Ōtaki GP already 'lost to Canada' in spite of new one-off residency pathway announced last month

Ōtaki Medical Centre chief executive Kiwa Raureti had hoped the new residency pathway would bring back their GP. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A rural migrant GP who quit New Zealand after a year languishing in residency limbo has now chosen Canada instead, in spite of a new pathway to residency created last month.

Ōtaki GP Dr Harding Richards left the country in June after struggling for a year to make headway in the queue for permanent residency, which had backlogged due to Covid-19.

Last month Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced a one-off residency pathway for migrant workers and families stranded in New Zealand throughout the pandemic, which would apply to about 165,000 people – including 5000 in health and aged care.

Ōtaki Medical Centre practice manager Kiwa Raureti had hoped Richards would return to New Zealand under the new pathway, but he had already accepted a job elsewhere.

"We emailed him to say this had happened, but he'd already been in touch with us to say he'd taken a job in Canada," he said.

"We would have begged him to come back.

"If I could have done something to bring him back, I would have done so. But he had actually started a job in Canada."

Dr Harding Richards returned to the UK in June. Photo / Supplied

Richards left New Zealand after struggling to make progress on a residency application, which prevented him from purchasing property or buying into a practice as he had hoped.

He left behind 1300 patients on his books, and the practice was forced to close its doors to new patients as a result.

A freeze on selections of Expressions of Interest from the Skilled Migrant Category was put in place in March 2020, as Immigration NZ said applications for skilled residence had "risen significantly".

Last month the Herald revealed emails in which Raureti pleaded with Immigration NZ for a chance to meet Faafoi and make the case for an exemption for Richards.

Their requests for a meeting were declined.

Raureti said young doctors often had options all over the world, but Richards had wanted to remain in New Zealand.

"This is where he really wanted to settle," he said.

"He'd been to a couple of practices around the world and in New Zealand, but he kind of found his niche here in Ōtaki."

Ōtaki Medical Centre chief executive Kiwa Raureti at the practice. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Raureti said they would be contacting Richards again in six months to try again.

"In six months' time, I'll give him a call because if he's not happy there in six months' time, then that's probably the time to get him to come back."

"Doctors like him, you find space for them in your practice."

The 2021 Residency visa would hopefully help two other GPs at Ōtaki Medical Centre, and Raureti was in the process of recruiting another GP from Holland, although they were still waiting for a spot in MIQ.

"Hopefully we'll be OK and be able to open our books up in February to new patients again," he said.

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced the new residency pathway last month. Photo / Mark Mitchell

In September the new 2021 residence visa was announced to address the stalled residency queue.

To be eligible under the pathway the main applicant must have been in New Zealand on September 29, 2021, and must hold or have applied for (and subsequently be granted) one of the eligible work visas.

The visa will also be available for those entering New Zealand as critical workers, and their families, for roles six months or longer until July 31 next year.

National Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford said the 2021 Residency visa was "too little, too late" for many health care workers like Dr Harding Richards.

"Unfortunately there are a lot of doctors and nurses and other medical professionals here in New Zealand – or who were here in New Zealand – who have left," she said.

National Party immigration spokeswoman Erica Stanford said the 2021 Resident visa was 'too little, too late'. Photo / Mark Mitchell

"They gave up, they just got fed up with waiting in a queue going nowhere and had much better offers overseas and left.

"All those months and years that we've been sitting here with residency backlogs, people like Dr Harding Richards have left, and we will not get them back."

She said the treatment of migrants had also reflected poorly on the country's international reputation, making it less likely skilled migrants would choose New Zealand in the future.

"A lot of really good migrants that we would want to attract here have been put off and have already gone elsewhere," she said.