Kiwis stranded in Canada without visa or MIQ status can become ‘illegal immigrants’

The New Zealand citizen, who is stranded in Canada without a visa, says he feels “lost” and is considering moving to the UK or South America if he cannot return home soon.

Nash Forrester tried to go home for five months, but could not find a place in the isolation (MIQ) conducted by the hall or “lottery” publications.

On October 16, he applied for an emergency quota, claiming that his Canadian work permit had expired and that he was becoming an “illegal immigrant.”

On Tuesday, the government rejected his application because he was “not satisfied” that he “could not legally stay in Canada” and “had no choice but to return to New Zealand”. Forrester believed the decision was made because he could get a three-month tourist visa in Canada, but said it would not help his situation because he could not work and could not live off his savings.

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According to Forrester, the process he described as “broken” made him “absolutely outraged.”

“I’m pessimistic about how they treated me when I was in Canada and I could not return to my country of birth.”

The former Christchurch resident worked as a chef in November 2019 in the town of Bonf in Alberta.

When Kovit-19 first struck in early 2020, he did not have enough money to return to Atorova, so he decided to stay in Canada as long as he could.

Forrester said he was fully vaccinated and previously had Govt-19.

As the deadline for him to leave the country approached, he began filing complaints online with the MIQ team.

A few days ago he was surprised when he was told that if he complained to the manager there would be no response.

The 21-year-old is now looking for alternative ways to get home, including flying to the UK or South America to “travel there” until he gets a place at MIQ.

“I feel lost in the world now. I feel like I can’t go anywhere.

In a statement, MIQ co-chair Megan Maine said MIQ Forrester’s application was rejected because she was unhappy that she could not stay in Canada based on the evidence she provided.

MIQ has received a number of complaints from Forrester, confirming that this was the first complaint made last Thursday.

Staff responded the same day to warn Forrester that they were receiving “more requests”, which affects response time. They told you that your application was under consideration and apologized for any inconvenience caused by the wait.

After filing a third complaint about the delay, he told MIQ Forrester that he was not under the control of the grievance redressal committee, and that employees would “register such contacts without consent” as they had already responded to his complaint.

Forrester has filed a fourth complaint about his rejected application, and staff will respond to him within five days, Maine said.

Requests for emergency seats in managed isolated cases were assessed on a case-by-case basis based on “established criteria”.

Permission to apply depends on the number of applicants and the places available at any given time, and there are no guarantees to exempt persons who are not legally residing at their current location.

“These decisions are not easy to make and we sympathize with the plight of people seeking emergency shares. However, to ensure the safety of all New Zealanders, we must balance all emergency demands with our vital task. There is limited capacity in isolated managed facilities.”

Maine admitted that missing seats at the MIQ was “difficult and frustrating”.

However, several thousand rooms will be released by the end of January, and he said MIQ is closely monitoring their capabilities in the wake of the social explosion. The release date of the adjoining room has not yet been confirmed.