Covid-19 has compounded the stresses and mental health difficulties faced by migrants coming to New Zealand. Photo / NZME
Covid-19 has compounded the stresses and mental health difficulties faced by migrants coming to New Zealand. Photo / NZME
Constant stress around visa applications, isolation from their families and uncertainty around work situations are all concerns affecting the mental health of migrants, experts say.
Now many of these difficulties are being compounded by the effects of the pandemic, prompting local advocates to call for better access to support services.
The call comes as the timeframe for the Government's plans to process 165,000 one-off residence visas is pushed out by six months.
Ayra Sosa, 27, came to New Zealand on a working holiday visa in 2019 from Argentina and hasn't left since. Photo / Supplied
Since 2020, Sosa has applied for extension after extension for her visa. Each application left her waiting in limbo for weeks.
"Last year, I was two weeks away from running out of a visa. I couldn't sleep. I was stressed at work. My nerves were on edge all the time. I was angry at everyone. It was really, really bad for me."
Sosa also experienced the death of her father while away from home.
Sosa woke up at 6am one day in October to a flood of mobile notifications from her father's girlfriend in Argentina. By the time Sosa was able to get in touch her father was unresponsive and in hospital.
"We Facetimed the hospital, but my dad wasn't my dad anymore."
Sosa's father suffered a viral infection from a blood transfusion. He died within hours.
Sosa said her father's death, like her grandmother's a couple of months later, still did not seem real.
"I grieve for them but I can still forget they're gone."
Sosa said these were just two events where she could not be at her family's side.
"It's part of the decision to move, missing so many important moments because you're trying to be somewhere better."
Sosa said working in Pāpāmoa gave her a better quality of life compared to doing the same job back at home.
Farnoosh Arpanaei, 21, moved to Rotorua six months ago from Tehran, Iran. Photo / Andrew Warner
Farnoosh Arpanaei, 21, moved to Rotorua from Tehran, Iran, with her parents and younger brother six months ago.
"In Iran there are not too many opportunities. Everything is harder."
Arpanaei, a student at Toi Ohomai, hoped to manage her own jewellery brand one day.
"Missing friends and family are the most difficult parts of [migrating]," Arpanaei said.
"It can be difficult to [adjust] to a new language, new culture, new people."
Tauranga Multicultural Council manager Premila D'Mello said migrants were severely affected severely by the pandemic.
"Isolation and loneliness impacted negatively on migrant mental health because many migrants looked to their churches, temples and mosques for their social well-being but this was not possible due to the pandemic.
"Many of the migrants lost their jobs in the hospitality industry and were forced to work in lower-paid jobs to retain their work visas. Many migrants who were business owners suffered losses during this time."
D'Mello said migrants also faced an untold amount of fear and anxiety due to misinformation about vaccination while experiencing trauma and fear from the deaths of loved ones overseas.
"Reinvigorating and reviving the cultural celebrations that happened in Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty pre-Covid is crucial [to recovery]."
Rotorua Multicultural Council president Dr Margriet Theron said migrants who arrived during the Covid epidemic took longer to settle. Photo / File
Rotorua Multicultural Council president Dr Margriet Theron said migrants who arrived during the pandemic took longer to settle, build new networks and get access to support.
"They had no idea how food banks worked, for example. Being skilled migrants on relatively high salaries, the wage subsidies provided by the Government during the early days of Covid covered their tax and the rent on their houses, leaving little money for food.
"More recently, we have been funded by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities to deliver care packs to migrant families in Covid home isolation."
Theron said there was a shortage of mental health workers in New Zealand, and for some migrants with language barriers it was even harder to access the available mental health services.
"At the Rotorua Multicultural Council we do what we can. We are pleased that we can now, once again, run events such as Environmental Wellbeing in Geyserland and the Women's Wellbeing Programme."
Victoria University of Wellington senior lecturer in health and Rutherford Discovery Fellow Dr Ágnes Szabó. Photo/ Supplied
Dr Ágnes Szabó is a Senior Lecturer in Health and a Rutherford Discovery Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington.
Szabó said some migrants could be living in constant stress due to visa status, discrimination, or trying to find a home which could lead to mental health issues exacerbated by Covid-19.
"Being in lockdowns and the fear of getting sick was difficult enough for everyone, but it was made even worse for those who were separated from their families.
"Feeling that you belong and are accepted by locals is vital to mental health and wellbeing."
Where to get help
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
