40-year-old Auckland resident, Aroha Raharuhi married 22-year-old Indian citizen, Pankaj Badyal in October 2016.
The married couple though is living apart after the husband was denied a visa by Immigration New Zealand.
Raharuhi, a mother-of-five, feels the Immigration authorities have not treated them well.
Her husband, Mr Badyal, who earlier lived in New Zealand on a student visa left for India in July after following an advice from Immigration’s helpline advising him to re-apply for a visa from there.
The couple did so but Mr Badyal was denied visitor visa under partnership on 4th December after the Immigration authorities founds ‘insufficient corroborating evidence’ about their relationship.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) area manager Marcelle Foley told RNZ it considered partnership applications very carefully and needed to be satisfied that the relationship was genuine, stable and likely to endure.
"Insufficient corroborating evidence was provided to satisfy INZ that this couple were in a genuine and stable relationship, so as to meet immigration instructions.
"In addition, INZ notes that Pankaj was found to have breached his student visa conditions by working more than 20 hours per week."
The couple has found they cannot not appeal against visitor-visa refusals from outside the country.
Speaking to Radio New Zealand, Ms Raharuhi said she is now planning to go to India to prove to Immigration officials their relationship and marriage is genuine.
But in a bid to do so, she will have to leave her five children behind.
She said they had spent their first wedding anniversary apart and now Christmas was going to be hard.
"We really do love each other and this is causing us so much stress," she said.
"As long as we're apart it's not nice or easy.
She said her kids loved him and the rejection was a huge blow to the family.
Mr Badyal said, "We can't do anything without each other. We both want to spend our whole life with each other forever. We have nothing in our life without each other."
They have now appealed to Associate Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi. Their appeal to the Associate Minister had been delegated to a senior INZ official, and it is not known how long the decision will take.
