{"id":198644,"date":"2025-12-23T21:31:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T21:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/198644\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T21:31:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T21:31:06","slug":"nurses-autistic-son-could-face-deportation-after-immigration-nz-rejects-visa-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/198644\/","title":{"rendered":"Nurse\u2019s autistic son could face deportation after Immigration NZ rejects visa"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s really heartbreaking. I don\u2019t know how, mentally, I can cope, if that\u2019s going to happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mankeel moved to NZ from India in January 2024, followed by his wife and son later that year.<\/p>\n

He works as an elder care nurse, and his wife Aparna Jayandhan Geetha works as a senior healthcare assistant.<\/p>\n

Mankeel, whose job is on Tier 1 of INZ\u2019s Green List<\/a>, applied for the straight-to-residence pathway, listing his family members as secondary applicants.<\/p>\n

INZ<\/a> sought more information about Aidhan\u2019s delayed speech abilities, leading to a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and global developmental delay.<\/p>\n

The agency then invited the family to submit further evidence to support a medical waiver, Mankeel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve consulted many doctors, psychologists and GPs, the latest GP reports state that he\u2019s improving once he started kindergarten … he\u2019s doing a lot of things independently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After months of back-and-forth with INZ, Mankeel said he was told all three visas would be declined unless he withdrew Aidhan\u2019s name and applied separately for a different visa category.<\/p>\n

Mankeel did that; his and Geetha\u2019s visas were approved in June, while Aidhan\u2019s application for a new visitor visa was declined in July.<\/p>\n

INZ found Aidhan was likely to impose significant costs or demands on health and education services, which under new rules introduced in March, meant he could not be granted a visa.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis status is now unlawful because he doesn\u2019t have any valid visa … so there\u2019s a liability of deportation,\u201d Mankeel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really, really shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AssociateAssociate Immigration Minister Chris Penk has the power to intervene in exceptional cases, but declined the family’s appeal. Photo \/ RNZ, Nick Monro<\/p>\n

Appeals blocked, family seeks discretionary route<\/p>\n

The family lodged an appeal to the independent Immigration and Protection Tribunal on humanitarian grounds, but it was not accepted as it was submitted after the statutory 42-day timeframe.<\/p>\n

They also appealed to Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk, who under the Immigration Act 2009 has the power to intervene in exceptional cases.<\/p>\n

Penk declined that appeal, and declined to consider a second appeal from Nelson MP Rachel Boyack on the basis there was no new extenuating or compelling information.<\/p>\n

INZ confirmed it was reviewing a Section 61 request lodged by the family, a discretionary application that allows people unlawfully in NZ to seek a visa under the Immigration Act 2009.<\/p>\n

If approved, it could restore Aidhan\u2019s lawful status, it said.<\/p>\n

The agency said it would not take any compliance action while it assessed that request.<\/p>\n

MP and residents call for compassion<\/p>\n

Boyack described the situation as \u201cdeeply unfair\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t recruit essential health workers into NZ and then deport their child. If Aidhan is deported, then the family will leave as well. And that will be a massive loss for Nelson,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said she had received countless emails from people who worked alongside Mankeel, were cared for by him, or were family members of people he cared for in their final days.<\/p>\n

All of them spoke highly of his work as a nurse, she said.<\/p>\n

\"NelsonNelson MP Rachel Boyack said the community would continue fighting for Aidhan Nithin. Photo \/ RNZ, Samuel Rillstone<\/p>\n

\u201cNurses have said he\u2019s the best healthcare professional they\u2019ve worked alongside. I just can\u2019t understand how a minister could read all of this evidence from members of the community and not look at it, you know, in a holistic way and look at what the benefits would be for Nelson in allowing this whole family to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The community would continue fighting, she said.<\/p>\n

More than 4000 people have signed a petition asking officials to rethink the decision.<\/p>\n

A second petition is calling on the House of Representatives to abolish the Acceptable Standard of Health<\/a> immigration requirements.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, a rally was held in central Nelson to support the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was organised at the very last minute and had around 200 people turn out,\u201d Boyack said.<\/p>\n

Immigration NZ: Health rules must be consistent<\/p>\n

INZ deputy chief operating officer Jeannie Melville said applicants assessed as likely to impose significant costs on health and education services could not be granted a waiver, \u201cregardless of family circumstances or occupation\u201d.<\/p>\n

The requirements were designed to balance individual cases with the sustainability of the country\u2019s health and education systems, she said.<\/p>\n

The agency clearly advised Mankeel of the implications of withdrawing Aidhan from the original application, \u201cincluding the impact on future visa applications\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the challenges faced by Mr Mankeel and his family; however, immigration health requirements are very specific and can only be waived through ministerial intervention. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe granting of residence to Mr Mankeel and his wife was based on the critical need for healthcare professionals in NZ, as reflected by their inclusion in Tier 1 of the Green List. All secondary applicants must still meet the health criteria for their visa category,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The agency acknowledged the concerns raised by the family, local representatives and community members.<\/p>\n

\u201cINZ carefully considered all information provided, including evidence of parental support and Aidhan\u2019s integration into his community. <\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, immigration decisions must be made in line with the Immigration Act and associated instructions. These rules help keep decisions consistent, while protecting the future of NZ\u2019s health and education services. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognise this is a difficult outcome for the family and will continue to engage with them to manage the process compassionately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mankeel said he and his wife had given up everything to make Nelson their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any licence to practise in India because we cancelled that and got the registration here. We left everything and came [here],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said his elderly parents in India would not be able to care for Aidhan, and the thought of being separated was unbearable.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeporting my child is like cutting off my arm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mankeel said the response from colleagues and neighbours and others had been overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are living full of fear but I\u2019m getting so much support from many, many different communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting weaker day by day but I\u2019m getting all this support, I\u2019m getting the energy to push forward. We are just praying and hoping for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s really heartbreaking. I don\u2019t know how, mentally, I can cope, if that\u2019s going to happen,\u201d he said.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[74,112398,124,5033,1872,42,917,43,9709,69,22049,22639,40,38,41,39,10708],"class_list":["post-198644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-after","tag-autistic","tag-could","tag-deportation","tag-face","tag-headlines","tag-immigration","tag-news","tag-nurses","tag-nz","tag-rejects","tag-son","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-visa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}