Two New Zealand parents are desperate to get their toddler back home from India during Covid-19 border closures.
Veena and Bharat Chaudhary and their two children. Photo: Veena Choudhary supplied
Veena and Bharat Chaudhary's 17-month-old son, Miraan, has been in India for five months.
He had travelled to India with his grandmother a few weeks ahead of his parents who had planned to attend Veena's brother's wedding.
But between leaving and the Chaudharys' trip the borders closed and the couple were unable to travel to India to join him, with flights difficult to book and often cancelled.
Veena is also concerned she might not get back to New Zealand if she does travel to India.
More than 400 New Zealand citizens and residents want to board flights from India to New Zealand. On Friday, First Up revealed two repatriation flights for Indian nationals still in New Zealand could land here empty in the next two weeks unless permission is granted by the government for them to bring passengers.
"There are already people stranded over there, they're not able to come back," Veena said. "And I'll be leaving one of my children over here and picking up another child and getting stuck over there."
Veena Chaudhary and her two children. Photo: supplied Veena Choudhary
The Chaudharys are pinning their hopes on having a relative accompanying their son, a New Zealand citizen, who is too young to travel alone.
They were advised the travel companion would have to have New Zealand citizenship or residency, but none of their relatives have that visa status and they do not want to send him on the 15-hour flight with a stranger.
Instead, they are seeking an exemption for Veena's brother, Chetan Patel, to travel with Miraan.
"We prefer my brother, because my parents are old and we don't want to put their life at risk, their health at risk," Veena said.
"People who are 60 plus are at a high risk of getting Covid, and my brother is young."
Chetan was granted an exemption to apply for a visitor visa to bring Miraan home, after several requests to Immigration New Zealand, but a visa is not guaranteed and he still needs to find a flight.
Immigration New Zealand declined a request for an interview, but in a written statement acting general manager border and visa operations Jeannie Melville said said the bar for being granted an exception to the border restrictions is set high to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 here.
All individual requests for exceptions to the border restrictions were considered against the strict criteria as set out in immigration instructions, it said.
INZ confirmed Chetan Patel had made several requests for an exception to the border restriction on humanitarian grounds, was assessed by immigration officers and accepted. He would now be invited to apply for a visa to travel to New Zealand.
The statement said INZ understood the impact Covid-19 and border restrictions have had on migrants and families.
The separation has been hard for Veena - particularly as Covid-19 case numbers climb in India.
"Being a mother, I can't see my child stay in a country where Covid cases are increasing almost 50,000 cases a day, and I don't feel safe to stay there.
"That's why I want him to be here as soon as possible, in case something happens to him, I won't be there to look after him."
Her message to Immigration New Zealand is simple: "Grant this visa to any family member whom they think is easy to come, and they can bring my child back and I'm ready to take all the responsibility.
"I'm ready to pay isolation charges as well. I want my child back safe over here".
