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A migrant family who have been “fighting for months” for their 5-year-old son to attend school in New Zealand have been granted a student visa after the issue was raised with Immigration NZ by the Herald.
Jorge Arriaza, 39, who arrived from Chile in February with wife Christina, 36, said they had been battling with authorities for son Rafael to enroll in primary school, but were told he wasn’t able to do so after Arriaza’s work visa was changed to a Migrant Exploitation Protection Visas (MEPV).
But after the Herald began asking INZ questions, the agency confirmed it had granted a student visa to Rafael and 71 other dependent children of MEPV holders.
Arriaza said he was “relieved and overjoyed” that Rafael would be able to attend school in the new year, but said their overall experience coming to New Zealand had been a “painful and stressful one”.
“But we are thrilled at receiving the good news after the Herald brought our case to INZ’s attention,” Arriaza said.
“After such a painful and stressful journey, we now have a Christmas to celebrate.”
Rafael Arriaza Diaz, 5, and sister Renata Arriaza Diaz, 3. Photo / Dean Purcell
The MEPV was introduced in July 2021 to encourage reporting of exploitation and help migrants leave their exploitative situations while remaining lawfully in the country.
According to figures released to the Herald, 690 migrant workers who originally came holding Accredited Employer Work Visas (AEWV) have been granted MEWV.
INZ operations director Janine Parsons said 57 MEPV holders had previously held AEWVs, and there was a combined total of 103 dependant children, 71 of whom had been granted dependant student visas.
“An additional five dependants are currently having dependant student visas processed,” Parsons said.
“The additional 32 dependants are on visitor visas and this is likely due to them not yet being of school age.”
When Arriaza was presented with a three-year contract to work as a construction technician with New Zealand labour-hire company Buildhub, he thought it was an excellent opportunity also for his children to get a “good New Zealand education”.
Jorge Arriaza and Christina Diaz say their time in New Zealand hasn't been easy. Photo / Dean Purcell
Simon Sanders, INZ’s deputy chief operating officer, said there were currently 188 active investigations into 167 accredited employers.
The Herald has reported extensively on issues with the visa scheme and the concerns of immigration advisers and migrants who have been victims of exploitation, along with migrants being “sold” work visas overseas.
“A very big part of our decision to come was so our children can get good New Zealand education in English during the years when I’m working here,” Arriaza said.
“But after I came here to find my job was just a false promise, and then given a migrant exploitation visa that didn’t allow us to support a visa for Rafael to go to school, we felt cheated.”
Arriaza is on a paid trial working for a West-Auckland based construction company.
Arriaza said returning to Chile was not an option because of the mountain of debt they had to repay, and did not have $20,000 annually to pay if Rafael had to be enrolled as an international fee-paying student.
Parsons said MPEV holders could not support dependants or partners on their visas.
“However, if their dependant or partner already held a visa based on their relationship to the primary applicant, they can apply for further visas of this type,” Parsons said.
She confirmed that Rafael Arriaza Diaz had been granted a student visa as a dependant of a worker, which was valid until February 2026.
“Dependants who are linked to MEPV holders that once held AEWVs are still able to apply for further dependant student visas if they are of school age,” Parsons said.
“This has been the process since the MEPV was introduced, and there have been no changes since.”
Karen Gibney, president of Latin American Community Tauranga, has been helping migrant exploitation victims. Photo / Alex Burton
Karen Gibney, president of the Latin American Community in Tauranga, who has been assisting Arriaza and about 30 other South American families said their children’s educational opportunities played a big part in their decision to come to New Zealand.
“Many made their decision based on the fact that their work visas would allow their children to attend school here as domestic students,” she said.
“They also see New Zealand as a safe place to bring their families and kids when compared to South America.”
Karen said it was “not their fault” they were tricked into believing they were coming to high-paying jobs and landed in exploitative situations.
“I don’t think it is unreasonable at all for them to be getting the same rights for their dependants as when they were on the original visas that they came on,” Gibney said.
“Getting this should be made easy for them, and not another hurdle that they have to overcome.”
The Herald understands that Buildhub, Arriaza’s original employer, is conducting mediation meetings online. The company did not reply to the Herald’s request for comments.
The AEWV scheme opened in May last year as the main temporary work visa with an employer-led process to be followed to hire migrant workers.
It was aimed to combat migrant exploitation by ensuring only employers who are accredited can hire migrants but had instead resulted in 1500 complaints against accredited employers lodged.
As of December 4, 117 employers have had their accreditation revoked and 18 suspended.
There are 27 others under assessment to have their accreditation revoked and one for suspension.
But Public Service Commission spokesman Grahame Armstrong said the review commissioned by former Immigration Minister Andrew Little would be completed early next year.
“We have advised the new Minister of Immigration, Hon Erica Stanford, that the review is likely to be completed in early 2024,” Armstrong said.
“We are taking the time to ensure that all interested parties are properly consulted, taking into account the imminent holiday break.”
He said the commission would not be making any further comment until the review was completed.
