Young couple in plea for help after visa rejection

9 February 2015

A young Kiwi woman and her British husband are facing the heartbreak of having to leave New Zealand following the rejection of their visa application – despite being married for over four years and the husband working as a skilled migrant.

Tim and Bethany Dwyer, from Kingsland in Auckland, learnt that Tim’s application for a second two-year working visa had been rejected at the end of January. Tim has been informed that he must leave the country by 19 February.

This is despite the fact that Tim, 29, whose job as an arborist is on the skills shortage list, has been employed in New Zealand for the entire duration of his stay.

Tim has been married to Kiwi Bethany for four years. They met while Tim was in New Zealand on a working holiday visa, and got married in Oratia.

Tim’s visa application was rejected on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence that he and Bethany are a serious couple, despite the only difference between the application for this visa and his previous being that that the couple have been married a further two years.

“We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary on 20 December and had a lovely romantic dinner together, totally unaware that our lives were about to be turned upside down,” says Bethany, 25, who was born in Nelson but grew up in Auckland.

“This is an absolutely horrible situation for us – it’s been the worst two weeks of our lives. The decision came totally out of the blue, and we just don’t know which way to turn. Tim’s last working visa, which ran out last month, was granted within two days.”

“We have provided bank statements, tenancy agreements, travel documentation, pictures, messages and more to the immigration service but we have been rejected out of hand,” says Tim.

“I feel totally helpless and dumbfounded. How can they say we’re not a legitimate couple when we have been married for two more years since the last visa?

“My job as an arborist is on the skills shortage list and I have worked since I came here. I have never had any convictions or health issues and I’ve worked hard to make my home here – yet it feels like I am being treated like a criminal.”

The couple have been attempting to fight the decision – providing a dossier of evidence of their relationship to the immigration service and making an appeal, only to learn that there is no set timeframe for a decision nor has a caseworker been assigned to it – leaving Tim fast running out of time.

“I have until February 19 until I have to leave the country,” he says. “We have spoken to an immigration lawyer who thinks that someone, somewhere has made a mistake – but while they are taking their time getting to our case, we are going to have to leave the country – it’s just not right.

“I’ve had to stop working and we are living on savings and Bethany’s wage, but it is putting an enormous amount of stress on us both. I don’t know what to do and we need someone to help us, and to help us quickly.”

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