NZ overstayer doesn't want to come home

The British wife of a New Zealander facing deportation after illegally living in Britain for eight years is pleading with authorities to allow him to stay.

Shane Gilshnan, 45, formerly of Palmerston North, has been told he has until Monday to give Home Office officials a departure date, or he could be put in a detention centre and forced to leave the country, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported.

His wife, Janette Hartford-Gilshnan, 47, has been told if they want to stay together, she has to go with him.

Mr Gilshnan, who is unemployed, is being backed by neighbours and friends who have started a "Save Kiwi Shane" campaign, with T-shirts, posters, a 500-strong Facebook group and a 2000-name petition.

The New Zealander has been classified as an illegal immigrant after going to England in 2002 on a six-month holiday visa.

A local newspaper, the Wakefield Advertiser, reported that after arriving in Britain Mr Gilshnan shattered both his elbows playing rugby and while recuperating met the woman he married in March last year.

Faced with returning to New Zealand, Mr Gilshnan said "This is my home. I love my wife, and it would be like losing my entire life to be sent back there.

"I've lost 13 family members in New Zealand in the last seven years. But I've not been able to go back because I know I would never be allowed back to the UK".

The Home Office has told Mr Gilshnan to fly back to New Zealand and apply for immigration as a spouse, but he fears his chances might be hurt by two drink-driving convictions, and his current three-year disqualification from driving.

His case has now been through the immigration courts and several appeals have failed. The couple said all official avenues have now been exhausted.

"After they let us get married it looked quite hopeful, but then the solicitor dropped the bombshell that if he went, there was only a 15 to 20 per cent chance that he would be able to come back," Mrs Hartford-Gilshnan said.

A UK Borders Agency spokesman said that when considering Mr Gilshnan's application it took into account all of the relevant factors, including his wife's human rights.

"However it was considered that any interference with these rights would be proportionate and temporary while Mr Gilshnan returns to New Zealand to apply for the correct entry clearance."

- NZPA