14 Nov 2011

Woman and baby allowed to remain in NZ

6:06 am on 14 November 2011

A woman who feared she and her baby would be killed by a former boyfriend if she was deported to South Africa is being allowed to stay in New Zealand.

She fled her home country last year when she was six months pregnant.

The woman, 20, told the Immigration and Protection Tribunal that the man and his gang associates had stalked her in South Africa, even finding her when she moved cities.

She said returning home would most likely result in the deaths of her and her son, and possibly the father of her child.

In its appeal decision, the tribunal said exceptional humanitarian circumstances meant it would be unduly harsh to deport the woman and her baby and granted them residence visas.