Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi during his stand-up press conference at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi during his stand-up press conference at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A woman separated from her daughter and husband for three years says she's been offered a glimmer of hope by a new visa policy allowing migrant families into New Zealand.
Raj left India three years ago for New Zealand. She works in a Wellington café as a chef, and hasa nine-year-old daughter back in India.
She has not seen her daughter since she was five years old.
"It's really hard because my daughter is missing me," she told the Herald.
"When I call her, she just misses me and is unhappy. It's really hard without my husband and my daughter...in front of her I never show her how I'm sad, I always try to make myself happy."
But on Wednesday she was offered a fraction of hope – Immigration minister Kris Faafoi announced a one-off residence pathway visa for the roughly 165,000 migrant workers and their families stranded here through the pandemic.
"It gave me a little bit of hope, maybe they can join me in the future."
Faafoi said on Wednesday the application process will be streamlined and a majority of applications would be granted within a year of the category opening.
