Immigration asked my aunt to leave New Zealand, but my family tried to keep her in New Zealand

An Auckland family is devastated after two of their loved ones were ordered by Immigration New Zealand to leave the country.

Loasi Latu and her husband, who have lived in New Zealand for decades, were told they had until Friday to voluntarily leave the country.

The situation was complicated by Ratu’s need to care for her brother, Viliami, who is a New Zealand resident and requires round-the-clock support.

Ratu helped raise many members of her extended family and now works as a full-time caregiver for Villami, who suffers from BroadCast Unitedlectual disabilities and epilepsy.

Loasi Latu and her brother William.
photo: RNZ/Marika Habbazi

Ratu said she was terrified of being deported back to Tonga after living in New Zealand for more than two decades.

“I’m heartbroken. New Zealand is my home. I’m scared. I don’t want to leave my brother. I’m the only one who understands him and listens to him. My family and grandchildren are here.”

Family spokeswoman Karina Kaufusi, who lives with Ratu, said it was a difficult time for the family and they had turned to RNZ for help and to go public with their story as a last resort.

“My family is heartbroken and we have psychological reports written by experts who talk about the psychological impact this incident will have not only on my uncle Bila but will actually ripple through three generations.

“My siblings and I all have good jobs and we contribute a lot to the economy. She takes care of my nieces. So they can keep their grandma. If she stayed, they would be affected psychologically if she was no longer here to take care of them. So we are very upset about it.”

The couple were technically overstayers, as they had been in New Zealand for more than 20 years on student visas.

But they say they started the residency process before their visas expired but were taken advantage of by immigration consultants who took their money without applying for residency.

They believe that if they had received better representation, they would have been granted residency years ago.

They applied to the minister for a special direction for permanent residency in 2023, but it was rejected.

They have since gathered further evidence from Associate Minister Chris Penk to make a new application, but Immigration New Zealand said they must leave the country while the application process is ongoing.

“They told my aunt and uncle that they needed to voluntarily leave the country by Friday. So all we ask is that this process be allowed to play out and for the minister to review this new and compelling evidence that we have collected.”

The new information included how Ratu’s brother, who is nearly 70 years old and suffers from BroadCast Unitedlectual disabilities and epilepsy, would be adversely affected if he left the country.

The family named him Billa and said having Latu looking after him meant he would not need full-time care, putting a strain on the public health system.

But if she can’t, then the choice of placing Bira in foster care, sending him to Tonga, or keeping him at home could mean a big change for Kaufusi.

“The first option was to put him into the already overstretched public healthcare system, which would cost New Zealand millions of dollars as he would require 24/7 supervision and care. For us, this option was not culturally appropriate.

“We are a Tongan family and in Tongan culture, we don’t leave the vulnerable, the elderly, to strangers. Family members take care of them, so as the youngest child, single, female, Tongan, my second option was an obligation and responsibility to my family, which was to sacrifice my career.

“I am a young brown female senior structural engineer. The engineering industry needs more women, more gentle people, and I am willing to sacrifice and give up all of this so that I can take care of my uncle Bila and provide him with the 24/7 supervision he needs.

“The third option is to send him back to Tonga… He deserves a good quality of life here. Tonga does not have enough resources to take care of my uncle.”

They said they believed sending Ratu to Tonga would have humanitarian and economic impacts as it would increase the cost to taxpayers to care for Bira and would reduce his quality of life.

RNZ asked INZ whether it had considered the wider consequences of the couple leaving New Zealand and why it was so anxious to hear about the second special guidance application.

It did not respond directly to RNZ’s questions.

State compliance manager Stephanie Greathead said in a statement that Ratu and her husband have been living in the country illegally since 2004 and could be deported.

She said they had no further rights of appeal and encouraged them to leave voluntarily.

The family recently asked Penk for special guidance.

A spokesman said: “For privacy reasons, Minister Penk is unable to comment on specific cases. Ministerial intervention requests are prepared by immigration officials and then considered by the minister under the Immigration Act.”