A Waikato dairy farmer and his family are facing the prospect of having to leave the country after ten years of calling Aotearoa home.
Noland Kinney, 53, has a chronic kidney issue that's putting his residency application at risk because Immigration New Zealand (INZ) believes his health could pose a significant cost to the taxpayer in the future.
There hasn't been a final decision, but Kinney said the agency has indicated it does not think he meets the acceptable standard of health required. Documentation provided to 1News shows the farmer's own doctor believes his condition is stable.
"He remains fully active, works full-time as a dairy worker," his doctor writes.
"I feel that Mr Kinney will have reasonably stable kidney function going forward from here and may not need dialysis for at least five years.
But INZ's view has been more conservative.
Its medical officer believes he will need dialysis within that time-frame which would impose "significant costs" on New Zealand's health services.
If his application fails, the farmer is fearful that his family will be forced to return to the Philippines, a country where they have few remaining connections to.
"All that matters is my family, I worked hard for them, I don't want to see my children struggle in life."
His mother died in 2020, none of his siblings remain in his homeland, and most of his family are living in New Zealand.
"We have been here for almost ten years, my wife's family has been here for 27 years in Tokoroa," he said. "My kids grew up here."
If they are forced to leave, Kinney fears his children stand to lose the most.
"We don't have a house, we can not find any job there, there is no farming like there is here in New Zealand."
Immigration New Zealand operations director Janine Parsons acknowledged it was a distressing situation for the family.
She said, that while an application is being assessed, the agency has to take into consideration whether a candidate could pose a significant cost to the health system.
And while his health condition was acceptable on the temporary work visas he'd previously been granted, in this case, the agency's medical assessors have deemed the farmer does not have an acceptable standard of health.
She said a final decision is still pending, but if his application is ultimately declined, he can still challenge it.
"He will have the right of appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal which can consider the correctness of INZ's decision and any special circumstances that may exist."
Immigration lawyer Mark Williams said Kinney's facing a complex, but not uncommon dilemma that migrants can face when seeking to stay in the country long term.
"The health settings that are set in terms of residency applications are actually quite low. [That's] to capture as many health conditions as possible that would potentially create an excess cost."
He told 1News it can be difficult for officials to strike that right balance when it comes to cases of those who are well-established in the country. But those who've rallied around the Kinneys say the family's departure would be New Zealand's loss.
So far, just over 1600 people have signed a petition asking for the Government to consider his request to stay.
Tokoroa High School principal William Ford said all three of Noland's children have done well at their studies, and the family is well respected in the community.
"It's a loss to our country [if they go]. We are talking about skilled immigrants. We've got people already here in this country, and we want to send them back overseas."
Kinney's employer, dairy farm owner Chris Stevens, said the farmer would be difficult and costly to replace.
While staff pressures have eased since New Zealand's borders re-opened, she said things are still tough in the dairy sector: "Our main focus is to hang on to the ones we've got."
"Noland is a good person and we'd love to keep him."
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