Stories by Gill Bonnett
News
Community groups selected for sponsored refugees scheme
Four church and community groups have been selected to sponsor refugees and help them settle in New Zealand. Audio
Immigration NZ accepts assessments were flawed
Immigration New Zealand is reviewing its guidelines on residence visas for ICT professionals after accepting its assessments were flawed.
No family Christmas for couple fighting Immigration
An Auckland woman and her Indian husband say they are fighting immigration officials so they can be a family again.
Parent visa freeze leaves people in 'limbo'
Eighty-three-year-old Norah Cheetham is stranded in England because of the freeze, and there are thousands of others affected, the woman's daughter says.
Immigration advisers claim secret crackdown on visas
A secret tightening up of visa criteria is under way, according to an immigration advisers' group, but Immigration New Zealand says there's has been no change to its assessments.
Boosting labour inspectorate a priority - Minister
Policing rogue employers and education providers is a top priority for new immigration minister Iain Lees-Galloway.
Strained immigration tribunal calls for support
Stressed immigration officials have been offered counselling and the tribunal is pleading for more staff as appeals against deportations jump by more than half.
Afghan teacher finds refuge in NZ after Taliban threats
A teacher who worked to build a school for girls in Afghanistan has been granted asylum in New Zealand after she and her family received death threats.
Climate change refugee cases rejected
Two families from Tuvalu have had their cases to be recognised as climate change refugees rejected.
Elderly overstayers 'left in limbo' after visa freeze
Elderly people are facing deportation because they have been caught out by a change in immigration rules.
NZ grants residence to trans woman abused in UK
A trans woman from the UK has been granted residence on humanitarian grounds after suffering years of abuse and violence in Britain.
NZer's rare win over deportation order
A tribunal has dismissed a claim that a man who has lived in Australia since he was four was a gang member.
Refugee claim unravelled after letter from 'executed' father found
A drug importer who claimed to be a refugee has been caught in a lie after investigators found a letter from his father, who he claimed had been executed by Iranian authorities. Audio
Man granted work visa after fraught asylum battle
A man at the centre of a long-running immigration case - which includes three asylum appeals and two failed residence bids - has been granted a work visa.
Woman imprisoned, chained by family sent back to India
A couple who fled to New Zealand after the wife's family threatened to burn her alive and kept her prisoner for more than a year have been sent back to India.
Asylum seeker approvals double in a decade
The number of successful claims has doubled since 2007, with many coming from China, according to new figures.
Worried 'if word gets out' - immigration official
A ministry official was worried about the public perception "if word gets out'' that people under a deportation order can sponsor others for immigration, documents reveal.
Man wrongly convicted of murder mulls compo claim
Kelvin Williams has been freed from custody after the Appeal Court ruled his murder conviction two decades ago was a miscarriage of justice.
Work visas hit all-time high
Work visas were approved for a record 226,000 people in the last financial year, and according to the government the number will keep rising.
Teachers 'taking on' underfunded ESOL without training
Teachers are warning funding has not kept up with the number of children needing help to speak English, which has increased by more than 50 percent in the last decade.
Immigration NZ's complaints procedure falls short - lawyer
The agency's new complaints procedure will be able to rule on poor grammar and tasteless office decor but not unfairness in visa decision-making, a lawyer says.
Visa proposals could leave migrants isolated - advisers
Proposed visa changes will strip workers' rights for their children and could leave a cohort of dislocated young men with no family support, immigration advisers say.
Immigrants 'bypassing health criteria' - MBIE
Immigration New Zealand closed a loophole which it says immigrants were exploiting to bring children who are sick, disabled or have special needs into the country.
Woman gains refuge in NZ from 'bully' mother-in-law
A woman who fled Jordan, claiming that her mother-in-law hit her with a stick in an attempt to cause a miscarriage, has been granted refugee status.
Serial sex offender's parole conditions tightened
A serial sex offender whose case led to Immigration NZ being temporarily stripped of the power to deport resident migrants has had his parole conditions tightened.