Barrymore's lawyer helps Scotsman gain residency

A Christchurch nurse and her Scottish husband are celebrating his New Zealand residency today, after a little help from the media and Michael Barrymore's immigration lawyer.

Mary Scarth was outraged this month at reports the British entertainer had been granted residency within months of his arrival in New Zealand.

Her husband, stonemason Gillie Mullen, had been waiting a year for his application to be approved by the New Zealand Immigration Service, she said.

In New Zealand on a work permit, Mr Mullen risked being barred from returning if he left for Scotland to care for his pregnant daughter, who was ill.

Ms Scarth wrote to the service and enlisted the help of her MP, but neither strategy worked. Then she went to the papers.

After her story was published, she was put in touch with Barrymore's Auckland lawyer, Richard Martin, who offered to help prepare their application, free.

"He was really very helpful," Ms Scarth said. Within an hour of his call to the Immigration Service, the couple were offered an appointment.

After an interview about their relationship, an official presented them with his stamped passport.

"I couldn't believe it ... My husband was in tears, because he had been so stressed out."

Mr Martin said yesterday that he had simply put the couple "on the right track" by helping them complete their documentation. He stressed that Barrymore had received no special treatment from the service.

- NZPA