Barred from moving my family to New Zealand... because my girl has Down’s
A FAMILY’S dreams of moving to New Zealand were shattered when their teenage daughter was denied a visa because she has Down’s Syndrome.
Bumikka Suhinthan, 15, was told she would not be allowed into the country because she did not have an ‘acceptable standard of health’ and would ‘impose significant costs’ on health and education services.
Her mother Nilani Suhinthan, 52, was hoping for a new life in Auckland after she was headhunted for a £74,000-a-year job as an IT consultant.
Although the rest of the familyof-five – from Buckinghamshire – were granted visas, Bumikka’s application was rejected.
Nilani and her engineer husband Nagarajah, 53, spent three months appealing the rejection.
Despite finding Bumikka a place at a local school and offering to pay the tuition and educational support fees, they were told last week the decision was final.
She said: ‘They kept telling me she would cost them money to send her to a special school. They were just adamant.
‘I approached a local school and they quoted that the tuition would cost just under £8,000.
‘I clearly stated in the application that I would pay for her school fees but they just wouldn’t listen.
‘Both me and my husband are highly skilled so we would be an asset to New Zealand. For someone to be rejected from a Western country purely because she has Down’s Syndrome is just outrageous.’
Mrs Suhinthan, who moved to New Zealand ahead of the rest of the family, had hoped they could be reunited for Christmas.
She applied for a temporary visitor visa for Bumikka so they could spend Christmas Day together in Auckland. But after flying to Malaysia, the family were stopped from boarding their connecting flight as the 15-year-old was not considered a genuine visitor.
Mrs Suhinthan said: ‘It’s complete discrimination. I’ve always told her she isn’t any different but this tears it up.
‘She doesn’t completely understand why we’re not going to New Zealand. We had to spend Christmas Day in an apartment and had to have terrible Malaysian food instead of a Christmas dinner.’
Mrs Suhinthan and her husband, 53, moved to England from Sri Lanka in 1990 and spent 25 years living in Little Chalfont, where their daughters Tanya, 19, Saumia, 14 and Bumikka grew up. In 2015 they relocated to Dublin.
Mrs Suhinthan has now left her job in New Zealand and returned to Ireland to be with her family.
‘I love my daughter too much to move the other side of the world but we were all looking forward to our new life,’ she said.
Immigration New Zealand said: ‘In Bumikka’s case, the medical assessor determined that the granting of a visa would likely impose significant costs and or demands on New Zealand’s health and special education services.’