‘Lift off’ for citizens of Afghanistan
In my most recent video blog, I spoke about Visa options for citizens of the United States. In the current blog, for contrast I want to talk about some of the successes we have had in applying for Visas for citizens of Afghanistan.
Getting a Visa approved for a citizen of Afghanistan can be like a rocket proceeding to ‘lift-off’ as the picture above shows. New Zealand is such a vastly different country (think, safety, wealth) compared to war-torn Afghanistan and some other countries we have helped people apply for Visas from over time.
Note that the United States and Afghanistan have a connection, through the lengthy US-led war in Afghanistan which followed the September 11, 2011 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. New Zealand played a role during this war by deploying Defence personnel there. The writer would like to say that in many ways the New Zealand Government has recognised a relationship with Afghanistan and the people of Afghanistan, through the war that has taken place there and reconstruction efforts. For example, when the Taliban overthrew the Afghanistan Government in August 2021, the New Zealand Government and Defence force were involved in evacuating several citizens of Afghanistan who were located near Kabul Airport at the time. While we cannot give names, some of these evacuees have subsequently arrived at our office for legal advice.
Simon Laurent of our law firm originally started legal practice working with refugees and still often receives contact from former clients who want to help their family, many of whom are located in Afghanistan.
We will give a few examples of where we have helped, and can help, with Visas for citizens of Afghanistan.
Refugee Family Support category (Residence)
The Refugee Family Support category is a category which allows a New Zealand citizen or resident who obtained their Residence in New Zealand through their status in New Zealand as a Refugee, to sponsor immediate family members for Residence. The process is long (can take 4 – 5 years to reach conclusion) and can be expensive, because the sponsor needs to make sure family members arriving in New Zealand have suitable accommodation for at least the first 2 years.
However, the result of successful application under the Refugee Family Support category, which results in family members arriving in New Zealand from one of the countries in the world where the people have endured so much suffering, can be overwhelming. The writer has personally assisted with two successful Refugee Family Support category applications in the last few years, in one case the family have already arrived in New Zealand, in the other case the family will be arriving soon.
Temporary Visas
The sad truth is that is is very difficult for a citizen of Afghanistan and many other countries which are poor and war-torn, to obtain a Temporary Visa in New Zealand, such as a Visitor Visa. In most cases, we say there is simply no point in applying.
When receiving such applications, Immigration New Zealand is almost always going to think that the applicant is not ‘bona fide’, ie. that the applicant is not genuine in their reasons for visiting New Zealand and may not return to their home country before their Visa expires. If INZ thinks that a Visa applicant is likely to claim Refugee or Protected Person status in New Zealand once they arrive, this can also be a strong reason why a Visa application will not be approved. This is because INZ cannot simply open the ‘floodgates’ to people coming to New Zealand to claim Refugee status, as this is not a sustainable position for the country to take.
We have recently had great difficulty trying to get a Temporary Visa approved for citizen of Syria, despite the applicant being in a relationship with a New Zealand citizen (originally from Syria). If it was not for the relationship with the New Zealand citizen, we would not agree to file the application as the likelihood of decline is so high.
Special Directions (requests to the Minister of Immigration)
If there is no other category for family members of people already in New Zealand to apply under, we sometimes say that one option is to make a request for the grant of Special Direction to the Minister of Immigration.
However, we always need to point out that the Minister has absolute discretion, which means the Minister does not have to approve the request, indeed they can simply decline the request without giving any reasons. Therefore, making a request to the Minister of Immigration is not at all guaranteed to work.
We would not agree to file such a request unless there is something very special about the situation, including a very strong connection to New Zealand through family. We have assisted with these sorts of requests before, with some success, but usually only where there is something unique about the circumstances.
Other Visa categories
It is always open to citizen of Afghanistan or any other country which might be unsafe and/or disadvantaged to apply for a Visa under the usual categories. For example, an application for an Accredited Employer Work Visa might be possible if the applicant can get a job offer in New Zealand in their field and has relevant qualifications and work experience. If the job is highly-skilled, this is certainly a factor in favour of the Work Visa application being approved.
Another possibility for bringing family to New Zealand, might be for parents to apply under the Parent or Parent Retirement category. However it is true that in the case of the Parent category, the New Zealand sponsor needs to be earning quite a high annual income. In the case of the Parent Retirement category, an investment in New Zealand of NZD$1million is required. Most people in unsafe/disadvantaged countries are not in such a financial position, but some people who might be can certainly apply and may be approved.
Conclusion
New Zealand’s immigration programme receives most of its successful applications from countries such as China, India and to some extent North America and Europe.
However, New Zealand has a connection to Afghanistan, and the writer and others in the firm have assisted with some successful applications for people from there. Please contact us if you think we can assist.