad in-waiting’s plea
The case of an expecting dad refused entry to New Zealand to be with his pregnant wife will be reconsidered by Government officials.
Stuff yesterday revealed that a fungi farming expert was allowed past our quarantine, as were select crew for a film so-secret New Zealanders can’t yet be told what it is.
But newlywed Nathan Parrott, an Australian in the United States, was denied New Zealand entry to be with his Kiwi wife, who is expecting their first child in a little over two months. He was told he was not allowed to appeal the rejection of his application to enter New Zealand. Nor was he allowed to email immigration officials back about it.
But Nicola Hogg from Immigration NZ last night said the door had reopened on his application.
‘‘Given that his wife is 61⁄2 months pregnant, a further assessment will be conducted to consider whether his personal circumstances meet the current humanitarian criteria for a border exception,’’ Hogg said.
Immigration NZ understood the impact border restrictions were having but said the bar had been set high to stop the spread of Covid-19.
‘‘All requests for a border exception are considered on a case-by-case basis against the strict border exception criteria put in place by the Government. INZ has no ability to apply discretion when considering requests against the border criteria.’’
Two previous attempts by Parrott to get an exemption were denied. As he normally lived in the US, he did not meet exception criteria available to Australians usually in New Zealand.
Stuff this week revealed 56 film workers were permitted into New Zealand. It is understood the lion’s share of these were for the Avatar sequels but New Zealanders are not yet allowed to know what the second film is.
Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford approved applications for entry from 28 companies, including one for a technical specialist for a new mushroom farm, wind turbine engineers, pipe workers to fix a problem with Wellington pipes, and film workers.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a specialist in fixing chairlifts was also allowed in. She expected more workers to be allowed in but said numbers showed that reuniting families was prioritised.
Nathan and Sandy Parrott were married on Waiheke Island in April, 2019 but, after a 10-day
honeymoon in New Zealand, he flew to Colorado Springs for work.
He is an Australian citizen while she is from New Zealand. She is now 61⁄2 months pregnant with their first child.
Parrott said he was happy New Zealand was opening up and allowing experts in.
‘‘Those particular roles ... do sound like they would have more public exposure than I would have, by simply visiting my wife, and may, therefore, constitute a slightly higher risk.
‘‘I just cannot see any logical reason for our request to be denied.’’