Kamil Lakshman –
Jessie (not her real name) and her children came to New Zealand from Vietnam, after several failed attempts. They eventually obtained their visas through Idesi Legal.
That was four years ago and since then she and her family have been our clients.
Jessie became friends with Dan, a slightly older gentleman of Maori descent, in New Zealand. The friendship developed into a relationship, and they began to live together.
They were devoted to each other and there was clearly respect and understanding between them. Jessie’s knowledge of English was limited, whereas Dan was articulate but this did not seem to get in the way.
I was intrigued, Jessie described Dan as ‘a good man,’ saying, “He treated me well.”
Terrible news
We received instructions from Dan for Jessie’s temporary visa, which was granted. After some time Dan instructed us to proceed with the partnership residence application. He told us that they had plans to go back to Thailand to get married. Everyone was very excited. The residence application was lodged. However, a couple of months ago, Dan visited our offices and said that he had been diagnosed with fourth stage cancer and had only nine months to live.
The news was devastating.
We immediately informed Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and requested that the visa application be processed faster.
Meanwhile, the wedding plans were brought forward. The Idesi Legal team attended one of the two-day wedding celebrations surrounded by Dan’s family and friends.
Dan gave Jessie a wedding benefitting of a Princess.
It was a happy day despite the knowledge of the ‘C’ looming in the background. Jessie was very attentive to Dan’s every need.
Merciless Time
That day really brought home the knowledge that we can live a whole life in a moment. That moment is all that is, there is no yesterday and tomorrow. The moment is not to be squandered away. Time is a mere concept yet it dictates human existence as a fact and can give a sense of illusory continuity.
We requested INZ to give this case priority. Less than a fortnight ago, the passport with residence visa labels were received by our office.
Ominous feeling
That weekend I had a ‘feeling’ that Dan may not pull through and hence I called Dan’s home only to be told that he had passed away a few days earlier.
After the initial shock, I realised to my horror that the date of issue of the visas was critical as it was important to know when the visas had been issued as this would affect the status of Jessie and her children.
INZ confirmed that the visas were issued four hours before Dan’s death.
It was nothing short of Divine Intervention!
Dan had sorted out all issues before he left this world.
He symbolized the humane response of INZ.
Like Jessie and her family, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are grateful to INZ, and others involved, like my team at Idesi Legal Limited.
Kamil Lakshman is a Lawyer & Principal of Wellington based law firm Idesi Legal Limited. She can be contacted on (04) 4616018 or 021-1598803. Email: kamil.lakshman@idesilegal.co.nz; The opinions expressed in her article above are her own and not that of Idesi Legal Limited or the New Zealand Law Society, or its Wellington Branch, or its affiliated bodies and committees or Indian Newslink.
