Support Leonora

Leonora McKelvey is 65 years old and was born in the Philippines. She has five children and was widowed in 2013.

In June 2014 Leonora came to NZ to visit her son and his family. She entered NZ on a Visitors Permit. A new Visitors Permit was issued to extend her stay from November 2014 until March 2015.

During this period (February 2015), she met and married David McKelvey, a widower from Blenheim. Leonora then applied for a Partnership Visa to allow her to stay in NZ with her new husband.

The Partnership Visa was declined by Immigration NZ in October 2015. Subsequently, a Ministerial Appeal was made to the Associate Minister of Immigration in February 2016. This was declined in May 2016, with instructions for Leonora to leave the country. This would have meant leaving her husband as well.

The decline decision from Immigration is based upon a scam that Leonora was caught up in while in Hong Kong in 2001. She trusted an agent who arranged for her to raise money for her family by working in Italy. When in Hong Kong, en route from the Philippines to Italy, she was given travel documents by her agent which were false. Upon arrival in Hong Kong, she was arrested, charged and imprisoned. After a few months she was released and deported back to the Philippines. The Philippine authorities have since exonerated her of any guilt on her part as she was an innocent victim of a scam.

Unfortunately it seems that Immigration NZ have held this false conviction against her and her character. This has resulted in their refusal to grant Leonora a Partnership Visa.

Leonora and her husband David live a happy contented life tending to their vegetable and flower gardens. They are active in serving at the Oasis Family Church, where they arrange the morning tea for everyone. They are a great example of a loving and caring couple. The thought of them being separated and living out their latter days away from each other is devastating. It would, quite literally, break their hearts.

To enable them to stay together, a Ministerial Appeal was lodged in February 2016, which was declined in May with instructions for Leonora to leave NZ immediately.

It is not a good move to part couples who are happily married, so an application has been made for a Judicial Review in the High Court of NZ. It goes without saying that such an undertaking is a costly thing to do. However the stakes are high; an innocent woman, who was ruthlessly scammed, faces separation from her husband just after they have found love and companionship together.

Will you please stand with us on this important issue? A family is at stake here and justice needs to be done. Your donation will go towards to legal costs of this Judicial Review. By giving, you are making a stand against heartless scammers, as well as keeping this loving couple together.

Thank you for your generous support for Leonora.