It could not fully express my emotion at the moment, but it seems nothing we could do further. This is truly unfair and cruel to my family and those who have a similar condition and suffer from endless disappointment. On behalf of the people who are experiencing as mine, it is unfair to be excluded from this fast-track presidency and ignored by INZ like we never cared by this country.
We could not agree and accept this presidency set up as a different standard and kick the people out of the country who are still working and following all the unreasonable policies like a fool.

This petition requests INZ shall expand that to all visa holders, including those valid visas but expired during the COVID-19 period, who having the student visas and partnership visas, who meet the criteria as below:

1. Have lived in New Zealand for three or more years, or

2. Earn at or above the median wage ($27 per hour), or

3. Working in a role on his position but stuck in Overseas

I graduated in 2018 with a Master's degree, a post-study work visa holder, but stranded in CHINA has being 19 months since NZ border shut due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Even my job position still existed, all my family belonging places in the garage, I do not have the fundamental right to request a visa extension or BACK HOME. However, I need to keep working online and pay the tax as the NZ government inquired until my visas expired.

My family landed in this Great Country, New Zealand, in 2017; we planned to create a new life and build up a better living environment for our little boys. One common and simple reason to every family - all parents want to give the best to their children and sacrifice all the possibilities they can.
At the age of 35, I returned to school for my future immigration intention. I enrolled in a brand new study as a fee-paying international student and obtained a Master of Applied Management degree in 2018. I was granted a post-study open work visa with my family, valid until August 2021.
My wife and I worked hard and made our family move on the track to the goal with a monthly income of around NZD 8,000.
It has been three years since we left our parents in China. We intended to spend all our annual leave on this trip. Of course, we believed we would be back home very soon, and our workplaces would wait for us to come back to the positions after the vacation - My family was gone from the end of Jan 2020.

The Covid’s speed is way faster than all expectations, and the NZ border suddenly shut from March 2000, So that, my family be blocked because our visa type does not meet the requirement - A post-study work visa holder.
Both our occupations are not proved and meet the INZ inquired policy. We have to keep waiting for the border exception policy releases and places step by step. It has been 19 months we waited, and until today my family is suffering our life in the status of -

1. We tried more than five times to ask for the border exceptions online but never succeeded;

2. We could not ask for a family reunion because all my family left from NZ, and there are no more relatives at all in NZ;

3. As a post-study work visa holder, I cannot apply for return NZ since the country border shut and I cannot apply for the employment guaranteed Worker Visa from overseas. Also, I cannot ask for the current visa extension because there is no update policy regarding this visa type; I had to witness all our visas expired on 30 August 2021, and there has been no solution;

4. My kids lost the right to be educated; they could not attend regular schools as the education system in China is different from New Zealand unless we asked for a private school in China. It is submitted that children's education rights are fundamental human rights accepted by the New Zealand government. Due to the border closure, they could no more take education like other New Zealand children.
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5. INZ does not identify our occupation in the essential work industry category during the period. Bur my wife and I have to continue our work online because we are in a critical position in our workplace, and all our supervisors put in a lot of trust and support. They could not employ others to replace ours, hundreds of customers have had business relations from the beginning, and we are the ones they always get in touch with and trust.

6. We are still paying rent at $450 per week to keep all the stuff in New Zealand, hoping to return, imposing a substantial financial burden. We had paid $40,000 during the Covid-19 pandemic because we would like to obey the tenancy agreement.

7. Until today, it is impossible to find jobs to feed the kids in China; we could not be absent from the work position in Auckland, neither quit the job nor accept a cent because all our visas expired already.

I am the ONE but not ONLY who abandoned all in the motherland and removed to NZ.
Not only to build the dream for our own family, but also fulfill the obligation and responsibility for years as the migrant. At the moment, it seems NZ would like to close the door without a glimpse.

But please:
we did not shut the border;
we are the people who want to back to NZ;
we are the people who do not like to waste visas and want to stay;
we are the people who could feed ourselves with our own hands;

Please, to dear INZ officers,

I sincerely advocate the government may expand eligibility;
Re-consider the people who are stuck overseas;
Recall us back that the visas should be extended, and have the job reserve until now;
We also deserve the same opportunity to call New Zealand home as the other eligible visa categories.

Yours faithfully