The following is a message we received from a supporter who has recently had an RRV application approved: I just received the email yesterday confirming a successful grant of Permanent residency. Our story is familiar and like the others, a bit unique. We arrived in Australia about 6 months after the 2001 law change. Like so many Kiwis skipping the ditch, we did it for all the right reasons and whilst we were aware there would be no unemployment benefits for us for a while (or so we thought), this didn’t phase us at the time because we came here to work hard and make a better life for ourselves. About 3 years later we went through a pretty comprehensive selection and assessment programme to allow us to be put onto the adoption and permanent care registers so we could adopt a child domestically in Australia. Being thorough, my wife actually spent a whole day with the dept of immigration trying to clarify our residential status. The answers was - I kid you not - “You are a permanent resident, but you’re not”. Conflicting signals and noises everywhere. During the assessment interviews the question came up and we provided the information we had - and that our intention is to become citizens as quickly as we can. In any case we were successful in making it onto the register and about a year later we were selected to become the permanent carers of 14 month old boy who will have access to his birth parents no less than 6 times a year as per the court order. By this time we had discovered the excessive costs associated with applying for permanent residency - which we largely already enjoyed. But with our son now in the picture, we had the uneasy feeling that someday some heartless bureaucrat might decide that they could make life difficult. Likewise, we were concerned - what would happen if we applied for PR and got rejected - would we be drawing attention to ourselves? It wasn’t like we were being dishonest or anything, but it was a truly unsettling factor. Once again I spent a day with the department and one of the options offered up was that our son could sponsor us - Excellent I said, but then there was the response “Oh no, you don’t want to do that” - why not I said - “because it will cost $38,000” - good grief. At no time did the RRV option get a mention. Some years went by and we became aware of the excellent work Oz Kiwi have been doing and the Returning resident visa. Both myself and my wife entered Australia before 1993. We started gathering the necessary information and told our various other family members about it. In a short time, one of my brothers made an appointment with an immigration lawyer - who gave the incorrect advice that “this route hardly ever works”. Likewise, my sister received the same advice elsewhere. It seemed that this would only work for some people. Was it worth the risk? I sure felt that both Australia and New Zealand were taking advantage of us - like a couple of bullies. Then I messaged OzKiwi who informed me that the advice received was wrong - and strongly encouraged me to apply. The resources provided for OzKiwi really couldn’t make the process any easier. Honestly, you guys should be getting funding from the Australian government for the excellent work you have done around this issue - it really should have been done by the department themselves. I applied and within 10 days we received confirmation of the grant of permanent residency. So let me make this completely clear. If anyone tells you that this is not a valid route, or even that it’s a loophole, they are completely and entirely wrong. The RRV is there for very good reasons. It is there for people who have been Permanent residents who have left for good reasons and have since made a substantial commitment to the betterment of Australia. This is not a loophole, it is a path for recognising people who have committed to Australia and for them to be recognised for their commitment to the country. It is my strong view that the laws should be changed so that kiwis arriving after february 2001, after working/studying for a defined period - say 3-5 years should be eligible to apply for the RRV and be subject to the same criteria those of us lucky to have been in Australia pre September 1994 are. Likewise, the New Zealand government should do what is expected of any government - they should better advocate for their citizens overseas. Also, I think it is important for us ExPat Kiwis to make our voices heard in New Zealands Elections - I am not one to advocate on the domestic issues of a country I am not living in, however, there are now options of having your expatriate rights represented. It is clear to me that the status quo actually suits both governments (and the previous governments) - and that this will remain as long as the expatriate community doesn’t use its voice. And as for the lawyers who said “this route hardly ever works”, well once my brother has hopefully received his RRV, he will be paying the lawyer a visit and insisting that the lawyer refund the consulting fee he paid to Oz Kiwi as a donation. Likewise there will be a donation coming through to you guys from my tribe before the end of the year. And now, we’re able to consider giving another Aussie child a more stable home than the one they’re experiencing. Regards Jack
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 06:00:00 +0000
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