A mother’s 11-year fight to have her son - who has cerebral palsy - move to New Zealand to live with her, has resulted in the news she has longed to hear.
Loriza Ali of South Auckland has received word that her 20-year-old son, Nathan Lyzal
Mother Loriza Ali triumphs in 11-year struggle to get a resident visa for her son, who has cerebral palsy
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“I just can’t believe it. It’s been so long now - I almost lost hope.”
A letter from Associate Minister of Immigration Chris Penk told Ali he had carefully considered her case and decided to grant a visa to her son.
The visa is still subject to Nathan meeting the requirements of the dependent child category, but his health will not be assessed.
Nathan has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and cannot walk.
It has been more than a decade since Ali first made a visa application in an attempt to move her son from Fiji, where her Fijian-Indian family is originally from, to her home in Auckland.
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She has lived and worked in New Zealand for almost 12 years since moving here for opportunities that have enabled her to support her son and elderly parents.
Her father has since died and her mother is Nathan’s main caregiver in Fiji.
The Herald shared the family’s story late last year.
Ali said at the time that applications she had made for her son to move to New Zealand over the years had been declined every time.
“The main reason they are saying is [he has an] unacceptable standard of health.
“That’s not Nathan’s fault - it’s not his fault he was born disabled.”
Nathan does not require ongoing medical attention or medication - he simply needs care, she said.
A new beginning and future
Ali has two jobs that allow her the flexibility to work from home, and she is also a qualified teacher.
She previously said she could not understand why authorities could not accept that her son had a permanent disability that could not be changed or improved.
Immigration NZ’s Acceptable Standard of Health requirement means that those applying for a visa to work or study in New Zealand must show that they have a certain standard of health.
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The requirement considers health criteria including whether an applicant is a risk to public health or is going to add significant cost to, or demands on, New Zealand’s health services.
The ASH policy has drawn controversy from the likes of Migrants Against Acceptable Standards of Health Aotearoa over the years.
Ali said she was thankful to Penk and all those who had helped and supported her in the last few months, in particular, in the fight to get her only child to New Zealand.
She is now working towards plans to bring Nathan to his new home.
Vaimoana Mase is the Pasifika editor for the Herald’s Talanoa section, sharing stories from the Pacific community. She won junior reporter of the year at the then Qantas Media Awards in 2010 and won the best opinion writing award at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.