KEY POINTS:
An elderly Zimbabwean couple are relieved to have won a "stay of execution" after their New Zealand visas were extended for a further three months.
The couple, who are staying on Auckland's North Shore and wish to remain anonymous, were due to return to Zimbabwe on July 17 after spending nine months with their son and family on visitors' visas.
Their daughter-in-law, who asked to be known only as Jennifer, told the Herald yesterday the extension was a welcome chance for the couple, aged 79 and 83, to consider their options.
"We couldn't send them back to a war zone and this feels a bit like a stay of execution for them," she said. "It means we can regroup and look at alternative solutions ... and things might be very different there in a few months."
She stressed that her parents-in-law were not seeking superannuation or any taxpayer support while they remained in New Zealand.
Callers to talkback radio this week expressed anger that they should be allowed to stay if they did not have any money.
"We're not asking for a cent for pensions, medical treatment or elderly assistance of any sort. We can support them ourselves," Jennifer said.
One of the couple's options is moving to South Africa, where two of their daughters live. Another two daughters still live in Zimbabwe and have no way of leaving.
The family contacted Manukau East MP Ross Robertson to seek a ministerial dispensation on their case.
He contacted Associate Immigration Minister Shane Jones, who decided to resolve the matter using his discretionary powers.
