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A South African family’s 7-year-old son with autism and epilepsy says New Zealand is his only true home, yet he now faces deportation because of his health issues. 

Special school student Joshua Meets has a rare form of complex epilepsy, which led to his family’s residency application being declined. 

His family of five have lived in Warkworth since February 2020, but their ability to continue to live and work here hangs in the balance. 

The family had to meet multiple strict requirements to obtain a visa, including medical checks and job offers. Joshua’s mother, Ingrid Meets, told the Herald it wasn’t an easy process. 

They were feeling optimistic about the prospect of gaining residency, but now their ability to remain in the place they call home is under threat. 

The thought of having to leave everything they’ve built keeps them going in their years-long fight. 

“This turned me into a world-class hurdler because I’m just jumping from one hoop to another,” she said. 

“It’s not a Kiwi thing to do. It’s such an accepting society, but then we get pushed to the side for having a kid with special needs.” 

Joshua Meets had his visa denied by Immigration NZ because of his rare form of epilepsy. 

‘This is home and this is life’ 

The Meets family had contributed to vital gaps in the workforce and community in the years they had been on Kiwi soil, Ingrid Meets said. 

She is a commerce and social studies teacher at Mahurangi College, and her husband is an apprentice builder. 

If Joshua were to return to South Africa, it would significantly harm his well-being and his quality of education, she said. 

“New Zealand just means freedom for my family. 

“It just gives us all a new life, the boys can excell and they won’t be discriminated against. We are safe.” 

Her three boys, Matthew, Joshua, and Daniel, have lived in New Zealand longer than they lived in South Africa. 

“They’ve got no connection to South Africa. 

“Although we are a South African family and we still speak Afrikaans, they started schooling here, and they have their friends here. 

“This is home and this is life for them.” 

Meets said she never imagined that she would have to become an advocate. 

“When the system remains silent, I can’t stay quiet. 

“I am Joshua’s voice, but also a voice for all the other families facing this bureaucratic nightmare.” 

A and have been set up to aid the family in their fight. 

The fight against deportation 

Joshua’s family kicked off their time in New Zealand after they were all given three-year visas to enter the country in 2020 without any issues. 

They said they did not know the severity of their son’s condition on their arrival. 

He was just 2 when they were granted visas, and he was seizure-free after being weaned off his seizure medication. 

After two years in New Zealand, he was diagnosed with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. 

In 2022, the family applied for the 2021 Resident Visa, a pathway to residence for certain temporary visa holders affected by Covid-19 and border closures. 

Meets said Immigration New Zealand deemed Joshua was not of an acceptable standard of health and was not eligible for a waiver. 

After multiple letters of concern, the residence visa application was officially declined. 

In March 2024, they appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, which weighed up the case and found there were special circumstances that favoured the family staying. 

The case was sent to the Minister for Immigration to make the final decision, but Associate Minister Chris Penk declined their appeal. 

Erica Stanford, the Minister of Immigration, also declined the appeal. 

Since then, the rest of Joshua’s family have been given valid visas that will allow them to stay in New Zealand until 2029. 

Joshua’s application for a new visa was declined, and his current one expired this month, so now his family must make a final appeal on humanitarian grounds. 

This decision will be made by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, rather than the minister, Meets said. 

Joshua Meet’s student visa application was declined after law changes. 

What can they do? 

Meets said they were well within their rights to appeal the deportation decision on humanitarian grounds. 

“We have handed in our appeal document, and we’ve got 42 days to complete, get proof and get support letters and build a case that we can now present.” 

The appeal goes to the Immigration Protection Tribunal – now the family’s second round of dealing with it. 

“We had such a good outcome the first time, and they said that our case definitely held merit and special circumstances, and even with that then we still got the decline.” 

She said that with this appeal, the tribunal would make the final decision, and it did not need to be referred back to a minister, which might improve their chances. 

Joshua Meets has a complex seizure disorder, developmental delay and is non-verbal, so he attends a special school. 

“I understand that immigration is a policy,” Meets said. 

“But I think there should be a more humane or humanitarian side to it. You can’t judge people just on a tick-box system. 

“Let’s say it was an easy ride for us and we get residency, and myself or one of the boys gets in an accident and then they need special schooling. They won’t be seen as a burden on the system. 

“It’s just a timing issue. The Government knows what they’re going to expect with Joshua. So why is he being called a burden on the system? 

“If they accept me to come for a very important role in being a teacher and being able to be good enough to teach Kiwi kids, then my kids should also be accepted in society just like any other normal kid,” Meets said. 

Joshua Meets had his visa denied by Immigration New Zealand due to his rare form of epilepsy. Photo / Supplied 

The family’s life has been put on pause as they wait for a final decision. 

“Once you lodge the appeal, it takes quite a while. 

”That appeal might take another six to nine months for the final decision. But it does mean that we live on a very high nervous system during that time because it just feels like there’s no finality. 

“We can’t save money for a house deposit. We can’t plan for our future.” 

Acceptable Standard of Health policy 

The Meets family are urgently calling for an exemption to New Zealand’s Acceptable Standard of Health (Ash) policy, which they deem to be discriminatory. 

“We call for the end of the discriminatory Ash policy, which unfairly penalises migrants and refugees with disabilities or medical conditions and their families, breaching New Zealand’s international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD),” the family said on their petition. 

Stanford said the Government strengthened the health requirements for dependent children of people on temporary visas to ensure more consistency in the immigration system from March this year. 

“In recent years, a spike in enrolments of children of temporary migrants in our schools has resulted in an increase in children from this cohort with very high learning needs,” Stanford said. 

“This has put significant strain on an already oversubscribed learning support system, preventing other children from getting the support they need.”