Rt Hon Winston Peters

New Zealand First Leader

Member of Parliament for Northland
18 OCTOBER 2016

Nepalese Mother Should Understand Honesty Pays

New Zealanders are a generous people, we are more humanitarian than most, says New Zealand First Leader and Northland Member of Parliament Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“However, Immigration NZ should be reconsidering the visa of the Nepalese mother who is trying to get her severely disabled son into New Zealand.

“When Roshna Kandel applied for a residence visa in April 2013, she included her partner and younger son, but not the elder son. But now she wants Immigration NZ to allow this child who has cerebral palsy to be given a visa.

“Her story should never have been told by the NZ Herald this morning. It is a clear-cut case of deception.

“But this beat up by the Herald was expected to have Kiwis blubbering into their cornflakes over Immigration NZ declining her application for her older son’s residency under the Family Category.

“Quite rightly her son was not eligible for a medical waiver because he was not included in his mother’s previous application.

“Of course it is sad for the family, but the family should have been upfront and honest from the start.

“If Ms Kandel wanted her son with her in New Zealand, why did she not include him in the original application? The answer: Had she been honest with Immigration NZ she would not have been allowed in to New Zealand in the first place.

“The only conclusion is she tried to beat our system with a falsified application.

“Unfortunately, she has to suffer the consequences of her own dishonest behaviour.

“Many similar cases would have been turned down for similar reasons. The costs of care to New Zealand would be phenomenal to the taxpayer.

“At this time when we see so much fraud going on, what is the NZ Herald’s position on this clear attempt to exploit the New Zealand taxpayer?” Mr Peters asked.

ENDS

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