Hope after immigration scare
A North Canterbury woman who discovered issues with her immigration status when she tried to book a routine mammogram can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.
Teresa Danson, 46, had been desperately trying to find help since a potential new employer asked her to produce proof of work eligibility, something she had never been asked for before the mammogram incident.
She had lived and worked in New Zealand her whole life, bar the first year.
She emigrated to New Zealand with her parents and two brothers from the United Kingdom in 1972.
"I guess the message to people is if you are reading this and think youmight be in this situation, you need to check your status."
Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey
Danson tried to book a breast screening last year and was told she was not eligible as she was not a New Zealander.
After her prospective employer then asked her to prove she was entitled to work in New Zealand, she approached Immigration New Zealand (INZ), which told her the process could take up to six months and would cost her $110, neither of which she had spare.
Danson turned to Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey for help and met him yesterday.
Doocey assured her he would be expediting the matter with INZ and offered to talk to her employer to ensure she did not miss out on the job.
The INZ fees would also be waived and his office would file Danson’s documentation to theMP liaison officer, he said.
While he could not give a definitive date, he expected a positive outcome as INZ had confirmed she was not in New Zealand illegally.
Doocey said it was likely employers and medical centres were checking immigration status in light of the volume of workers coming into the country for the Christchurch rebuild, but he was surprised Danson’s status had not been flagged before now.
One of the roles of an MPwas to go in to bat for constituents, he said, and while this was the first such case he had dealt with in three years, his office had dealt with plenty of other immigration issues.
‘‘I guess the message to people is if you are reading this and think you might be in this situation, you need to check your status.’’