Thai man deported hours after appeal fails

A Thai overstayer who has been living in New Zealand illegally for 10 years has been deported to Thailand, after a failed bid to stay with his partner and New Zealand-born daughter.

Chayasazh Oajwajee was on a flight back to Thailand this afternoon, about four hours after Judge Kit Toogood turned down his application for a review of an Immigration New Zealand decision to deport him at a hearing in the High Court in Auckland.

Oajwajee, 39, had been in custody since he was found at a Pukekohe house on March 7 and interviewed by an immigration officer.

He had been in New Zealand since 1996 when he arrived on a three-month visitor permit but stayed on when the permit expired.

After several applications, Oajwajee was told he would be given a 12-month work permit and he should apply for residence within two months, which he did not do.

After the hearing, Oajwajee's lawyer, Frank Deliu, said Oajwajee knew no one in Thailand. He said he may not have understood the gravity of the situation he faced and because he failed to apply for residence, he may have been to some degree the author of his own misfortune.

He said his daughter had wanted to live with him in Auckland to get out of Christchurch and the February earthquake aftermath.

Her mother's business was destroyed in the earthquake.

The man leaves a partner in Auckland. She was taken to hospital during yesterday's hearing after attempting suicide in the court surrounds. She was in a stable condition yesterday and her condition was not available today.

Mr Deliu said there was no time to lodge an urgent appeal before Oajwajee was put on a flight out of New Zealand.

- NZPA