Family’s dream move to New Zealand is shattered after 15-year-old girl is rejected for having Down’s Syndrome

• Bumikka Suhinthan, 15, was denied a New Zealand visa because of the condition
• Her mother Nilani Suhinthan had been offered a job there as an IT consultant
• Nilani, her husband and three daughters had hoped to start a new life there 

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A family from Ireland were forced to abandon their dream move to New Zealand when their youngest daughter was denied a visa because she had Down’s Syndrome. 

Bumikka Suhinthan, 15, was told she couldn’t enter the country because her ‘health was not of an acceptable standard’ and would impose excessive costs. 

Mother Nilani Suhinthan, 52, had planned to start a new life in Auckland, New Zealand, after she was headhunted for a £74,000-a-year IT consultant job. 

She, her husband Nagarajah, 54, and other daughters Tanya, 19, and Saumia, 14, all received visas but Bumikka’s rejection has shattered their dream. 

The family, who now live in Dublin, previously lived in Buckinghamshire for 25 years until 2015.  

The Suhinthan family, from left: Saumina, 14, Nilani, 52, Bumikka, 15, Tanya, 18, and Nagarajah, 53. They have had to abandon their dream move to New Zealand 

Bumikka (left) ,15, is pictured with her sisters, Tanya (centre), 19, and Saumina (right), 14. The middle daughter was denied a visa by New Zealand immigration authorities 

Despite the family offering to pay for the extra support their daughter would need in school, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) ruled Bumikka would be too great a burden. 

Mrs Suhinthan, who had already moved to New Zealand to prepare for the family’s emigration, said she was told Bumikka would be eligible for a temporary visitor visa, so the family could spend Christmas Day in New Zealand. 

But despite booking flights, they were stopped from boarding their connecting flight in Malaysia, because Bumikka wasn’t considered a genuine visitor.

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The mother and her husband Nagarajah, an engineer, have spent three months appealing the rejection, but a final hearing last week ruled the decision was final. 

Nilani, who lives in Dublin, said: ‘It’s complete discrimination. I’ve always told her she isn’t any different but this tears it up. 

‘She doesn’t completely understand why we’re not going to New Zealand.

Bumikka, pictured left receiving a hug from her mother and right posing for a photo at a beach, has Down’s Syndrome 

Bumikka, 15, and father Nagarajah, 53. The teenager’s mother said she felt ‘let down’ after the visa was denied by New Zealand immigration officials 

‘They kept telling me she would cost them money to send her to a special school. My tax bill in one month would cover the school fees for the entire year.

‘It just doesn’t make any sense other than it being discriminatory. Bumikka has a moderate disability, but she can talk, walk and dress herself. She only needs supervision and extra help in the classroom.

‘So I don’t understand why they would reject her temporary visa other than being discriminatory.

‘We were planning a new life over there. Instead we were just thrown in limbo.

‘We had to spend Christmas Day in an apartment and had to have terrible Malaysian food instead of a Christmas dinner.

‘The car I bought over there is just sitting in my sister’s driveway. I couldn’t just leave her in Ireland and move my other children to the other side of the world.

The two younger sisters, Saumina (left) and Bumikka (right), who had her visa denied because her ‘health was not of an acceptable standard’ 

Sisters Bumikka, left, Tanya, centre, and Saumina, right. The Suhinthan family have had their dream of emigrating to New Zealand shattered

‘I love my daughter too much to move the other side of the world but we were all looking forward to our new life.’

She and her husband had emigrated from Sri Lanka in 1990, initially living in Buckinghamshire and then moving to Dublin in 2015. 

Mrs Suhinthan was scouted for a job as a data mining specialist for a large US tech company in June last year, and moved over to get settled and await her family’s arrival.  

In November last year, a month before the move, they were told Bumikka’s visa had been declined.

Her mother wrote to the Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi begging him to reconsider Bumikka’s student visa application.  

Bumikka would need to take part in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) – a national resource which provides support for students in need of special education to join in and learn alongside other students at school.

The family pictured together, from left: Tanya, Saumina, mother Nilani, Bumikka, and father Nagarajah. Nilani had planned a new life in New Zealand after being recruited for a job there

Pictured left: Tanya, mother Nilani, and middle daughter Bumikka; pictured right: the three sisters, Tanya, Bumikka and Saumia 

But despite her mother’s offer to pay the $7,800 (£5,923) needed every year, the country told her the scheme is a ‘finite resource’ and can’t be spared for an international citizen.

Mrs Suhinthan, who had to leave her New Zealand job and move back to Dublin, said she had been ‘completely let down’.  

A spokesman for New Zealand Immigration confirmed the visa had been denied on health grounds. 

They said: ‘While we sympathise with the family’s situation, all non-New Zealanders coming to New Zealand must have an acceptable standard of health so as not to impose undue costs or demands on New Zealand’s public health system.

‘In Bumikka’s case, the medical assessor determined that the granting of a visa would likely impose significant costs and/or demands on New Zealand’s health and special education services.

Saumina (left) and her sister Bumikka (right). The family could not even spend Christmas Day in New Zealand as they had hoped because Bumikka was not considered a genuine visitor 

‘The Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) is a limited resource available for all students in New Zealand and any teacher aide provided by the school would be part of the ORS.

‘While INZ notes the family’s intention to pay for the use of the teacher aide, the ability of a person or organisation to pay for education services has no bearing on whether an applicant is likely to impose significant costs on New Zealand’s special education services.

‘Furthermore, regardless of how it is funded, the teacher aide would still come from the ORS and would result in another New Zealand child being unable to access the skills of that teacher aide.

‘INZ determined that due to Bumikka’s circumstances, she couldn’t be classified as a bona fide temporary visitor.

‘With her entire family either working in New Zealand or intending to move to New Zealand, Immigration officials were not satisfied Bumikka could be considered a bona fide visitor.’  

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