All Black winger marks new status with celebratory kava

Sitiveni Sivivatu grips the letter granting him permanent residency. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Sitiveni Sivivatu may have already scored several tries for the All Blacks, but the winger has only just become a permanent New Zealand resident.

Wearing an All Black shirt and a huge smile, Fijian-born Sivivatu was yesterday handed his letter of acceptance for residency by Immigration Service head Mary Anne Thompson at a small ceremony in Wellington.

When the 23-year-old made his All Black debut against Fiji last month he was only in New Zealand on a work visa.

International Rugby Board rules state that for a player to be entitled to represent a country he must have been a resident for three years, but not necessarily a permanent resident.

Sivivatu - who turned down a place in Fiji's World Cup team to pursue his All Black dream - moved to New Zealand five years ago, which meant he should have been entitled to play for New Zealand in 2003.

But the IRB ruled that Sivivatu's time at Wesley College in 2000 and 2001 did not count towards the three-year residency requirement, and he became eligible to play only in December last year.

Yesterday, Sivivatu said he found it hard to explain how much becoming a permanent resident meant to him.

"I am just so happy. It's good for me and it's good for the next generation of kids. It means we have a good future," the winger said.

Ms Thompson admitted that she had never before personally presented someone with his permanent residency, but had made a special effort for the All Black.

Sivivatu is one of 3000 Pacific people in the past year who have gained residency under the Immigration Service's Pacific access category, which each year lets in a certain number of people from Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga and Tuvalu, and the Samoan quota.

A person must have a genuine job offer in New Zealand to meet the criteria for the schemes, which are designed in part to help ease labour shortages.

Sivivatu's gruelling schedule of training leading up to the Tri-Nations means he has little time to celebrate his new permanent resident status, but he planned to find time last night to have a celebratory kava.