Farmer fumes at losing worker
Mark Adam knows a good worker when he sees one. And Harjinder Chander is that worker.
However, the Otago dairy farmer may lose the man he calls ‘‘Harrie’’ and Chander’s wife, Pawandeep, who faces deportation.
The pair were married in India in December, 2016. Adam and his family attended.
The couple had since been treated ‘‘appallingly’’ by Immigration
NZ (INZ), he said.
The department denied his herd manager a work visa under the South Island Contribution work category, due to not meeting the requirements.
In his case, he was just short of the required five years’ full employment. His occupation was also assessed as lower skilled, so his partner, who came to New Zealand in August 2017, did not qualify for a work visa on the basis of her relationship. An INZ spokeswoman said Pawandeep Chander was unlawfully in New Zealand as of June 24, and ‘‘therefore does not have the right to request reconsideration’’.
She could appeal against her liability for deportation on humanitarian grounds to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal no later than 42 days after first being unlawfully in New Zealand.
Adam said the department had been ‘‘mongrels’’ to Harjinder Chander.
That included being sent back to India just after his arranged marriage due to him wearing a turban in his passport photo.
Adam said Chander was a hard worker, who had been with him for six years.
‘‘Everybody who comes on the farm just loves him.’’
The dairy industry was desperately short of skilled workers, Adam said.