Covid border closures separate couple in Warrnambool and New Zealand

Warrnambool's Jemma Jackson met Auckland-native Shinay Singh when she was working in New Zealand for a year from February 2019.

The couple started dating in November 2019 and Miss Jackson returned to Australia in February 2020 to visit her friends and family.

The childcare worker had flights booked to return to Auckland in April last year but her plans were dashed when the pandemic broke.

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Miss Jackson applied three times for a New Zealand visa in 2020 to be reunited with her boyfriend who was completing his final year of university in medicinal chemistry but was denied each time as the department of immigration was not satisfied the couple was in a "genuine and stable relationship".

"We would be together if it wasn't for COVID," Miss Jackson said. "As part of the coronavirus protocol I can only go over if I have a visa. I've applied for partner and ordinary visas after I lived and worked in New Zealand for a year.

"For my applications we provided photos, videos, call logs, letters to each other, text messages and got our friends and family to write letters on our behalf and yet we were still denied."

The couple did long-distance from February to December 2020 until Mr Singh moved to Warrnambool to live with Miss Jackson and her father.

The couple had plans to return to New Zealand in May for Mr Singh's graduation.

"When he first moved over here, everyone was so excited to finally meet him. He's a loving person, so genuine and caring," Miss Jackson said.

"Everyone just loved him because he's so easy to get along with."

However, Mr Singh was told on Valentine's Day that his grandfather was sick and he could purchase an emergency flight to Auckland. He left on February 20 and is currently in isolation in Rotorua.

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Miss Jackson applied for another partner visa and purchased plane tickets to return with her boyfriend but once again had her application denied.

"We were living at my dad's house to save up for the cost of quarantine in New Zealand which was going to cost us $3000 each," Miss Jackson said.

"For my latest application we showed them our joint bank account but we didn't have a rental history together.

"Immigration denied us again and said there was 'no proof of genuine relationship'."

Mr Singh will return to Australia after he graduates but the couple hopes to be reunited before then and has future plans of moving to Queensland.

"This is the last straw for us," Miss Jackson said. "We don't know what to do.

"We were so happy to finally be together in December. We've done 10 months of long distance already so we can stick this out.

"He will come back after his graduation and if I can't get a visa then we'll stay in Warrnambool until the end of the year because it costs so much for us to go back and forth."

Immigration New Zealand and the New Zealand Consulate-General in Melbourne were approached for comment but did not respond.

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