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‘I don’t have a right to dream’ – Teen overstayer faces a life of uncertainty
Seventeen-year-old Dhruv*, however, finds it hard to draw up specific plans in terms of what he wants to do with his life.
“Kids my age have dreams,” he says. “I don’t even have a right to have dreams.”
Dhruv is an overstayer, holding no official residency status after his parents remained in New Zealand beyond the duration of their work visas almost 20 years ago. The teenager is caught in the unusual situation of living in New Zealand illegally despite being born here.
And he’s not alone. Immigration New Zealand estimates from 2017 show that approximately 14,000 people are believed to be in a similar position.
Immigration New Zealand has been increasingly deporting Chinese and Indian overstayers in recent years. Of 19 overstayers deported between July 2022 and April, 10 were Chinese and four were Indian.
“It’s not fair,” he says. “Even if I want to be honest and tell someone, you can’t because, if you do, you’re probably going to regret it.”
Dhruv’s parents migrated to New Zealand from India more than 20 years ago. His father initially found work as a sales manager, subsequently bringing over his wife.
However, both failed to renew their visas a few years after their arrival. Dhruv believes people took advantage of his parents’ situation at the time.
“The lawyers were charging a lot of money and (my parents) received a lot of misguidances due to bad communications,” he says. “Being from India, English was a problem.”
In 2002, his mother gave birth to a daughter, who received citizenship by virtue of the fact she was born in New Zealand and her parents were on valid work visas, although these expired the following year.
However, the government discontinued this practice in 2006 a few months before Dhruv was born, leaving the infant without any recognisable residency status.
Over the next few years, the family was always on the move, as they were terrified of being caught.
“This constant relocation had an impact,” he recalls. “Any friend made was gone by the next week.”
In 2007, the family made yet another attempt to legitimise their stay. However, the lawyer handling their case not only failed to secure visas, they left the country – taking Dhruv’s Indian passport with them.
“I have no documents,” he says. “I really have no power.”
The lack of documentation severely limits the career choices Dhruv can pursue after his graduation from high school. While his sister can attend university due to holding citizenship, Dhruv can’t even begin contemplating tertiary education. He can’t even obtain a driver’s license.
Dhruv fears deportation, as he has never set foot in India.
“Being sent back to India would be incredibly tough for both my family and me,” he says. “We have nothing there and leaving my sister here while she’s young and still studying would be heart-wrenching.”
His struggle is compounded by his limited proficiency in reading and writing Hindi.
Dhruv says the past two decades have affected his parents badly.
“My dad’s family started passing away when we were kids and he was often quite sad that we couldn’t do anything,” he says. “It took a toll on my dad, who often felt helpless.”
The emergence of Covid-19 added to the family’s troubles, as they were ineligible for any subsidies or cash handouts, and it was difficult to access proper healthcare.
“If you think Covid-19 was hard, it was even harder for those who are overstayers because we had to struggle to even go to work,” he says.
Thirty-four-year-old Amandeep* is an overstayer who fears being separated from his 6-year-old daughter Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Young families
Thirty-four-year-old Amandeep* faces his own battle as an overstayer in New Zealand, one that’s even more complicated now that he’s the proud father of a 6-year-old daughter.
“I’m doing everything for my baby,” he says.
Arriving in New Zealand in 2011 wanting to complete a degree at university, Amandeep’s plan took an unexpected turn. Despite pouring more than $20,000 into his visa applications, he has been denied five times.
He faces increased responsibility as a father and, now that he has a child to support, he says he refuses to be deported.
“I want to be in her life,” he says. “This is home now.”
With his sixth visa application pending, Amandeep wants to stay by his daughter’s side and build a stable life.
Twenty-nine-year-old Ranjit* finds himself in a similar situation, with a child on the way despite overstaying his visa. Arriving in New Zealand as a student, Ranjit’s education ended after his college was blacklisted by Immigration New Zealand in 2015.
“I couldn’t pay more fees,” he says.
Ranjit found employment at an orchard in Tauranga, although he was restricted to working 15-25 hours a week for just $10 an hour.
“There were hundreds of other overstayers on the farm,” he says.
Facing increasing Immigration New Zealand crackdowns, Ranjit left the orchard after three years.
“Life was really tough at the orchards,” he says.
Leveraging his New Zealand driver’s license, he found part-time driving jobs on Facebook, some of which didn’t require a visa. His current employer has been supportive as he navigates the visa application process, yet the impending arrival of his child fills him with anxiety.
Ranjit, like many others, is haunted by the spectre of deportation and the possibility of needing to leave his child behind.
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Vijender*, a 31-year-old with aspirations of starting a family, remains trapped in his visa quandary.
“I cannot (start a family) because of this issue,” he says.
Much like his fellow overstayers, Vijender’s dreams have been hampered by his visa status since 2017.
A passion for dairy farming led him to New Zealand, where he secured a job post-graduation. However, his initial work visa application was rejected due to a mismatch between his job and his education. Accepting work in cafes and restaurants for visa validity, Vijender’s aspirations were crushed when immigration rules subsequently changed, throwing his life into uncertainty.
Today, his dream of starting a family is on hold due to his precarious visa situation.
“I had to give up my relationship because of my situation,” he says.
RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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