International graduated students excluded from New Zealand ask for exemption

This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.

Recent graduates who spent thousands of dollars on their education in New Zealand wonder why they stayed outside of a border waiver to return to their homes and jobs.

After months of being excluded from New Zealand, many say they feel abandoned by the government after years of living here and paying taxes.

Protests have been held across India, including 150 people at a rally in Delhi this week with #Migrantlivesmatter banners, with another planned for Monday.

In September, the government announced that some immigrants would be allowed to travel to New Zealand on work-to-residence, essential skills or entrepreneurial visas.

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However, post-study work visa holders were not on the list, and for many that is difficult to accept after the amount of time and money they invested in the country.

Sarith Senadheera is one of those who have been stranded and still does his IT work remotely from Sri Lanka for his New Zealand employer.

“Now for me and my partner, we have just received our clothes, everything else is in New Zealand; we are still paying the rent for our apartment, I still pay taxes in New Zealand, we are paying all other bills, insurance, nothing stops but we’re stuck here for nine months.

“If I fly from Sri Lanka, 72 hours before the flight I have to do the Covid-19 test and it should be negative before I board a flight. And I get a negative result, there is a 1 percent chance there that I can contract the virus in the flight and then go into isolation as well. “

He had his boarding pass when the border closure went into effect. Most of the immigrants accepted the policy to begin with, but now they wanted to be certain about when, and if, they could return.

Grim Prospects – Lawyer

Immigration attorney Alastair McClymont said he thought the prospects that post-school work visa holders could re-enter were low.

“I think the government is going to say that returning work visa holders should be for essential workers where there is a shortage of New Zealanders for a position and for those in critical positions. Whereas an open work visa holder who If you are a graduate you don’t necessarily fit into any of those categories, you could be doing whatever type of work is relevant to your grade.

“Second, I think the government would probably say that these people paid just for a New Zealand qualification, they weren’t paying for labor rights and the path to residency, despite the fact that international education is commercialized in the overseas in countries like India and China as a package. The government is involved in marketing studies labor rights and a possible pathway to residency, but I doubt the government will recognize that is the case. “

The government had prioritized essential skills visas over open visas, such as those for post-study workers, who do not have a specific employer, he said.

‘We’ve been waiting for compassion

Nidhi Kaushal, who was also stuck abroad, said it was irritating when it was the government that changed previous employer-specific visas to address concerns about possible exploitation if immigrants were tied to a single workplace.

“People are upset because of the discrimination between this with respect to visa categories,” he said. “Everyone should be able to enter, at least have a fair chance to return to the country, at least to settle our affairs. I received the news yesterday that my car was vandalized; I am still responsible for it.”

“We’ve just been waiting and waiting and waiting for a little consideration and compassion.”

He was absent for 10 days from his job at a telecommunications company to see his father seriously ill in hospital when the border was closed, and he never imagined that 10 days could spell the end of his five years in New Zealand.

“We have lost our sleep, our future, our jobs, our savings, we are approximately 10,000 people trapped around the world and we have valid and legal rights to be in the country. We continue to pay our expenses for nine months.

“We have all waited patiently, exhausted all of our savings and now I hate to say it, but we are all where we all started.”

Many of those with post-school work visas had used everything they had to pay for their studies, he said.

Among other immigrants who have contacted RNZ is the leader of the lifeguard team at the Hamilton pools, Rishabh Sharma, who was traveling to see her dying grandmother when the border announcement was made.

“I was scheduled to fly back on March 20 and the lockdown occurred on March 19. I tried, but couldn’t arrange an early flight back home to New Zealand.”

Belen Macchiavello, from Argentina, had lived in New Zealand for six years and she and her husband were married in New Zealand in February. Their one-year-old daughter Amy was born here, and they were in Argentina for a Catholic marriage ceremony when the border was closed. Her husband had to fly to India because his visitor visa in Argentina was about to expire, and they have been separated ever since.

“We have our house, our jobs, our baby’s things, our cars, everything is in New Zealand,” he said. “We are now literally on the other side of the world from each other and our home is in New Zealand, waiting for us to return and meet again.

‘Heartbreaking and very stressful’

“It is heartbreaking and very stressful. We are not residents of New Zealand, but we are ordinary residents. We live there and we want to get our lives back.”

Urvi Khurana’s job at Westpac had been open since March, which ended this week. “I have lived in New Zealand for three and a half years. I came to India when one of my family members was in a critical situation and was flying back on March 23. Upon learning of the border closure, I tried to I booked a flight but had no luck in one day. “

Not all have post-study work visas.

Gurinder Maan worked in a Southland supermarket and her husband was a dairy farm manager in Dipton. He resigned from his position before going on vacation with his wife and five-year-old son and was due to start his new job on June 1.

Your former employer has returned your job to you, but you don’t qualify for an exemption because you haven’t kept the same job since the border was closed.

“He has an employer-based work visa that is valid until July 1, 2021,” Maan said. “We have spent seven years of our lives in New Zealand, [we’ve] we recover everything we have in New Zealand, including all our personal belongings and documents. “

Although he has an essential skills visa and continues to work for a New Zealand company, Yu Ting Mak did not meet the criteria of living in the country for more than two years when the government announced the easing of border restrictions two months ago.

“The announcement of the blockade was made when we were literally on the plane, we only knew it in transit,” he said. “Our decision to leave when Covid was spreading was because we needed to collect some important documents required for our residency application as we had just received the invitation to apply for residency. We thought it would be best to resolve the residency application as soon as possible, so much more before the pandemic worsened. “

Not a priority – Minister

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said in a statement that the group of work visas for graduate studies had not been identified as a priority under the current criteria for border exceptions.

“The government is constantly reviewing the border configuration to ensure that we balance the need to prevent the spread of Covid while providing all possible support to individuals and industries and ensuring that there are employment opportunities for New Zealanders who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19. “

The September border exceptions were deliberately kept tight due to managed isolation restrictions, including the surge that occurred with New Zealanders wanting to return for Christmas, he said.

“In making decisions about border exceptions, the government balances the needs of many groups with the pressure that arrivals create on the administered isolation and quarantine system.

“When considering the exceptions for people who were living in New Zealand but were abroad when the border was closed, the priority has been to allow people with strong connections to New Zealand to return.

“Other factors that the government takes into account include humanitarian reasons, family reunification, financial need and ensuring that sufficient skills, experience and talents are available.”

This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.