Photo: 123RF
There are hundreds of thousands of foreign national visa holders in the country at present, 22 thousand of whom are thought to be in serious hardship but are not eligible for social welfare. Sue Moroney is of CEO Community Law. She says the 37 million dollar emergency assistance programme the government announced last week for foreign nationals isn't good enough. Migrants spoken to say they don't want to be charity cases but have no choice because they aren't legally allowed to pick up even part time work, despite employers needing workers. However, the Immigration Minister, Iain Lees-Galloway is taking a cautious approach to using those temporary powers. Law student and fluent Spanish speaker Kelly Philips, has been helping house stranded South Americans in the South Island.
