A DHB worker locked out of New Zealand says he's being made to feel like "a fool" for leaving the country to visit his ailing father last year
Layeequlla Baig moved to Hawkes Bay, a region with just under 180,000 people, six years ago as a student from a city of seven million in India.
“It was a choice between New Zealand and Australia. I chose New Zealand because I liked the cricket team, but also because it was just so beautiful and the people were amazing,” Baig says.
After completing his studies, Baig started working at the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board as a procurement intern and within seven months was promoted to full-time procurement specialist. Baig says he feels connected to the region and often helps out the community. He also sits on the boards of the Hawkes Bay Multicultural Association and Hawke's Bay Young Professionals and was part of the local DHB's Covid response team in the middle of last year's lockdown.
Baig says he felt responsible to "give back" to his community for being part of the "team of five million".
But for more than 10 months he has been locked out of the country.
Baig left for India last October to visit his dying father and says he’s been made to feel like a “fool” for leaving.
Amid grieving the death of his father, Baig has been pleading to Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi for an exemption to allow him and others like him stuck overseas to be allowed back into the country.
Migrants on Resident Work Visas who left New Zealand between December 1, 2019 and October 9, 2020 could apply for a request to travel back, but Baig left on October 27.
In March last year Baig became eligible to apply for permanent residency, but because he was currently in India, Immigration NZ decided it will process his application as under the offshore category, although he was very much in the country when he made his application.
So Baig will have to wait for Immigration NZ to clear the current onshore applications backlog before getting started on processing his application.
"That's going to take forever," he says.
In July, Immigration NZ announced it was refunding 50,000 offshore applicants who had applied for residency after August 2020 because of the growing backlog.
But time is of the essence because Baig’s current talent visa is set to expire in November.
“I have lived and worked hard to make Hawkes Bay my home and now with less than four months to go before my work visa expires, I find myself in the most desperate and helpless situation which I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
“I feel left out after living and working for so long in New Zealand.”
Baig, unlike many migrants locked out of the country, has been able to keep his job at the DHB, because of his highly specialised role.
“There are a good number of immigrants that are stuck overseas and the majority have lost their jobs. It's rare that I still have my job. It feels like we're collateral damage from the Government's immigration stance.”
Baig has written a petition to Faafoi requesting an extension of work visas until borders reopen, for those migrants employed by New Zealand companies and stuck overseas. He is also after border exceptions for those migrants stuck overseas.
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi did not comment on Baig's case specifically but said in a written response last year’s border exception was created to enable the return of some temporary work visa holders who were overseas and had “strong, ongoing links to New Zealand”.
“We prioritised those who were most settled in New Zealand, with ongoing employment and a place to live, who clearly intended to return in the near future,” Faafoi said.
“A final date was selected to prevent people from leaving and re-entering New Zealand multiple times as this would increase pressure on our border and MIQ systems.
“It is highly unlikely that people who are still offshore would meet the criteria for this border exception. They can instead apply to enter New Zealand via the other critical worker visa pathway.”
Attempts to enter the country through the other critical worker visa pathway had been rejected for Baig who is on a talent visa.
His petition has received 140 signatures online, a number of them DHB colleagues.
Hawkes Bay DHB has been approached for comment.
Last week cloud accounting software Xero NZ managing director Craig Hudson wrote a post on LinkedIn about his employees’ family being split apart because of the border restrictions.
“Our Covid border restrictions ripped families apart who happened to be separated when borders closed, and for family members without citizenship or permanent residency they have been stuck overseas ever since.
“I appreciate the Government doesn’t want to overpromise, but these people deserve some certainty and hope. They deserve to know the plan for their situation.”
“I feel left out after living and working for so long in New Zealand." – Layeequlla Baig
Hudson says he has nothing further to add to his comments.
In his post he says he is “appalled” migrants have been shut out for 18 months.
“These people brought their skills to New Zealand to build a better life, to bring their families across when they had settled and with dreams of contributing to a country they want to call home.”
Anu Kaloti, president of Migrant Workers’ Association, says she has been contacted by several migrants in similar situations to Baig.
“We’ve raised this with the minister and there are several petitions to bring back migrants into the country. We’ve heard of employers presenting extensive supporting documents for why their employees should be allowed back into the country, only to be rejected by officials.”
Kaloti says the way officials are making their decisions, despite many of the migrant workers being highly specialised and needed here, is perplexing.
“We have no idea why they're being rejected despite endorsements.”
Baig continues to remain hopeful he will be granted an exemption or the Government will broaden its border exceptions.
“When I moved to New Zealand it was difficult to adjust to the culture and environment, the weather. But now I’m having reverse culture shock living in my home country.
“I’m still trying to pay off the student loan I took to move to New Zealand. I'll lose my livelihood if I can't come back. It's difficult to leave somewhere you've called home for six years."
