Immigration officials are reviewing some visa decisions that have prevented visits from Iranians to their New Zealand-based relatives.
One man’s parents have had their visa refusal overturned, after previously being told they were judged to be at risk of overstaying because of the political situation in Iran.
But other families are still battling – and questioning how immigration can justify its stance.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is reviewing four cases; Mahshid Ahmadi Sianav’s mother is not one of them.
Ahmadi’s one-year-old son will undergo the first of several surgeries on his hand this autumn – he was born with an extra thumb on his left hand – and she wants her mother to be with them for support.
Others in the Kiwi-Iranian community have been waiting for many months with no update on visa applications. INZ estimates show it takes 81 working days to decide 90 percent of Iranian visitor visa applications, among the slowest of any nationality.
SOURCE: RNZ News
