Hardik Pandya and Kinjal Pandya have finally been reunited after experiencing visa problems. Photo / Michael Craig
Hardik Pandya and Kinjal Pandya have finally been reunited after experiencing visa problems. Photo / Michael Craig
A new groom who was left stranded in India after his wedding following an Immigration New Zealand botch-up has been reunited with his wife in NZ after the agency granted her a visa just hours after the Herald reported about their plight.
A INZ spokeswoman confirmed that Aucklandman Hardik Pandya's wife Kinjal, 24, has been granted a visitor visa, following delays finalising the documents.
Pandya, 30, said he was overjoyed when he first got the news about his wife's visa approval on June 21 barely two hours after his story appeared on nzherald.co.nz, but was now lost for words after she arrived late Saturday night.
"I am so very, very happy that I just can't say the words," Pandya said.
"I still have to pinch myself to make sure this is not just a dream."
Pandya, who returned to India to marry Kinjal last October, has been in a constant battle with INZ to get her to New Zealand, and other issues.
Hardik Pandya and Kinjal were married in October. Photo / Supplied
His Indian passport was about to expire at the time, and he applied online to have his residence visa transferred to a new passport that he obtained while in India.
But INZ said the visa was not emailed to him because of a "human error".
Pandya could not return to NZ without the visa confirmation, and was left stranded in India for two months longer than he had planned.
There were also delays organising his wife's visa who he wanted to accompany him back to New Zealand.
He tried multiple times to reach the agency's contact centre between October and January without success, and the INZ Delhi office said it could not help because they did not have access to his files.
The IT professional said the experience had caused him intense stress and also a loss of $8000 in income for the few months that he could not work.
The agency has since apologised for the mistake and poor service, and said the officer who failed to send the eVisa email was spoken to about the error and the impact it had to Pandya and his family.
Hardik Pandya and his partner, Kinjal Pandya, say being back together has been like a fairy tale, with even Auckland's Sunday weather playing along. Photo / Michael Craig
Pandya said after picking his wife up from the airport, he welcomed her with a customary ritual into their Mt Eden home.
As a surprise, he decorated the bedroom with balloons and candles, and made her favourite dish "Chana Masala" for dinner.
They spent yesterday, Kinjal's first day in Auckland, soaking in the sights of Auckland and "just chilling".
