Queenstown woman's bid for clemency after visa breach denied

Queenstown business owner Caroline Douthwaite must leave the country by March 10 or she will be deported. Photo / Supplied

A Queenstown woman is "mortified" her bid for clemency from deportation has been denied.

Earlier this month, the Otago Daily Times reported Caroline Douthwaite had been issued a deportation notice after inadvertently breaching the terms of her visa.

The British citizen, who has been living in Queenstown since 2018, submitted several appeals to Immigration New Zealand in the hope of staying in the country.

Associate Immigration Minister Phil Twyford has responded advising that her deportation notice will not be overturned.

She was mortified at the decision, she said.

"It's a nightmare."

While she was now eligible to apply for a partnership visa with her New Zealand partner Kurt Wilson, as well as one of the recently announced residency visas, she could not do so while still in the country.

With less than a month to pack up her life, the move would require her to book flights, accommodation and halt her business — a process she estimated would cost her $12,000.

Douthwaite said she planned to reside in Fiji while she waited for her visa application to be processed, leaving Wilson, her dog and her business behind.

"I don't know anyone there and I am not allowed to work there.

"It has just turned my life upside down and at the same time I'm trying to run a business and save for a house."

She hoped to come back to New Zealand so she could enjoy the life she had worked for, but was worried her visa application may not be approved because of the deportation liability notice, she said.

"I've had 17 years of this, all I want to do is be able to build a successful business and pay my taxes."

Douthwaite has started an online petition to support her case.