A Stoke family need to find more than $5000 to keep their Canadian mother in the country or face separating their family.
Sherry McLaughlin migrated from Canada in May 2019, after meeting her Kiwi partner Bradley Wilson online.
The couple have since had a son, Caidyn, who is three. Sherry arrived on a visitor visa and successfully applied for a two-year partner of a New Zealander work visa about three months after her arrival.
She has successfully renewed it twice, but it is due to expire next year.
Immigration New Zealand says, before the visa expires, holders who wish to remain in New Zealand can apply for residence based on their partnership.
If Sherry fails to secure her Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa before October 2024, she will be forced to leave New Zealand.
The family have encountered financial hardship since the Covid-19 lockdowns. Bradley was made redundant from a kiwifruit orchard in Riwaka in 2020 and he hasn’t been employed since, using the time to focus on mental health treatment.
Sherry had a two-week stint in employment during the early stages of her pregnancy before Caidyn’s birth in July, 2020, but has also been unemployed since to support Bradley and focus on their son’s special needs.
The family are also now living in temporary housing.
Sherry says, with the added pressures of Bradley and Caidyn’s various health issues, she’s the family’s linchpin, but worries payment for her visa next year won’t be achievable.
“If we were unable to then there’s a possibility that I would have to leave [Caidyn] or take him to Canada, but there’s nothing there, no one can take us in. I sold my shares on a house just to come here,” she says.
Sherry says, with Caidyn’s unique special needs he won’t have the same access to the same services in Canada, and neither she or Caidyn would be entitled to free medical care or disability benefits for at least six months.
“He’s on medication for his asthma, so for six months we must come up with some sort of money out of the cloud to pay for that, and any health care that he needs because he also has febrile seizures.
“This place is the best place for Caidyn, there’s so many services that have helped him and we’re on the waiting list of so many more right now.”
Sherry adds that if she is sent back she wouldn’t be able to work for up to six months while meeting requirements for resident status in Ontario, where she is originally from.
She says Caidyn would also need a Canadian passport and his Canadian citizenship papers, another cost to bear.
Sherry says, in addition to her resident application, she would need to undertake x-rays, a police check, fingerprint examinations and potentially a psychiatry report due to her history of depression, which would all cost about $5500.
Bradley says, because Sherry is not a New Zealand citizen she does not qualify for funding from Work and Income, which has increased pressure while he seeks work while caring for Caidyn.
“If I could have paid for [Sherry’s visa application] by now I would’ve but with everything we’ve had to face I don’t really have much time, and I really want to find employment, but I’ve got to find somewhere to live first,” he says.
“We’ve tried pretty much every outlet we can [for visa funding], but charitable organisations won’t touch it because [our case] involves a government department.
Bradley has started a Givealittle page to raise funds for Sherry’s visa application and keep their family together. Support can be offered here.
