Mum of four faced deportation over husband's domestic violence conviction

Sunday, 13 January 2019

Four incidents of family violence between the pair were reported to police between 2012 and 2017 (FILE PHOTO).

A mum of four, who was beaten by her husband, faced deportation because immigration officials felt their relationship might not last following a series of family violence incidents.

The woman, 26, is from Kiribati but has lived in New Zealand for 18 years, mainly on a partnership visa, an immigration tribunal in Auckland was told.

But that partnership was called into question when she tried to renew it and her husband's conviction for domestic violence, following an assault on her in 2015, came to light.

Three other family violence incidents were reported to police between 2012 and 2017 and her visa application was declined on the basis the relationship was 'not stable and likely to endure'.

* Protecting children from family violence will prevent them perpetrating it later - report

Kiribati is an independent republic within the Commonwealth, located in the central Pacific Ocean.

* New Zealand's high rates of family violence being tackled by police

* Domestic violence victim finds the courage to tell her story**

Despite the domestic abuse, the couple continued to live together and their youngest child was born in April 2018.

Appealing the decision to decline the visa, the woman said she still saw a future with her husband, who she described as a 'loving, respectful husband and great father'.

She said her main role in the family was to manage the home and care for the couple's daughters, and deportation would 'break her heart and devastate her'.

In letters to the tribunal, the woman's husband said his conviction for assaulting his wife was a 'wake-up call' and he did not want his family to break apart.

He said the pair had been together for 11 years after meeting in high school, they had four daughters aged six months to 10 years, and his wife was his 'soul's lifetime companion'.

The 28-year-old, who is also from Kiribati but has lived in New Zealand since 2006 and has residency, said his wife was a devoted mother and the family would struggle without her.

He said while he could not guarantee he would be a perfect husband, he believed no-one around him would ever be unsafe and he would endeavour to 'learn things to improve his family's wellbeing'.

If the woman was deported, the husband and children would have to decide if they too would relocate to Kiribati, where they have no immediate family and there are few job opportunities, the tribunal heard.

Granting the woman residency on humanitarian grounds, the judgement said deportation would be 'disastrous' for the family and would severely penalise the woman and her children for her husband's offending.

It said while domestic violence was a risk factor in their relationship, the most practical means of protecting her would be to grant her residency.

This would allow her to leave her marriage in future, without the fear of being deported because her visa was tied to her husband, and she would be in a better position to made decisions about her and her children's future if the domestic violence continued.