An Indian woman facing deportation has been granted residency in New Zealand following her husband’s previous affairs
An Indian woman has been granted residency in New Zealand after a court found her case involved exceptional humanitarian circumstances. She became illegally present in the country after immigration complications linked to her husband’s previous custody of two ex-partners.Aradhana Goswami traveled from India to New Zealand in late 2024 to marry her partner. She faced deportation after discovering that her husband’s immigration history prevented him from supporting her application for a partnership visa.The IPT allowed Goswami to remain in New Zealand after finding that the circumstances behind her immigration problems were unusual and that her deportation would be unfair.The case centered on Goswami’s husband, who had previously sponsored two former partners to reside in New Zealand, once in 2013 and again in 2019. Under New Zealand immigration rules, a person who has already supported two successful applications for partnership residence cannot sponsor another partner to reside.Despite this, Goswami was granted a visitor visa before traveling to New Zealand on 7 November 2024.
She explained in her application that she intended to spend some time with her future husband before marriage.She told immigration authorities she wanted to spend time with “the love of her life” before “entering into a lifelong commitment,” according to the New Zealand Herald.The couple married 19 days after her arrival.According to the court’s decision, Goswami’s husband’s sponsorship history was disclosed to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) during the visitor visa process.
The court said officials granted the request and recorded that there were “no concerns.”But when Goswami applied for a partnership work visa, the application was rejected because her husband was not eligible to support her under immigration rules. The request for reconsideration was also denied.She later obtained a temporary visa, but it expired in May 2025, leaving her illegally in New Zealand.In June 2025, Goswami filed an appeal with the IPT on humanitarian grounds, arguing that being forced to leave would separate her from her husband and end their marriage.She told the court her husband moved to New Zealand from Fiji as a teenager and had no meaningful connections to India and was unlikely to move because he was the primary carer for his elderly parents.Goswami also said that returning to India alone would expose her to social stigma.Her representatives said that the couple did not hide anything and were very transparent with immigration authorities throughout the process.They added: “Her intention to marry and have a future with her partner was declared in her visitor visa application.”“The appellant and her husband truthfully declared their true intentions to Immigration New Zealand, as well as his previous partnerships.”The court accepted that there was no doubt about the validity of the marriage. It also considered medical evidence showing that Goswami was suffering from emotional disturbances, including lack of sleep, loss of appetite, constant anxiety and dizziness.Addressing her concerns about returning to India, the resolution said: “She says that the emotional impact of being viewed as a ‘failure’ in the eyes of society, and the overwhelming shame that would accompany this, would be unbearable.”The ICC concluded that Goswami was not responsible for the situation that made her vulnerable to deportation. It also ruled that allowing it to remain would not be contrary to the public interest.Immigration New Zealand rejected the idea that it had made a mistake. INZ visas manager Chris Adamson said the visitor visa and subsequent partnership visa were assessed under different rules.“When Ms Goswami subsequently applied for a temporary partnership-based visa, her partner was assessed under the standard process and did not meet the requirements because he had previously supported more than one successful residence visa application,” Adamson said.They added: “We understand that Ms Goswami’s position was not a mistake on her part, and that she may have expected to continue to live in New Zealand after obtaining her initial visa. However, our position is that both applications were properly assessed in accordance with the immigration settings at the time.”Despite this stance, the court upheld Goswami’s appeal and granted her a residency visa, putting an end to the months-long immigration battle that threatened to separate the newlywed couple.
