Media reports of Cultural Marriage Visa fake, say lawyers

A story published yesterday in a leading newspaper about changes being made to the Culturally Arranged Marriage Visitor Visa Category have been slammed as fake by immigration lawyers and advisers.

The experts are asking the community to be wary of such news, with some deeming it to be fake especially since there was never any requirement for living together under the Culturally Arranged Marriage category. The advisers have fielded dozens of anxious calls and emails since the story was published. Social media are rife with posts and surmises adding to the overall confusion.

Immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont of McClymont and Associates took to social media writing, “Culturally Arranged Marriage Visa story in the New Zealand Herald.

This is basically fake news. The policy was created two years ago, it has been a dismal failure, it applies only to very old fashioned strictly arranged marriages and has a very high decline rate.

“INZ are still actively discriminating against Indian partnerships so this story was created by the government, INZ and people with the South Asian Community Leaders Group who have personal political ambitions and are being used to spread government public relations spin in the media to counteract the pressure being put in them through High Court cases and multiple Ombudsman investigations over their discriminatory policies. Beware of such fake news.”

Sharing the sentiment, immigration lawyer Arran Hunt wrote to Indian Weekender saying, “I’ve spoken with several lawyers and immigration advisors, and we all agree that they are fake and make no sense. One thing to note is that the CAM has never had a requirement for living together. To have such a requirement would not make sense. So one cannot get a requirement removed that was never there in the first place.

“The CAM applications for residence and citizens have also been getting processed during lockdown. So any announcement about them restarting is again false, as they did not stop.

I just thought I’d let you know so that the Indian Weekender does not follow this misinformation, or it can perhaps put out some clarity. I’m seeing a lot of people online getting false hope, which is painful to see.”

Indian Weekender has sought clarification from Immigration New Zealand and asked for a formal response on the issue. We have also approached Sunny Kaushal, Chairman of the South Asian Community Leaders Group who was quoted in the NZ Herald article for clarifications. At the time of publishing this story, both responses were forthcoming and Indian Weekender will share these with readers when received.

Meanwhile a group of six immigration lawyers and experts have sought to clarify misconceptions with a media release today.

“There appears to be considerable confusion among communities due to a media article published yesterday about  alleged 'new changes' to the Culturally Arranged Marriage Visitor Visa which have no basis in fact.”

The media release states:

“Below is an account of our understanding of this visa category and an effort to provide answers to many queries we have received since yesterday. 

“New Zealand's partnership policies require couples to demonstrate that they are living together as well as being in a genuine and stable relationship.  This is causing ongoing problems for couples unable for cultural, religious, sexual orientation or other reasons to live together outside New Zealand.

“By way of exception, The Culturally Arranged Marriage Visitor Visa (CAM) has existed as a separate visa category for a number of years. This visa category was initiated specifically for couples who were entering an arranged marriage following their established cultural traditions. As such, living together has never been a requirement for a CAM visa.

“Immigration criteria to be met include that the culturally arranged marriage must follow an identified cultural tradition where the arrangements for the marriage, including the initial selection of the persons to be married, are made by persons who are not parties to the marriage. The New Zealand based partner must be a New Zealand citizen or resident. If successful, the applicant may be granted a visitor visa for 3 months from their date of arrival in New Zealand.

“Initially CAM visa holders had to get married in New Zealand. However, amendments to this visa category in November 2019, also gave the option of couples being able to get married outside New Zealand. Subsequent visas based on partnership required, and continue to require the couples to meet living together criteria.

“Amid covid-19 related restrictions, the New Zealand border has remained open to CAM visa holders.  We are not aware of any recent amendments to CAM. The CAM visa is, in reality, extremely difficult to navigate as most couples do not fit Immigration New Zealand's very narrow interpretation. The insistence that the initial selection of the couple be facilitated entirely by a third party matchmaker is simply antiquated and out of step with contemporary cultural practices.

“For that reason, the category has had minimal take up and a very high decline rate (157  of 249 i.e. 63% in the 2020/21 Immigration Year). The rules that require the vast majority of couples to demonstrate living together has kept thousands of couples separated throughout the border closure. 

“Those wishing to reunite with partners are being forced to embark on risky "fetch and fly" missions depleting New Zealand's workforce further at a time when experiencing extreme skills shortages.  The health workforce is a prime example where doctors, nurses and caregivers are having to go offshore to reunite with partners, placing New Zealanders at risk.

“Two applications for judicial review have been filed with the High Court of New Zealand regarding these matters and associated visa suspensions and lapsing, by D&S Law on behalf of their clients. They are due to be heard on 08 December 2021. 

“Change to the partnership settings is urgently required to recognise all those couples in genuine relationships unable to live together for compelling reasons, whether cultural, religious or other.”

The joint media release has been circulated by Alastair McClymont – McClymont & Associates; Anu Kaloti – Licensed Immigration Adviser – Migrant Workers Association; Arran Hunt - Stace Hammond; Katy Armstrong, Licensed Immigration Adviser on behalf Reunite Families NZ; Pooja Sundar and Stewart Dalley – D&S Law