New Zealand will move to level 3 of lockdown on Monday, April 27 at 11:59pm. Alert level 3 will be held for two weeks and then Cabinet will assess whether to move down another level.
The New Zealand Government relocated them from the United Kingdom last year but now won't let them back into the country they call home.
Stuck in Fiji, British nationals Abdulla Mohsin and wife Catherine have been turned away from flying back to Auckland six times in recent weeks.
The couplewas turned away by New Zealand authorities because Abdulla Mohsin is not deemed an essential worker, Immigration New Zealand said.
"It's been a frustrating process, very frustrating to say the least," he says. "It's just bonkers, it really is."
"If we had the info, we would definitely have changed our travel plans," he said.
"They refused us entry on four different occasions prior to lockdown and two more occasions when we could have got on flights from Nadi to Auckland.
"One of them was a C-130 Hercules, [part of] the New Zealand Defence Force's relief effort bringing supplies to Nadi and taking stranded passengers back."
However, they were told repeatedly they could not leave Fiji because they had the wrong visas.
Mohsin was recruited by Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities and left the UK to relocate with his wife to New Zealand to help with the housing crisis.
The New Zealand Government brought all their belongings over to Auckland and even sorted out their visas.
"They sorted out our visas, they chose what visas we were on - we didn't have any choice, they just did it all for us," Abdulla Mohsin told the Herald.
"When they bring people from the other side of the world, they have a duty of care to ensure that people are looked after in situations of an emergency nature.
"I came over from the other side of the world to help with a serious housing crisis and I've been made to feel not welcome."
Immigration New Zealand told the Herald Mohsin had applied for an exception to the border restrictions four times as an essential worker.
However, his job was not deemed to have met the requirements for an "other essential worker role", an INZ spokeswoman said.
Border exceptions can be made for people with a critical purpose for travelling to New Zealand, they include:
• Essential health workers • Other essential workers, who are specifically agreed to by the New Zealand Government • Samoan and Tongan citizens making essential travel • New Zealand-based partners and dependent children (aged 19 years and under) of a work or student visa holder who is in New Zealand • Critical humanitarian reasons.
"Individuals who believe they meet the exceptions criteria need to submit a request for an exception to the border restrictions," the INZ spokeswoman says.
"If the circumstances are considered exceptional and justify travel to New Zealand for a critical purpose, individuals will be invited to apply for a visitor visa, or to vary their existing visa to allow them to travel.
"INZ has contacted Mr Mohsin with information on the steps that need to be taken for him to be deemed an essential worker and therefore able to be considered for an exception to the current border restrictions."
Mohsin said they were not trying to get new visas to get into New Zealand as they already had valid visas to be here, they were only trying to get home from their honeymoon.
While stuck in Fiji, the Mohsins have forked out $4000 in four weeks for rent while still paying New Zealand taxes.
Abdulla Mohsin is continuing to work for his employer, Government agency Kāinga Ora.
