Barrymore's express residency riles couple

A Christchurch woman is outraged that controversial British comedian Michael Barrymore has gained New Zealand residency within three months, while her husband is still waiting after applying more than a year ago.

The woman claims there is a disparity in treatment of applications.

Barrymore was given residency within weeks of arriving here based on his relationship with Shaun Davis, a Briton with New Zealand residency.

Barrymore chose to relaunch his career here more than two years after a man was found dead in his pool in England.

The Christchurch couple both have jobs - she is a nurse and he is a stonemason. They said they had saved hard to afford the $1000 required to fund the residency application, lodged last March.

A requested criminal record check for the man was settled last July and the Immigration Service has since blamed the delay on a backlog of applications.

The woman said: "It has been so stressful and upsetting waiting for my husband's application to be processed. And we are still waiting.

"When I know they can give Michael Barrymore residency within two or three months, it makes me furious. His lover wasn't even born here.

"I don't see what effort it would take to just stamp it [the application]. My husband's criminal record check is clear, we are married, and he has a skill that New Zealand needs."

Christchurch Immigration Service manager Roger Brown would not comment on individual cases. He said 45,000 people a year were granted residency, 40 per cent of which were for family reasons.

- NZPA