‘It’s a lot harder to get in now’
Two immigration success stories covered by the Listener last year reveal why they stayed.
If ever there were poster women for immigration, they are Farhanah Jeewa and Joy Yallop. Last year, as New Zealand was plunged into level 4 lockdown, they literally graced the cover of the Listener with its prescient line, “Can NZ still attract the world’s best?”
Nineteen months later, both are putting down deep roots in Aotearoa; they still teach at the same West Auckland high
One of Jeewa’s pupils came top in the world in AS [Cambridge] mathematics – scoring an extraordinary 100% in both statistics and algebra.
school where they were recruited more than four years ago to solve the chronic teacher shortage; Jeewa in maths and law, Yallop in English. Both are excellent and popular teachers and clearly enhancing New Zealand’s productivity. In 2019, one of Jeewa’s pupils came top in the world in AS [Cambridge] mathematics – scoring an extraordinary 100% on both the statistics paper and the algebra paper.
Jeewa, a lawyer before she became a teacher, also taught a Cambridge law course to pupils last year: there were five A results, two Bs and four Cs. These are world-class results.
Since arriving, Jeewa, who is nearly 35, has bought a townhouse, while Yallop and her husband, James, expect to move into their new home in October, in time for the baby they’re expecting next January.
With the recent changes to immigration settings, both are uncertain they would have been awarded residency now. “If I was to apply now, would I be able to get in?” Jeewa says.
“Am I just lucky to have applied when I did?” Yallop says. “I think it’s a lot harder to get in now and it’s such a shame really.”
Jeewa: “A lot of good people we know are going to miss out if the criteria keep rising. There’s so many people making life choices just based on residency and how many points you get. My housemate had to move jobs just so she could stay on one of the visas. She has asked her boss to sponsor her.”
Yallop, too, has another English friend applying for residency who is having to accommodate the new settings. “They’ve chosen to move out of Auckland to Christchurch to get more points on their application,” she says.
Jeewa had her own agonising decision last year. In December, her family in the UK contracted Covid. She debated whether to fly back to them in Birmingham, but the quarantine regulations made it impossible. Both her parents are fine now. Despite that, Jeewa’s here to stay. “New Zealand’s a beautiful place, but it’s the people that make it beautiful,” she says.
Yallop, 33, and her husband have never looked back since they came here four and a half years ago. “As soon as we emigrated, it was just an adventure, a holiday every weekend, jetting off everywhere,” she says. “We’ve got a nice circle of friends. I can finally say, yeah, it does feel like home.”