New Zealand bars British man's 'fat' wife
By Paul Chapman in Wellington
A British man who moved to New Zealand has been told by officials that his wife is too fat to join him.
Richie Trezise, 35, a rugby-playing Welshman, lost weight to gain entry to New Zealand after being rejected for being overweight and a potential burden on the health care system.
His wife, Rowan, is now on a strict diet. However, she has been battling for months to shed the pounds so they can be reunited and live Down Under.
Mr Trezise moved to New Zealand in September after shedding two inches from his waist on a crash diet. He said that if his wife was not allowed to come out by Christmas they would abandon the idea of emigrating.
His employer-backed skills visa was initially rejected by immigration officials when they discovered that his body mass index, or BMI, was 42, making him morbidly obese.
BMI measures a person's weight in relation to their height. Anything over 25 is regarded as overweight, and 30 or above is obese.
But his wife Rowan, who planned to emigrate with him, has failed to overcome the obesity test.
Mr Trezise is a submarine cable specialist, who has also served in the Army.
He said yesterday: "My doctor laughed at me.
"He said he'd never seen anything more ridiculous in his whole life. He said not every overweight person is unhealthy or unfit.
"The idea was that we were going to change our lifestyle totally and get outdoors and on mountain bikes and all sorts of activities."
Robyn Toomath, a spokesman for Fight the Obesity Epidemic and an endocrinologist, said the BMI limit was valid in the vast majority of people.
She said she was opposed to obese people being stigmatised.
"However, the immigration department's focus is different," she said. "It cannot afford to import people into the country who are going to be a significant drain on our health resources.
"You can see the logic in assessing if there is a significant health cost associated with this individual and that would be a reason for them not coming in."
New Zealand is critically short of skilled workers, and many large firms are intensively recruiting in Britain.
Mr Trezise was recruited to supervise the Southern Cross Cable, which links New Zealand with Australia and the west coast of the United States.
He is one of only four highly qualified specialist technicians working on the improvement of the cable.
The New Zealand Immigration Service said it did not know how many people were denied entry to the country because of high BMI readings.
However, comments posted on the Emigrate New Zealand website reveal that many people have been turned down after medical tests revealed that they were obese.
Mr Trezise has private health care in New Zealand and his employer, Telecom, has a gym membership scheme.
By Paul Chapman in Wellington
A British man who moved to New Zealand has been told by officials that his wife is too fat to join him.
Richie Trezise, 35, a rugby-playing Welshman, lost weight to gain entry to New Zealand after being rejected for being overweight and a potential burden on the health care system.
His wife, Rowan, is now on a strict diet. However, she has been battling for months to shed the pounds so they can be reunited and live Down Under.
Mr Trezise moved to New Zealand in September after shedding two inches from his waist on a crash diet. He said that if his wife was not allowed to come out by Christmas they would abandon the idea of emigrating.
His employer-backed skills visa was initially rejected by immigration officials when they discovered that his body mass index, or BMI, was 42, making him morbidly obese.
BMI measures a person's weight in relation to their height. Anything over 25 is regarded as overweight, and 30 or above is obese.
But his wife Rowan, who planned to emigrate with him, has failed to overcome the obesity test.
Mr Trezise is a submarine cable specialist, who has also served in the Army.
He said yesterday: "My doctor laughed at me.
"He said he'd never seen anything more ridiculous in his whole life. He said not every overweight person is unhealthy or unfit.
"The idea was that we were going to change our lifestyle totally and get outdoors and on mountain bikes and all sorts of activities."
Robyn Toomath, a spokesman for Fight the Obesity Epidemic and an endocrinologist, said the BMI limit was valid in the vast majority of people.
She said she was opposed to obese people being stigmatised.
"However, the immigration department's focus is different," she said. "It cannot afford to import people into the country who are going to be a significant drain on our health resources.
"You can see the logic in assessing if there is a significant health cost associated with this individual and that would be a reason for them not coming in."
New Zealand is critically short of skilled workers, and many large firms are intensively recruiting in Britain.
Mr Trezise was recruited to supervise the Southern Cross Cable, which links New Zealand with Australia and the west coast of the United States.
He is one of only four highly qualified specialist technicians working on the improvement of the cable.
The New Zealand Immigration Service said it did not know how many people were denied entry to the country because of high BMI readings.
However, comments posted on the Emigrate New Zealand website reveal that many people have been turned down after medical tests revealed that they were obese.
Mr Trezise has private health care in New Zealand and his employer, Telecom, has a gym membership scheme.
Comment