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
Groom, who was stranded in India after Immigration NZ error, thrilled to be reunited with wife in Auckland
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.
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.
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".
"We haven't seen each other since I left India, so there's just lots of catching up for us," Pandya said.
"Since my wife's arrival, it has really been like a fairy tale and even the Auckland Sunday weather was perfect."
Kinjal was thrilled and also finding it hard to believe that they're back together and that she's finally here, Pandya said.
"She's really treasuring every moment, and seems to be settling very well," he said.
Pandya, who first came to NZ in 2012 and gained residency in 2015, said their next step was to secure Kinjal a residence visa.
"When she gets NZ residence and we know our future here can be permanent, that will be our happy ever after," Pandya added.