{"id":11603,"date":"2016-07-31T08:22:33","date_gmt":"2013-07-31T15:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=11603"},"modified":"2013-07-31T08:22:33","modified_gmt":"2013-07-31T15:22:33","slug":"chef-immigration-l0731","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/weight-loss\/chef-immigration-l0731\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef Trapped in Immigration Battle Over Weight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A 273 pound man says New Zealand won’t let him stay in the country because of his weight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>A chef in New Zealand says the country won\u2019t let him become a resident because of his weight.<\/p>\n

The immigration battle brews<\/strong><\/p>\n

Albertus Buitenhuis, who is originally from South Africa, says he\u2019s worked in New Zealand for six years, but was denied residency by the country\u2019s immigration office because of weight-related medical problems.<\/p>\n

“I am a chef, not a politician and I do not want to be the poster child for immigration issues — but I have become that I feel,” he told CNN<\/a>. “I just want to work and live here.”<\/p>\n

Buitenhuis and his wife are now stuck in the cross-hairs of an immigration battle. The two have had to stop working now that they\u2019re considered illegal aliens.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been kicked out of our home. We’re in the process of losing our phones, we’re going to be cut off. We’re living with my sister,” he said. “It hurts your pride, it’s humiliating.”<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s immigration policy<\/strong><\/p>\n

To earn residency, Buitenhuis did have to take several medical exams. The immigration office says a person\u2019s status cannot be denied because of obesity alone. In Buitenhuis\u2019 cases, the agency cited a list of medical problems including a knee injury and high likelihood of diabetes and hypertension.<\/p>\n

According to CNN, New Zealand made headlines for a similar case in 2009, when a woman claimed she was denied residency because of her weight.<\/p>\n

Experts say it\u2019s not uncommon for countries to screen applicants based on medical conditions, especially countries with public health care system, which New Zealand has.<\/p>\n

The next step<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Medical<\/a>
Medical tests are often required to gain residency.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The couple has filed an appeal and hopes to have the decision overturned.<\/p>\n

“We committed no crime and did nothing wrong other than my husband being a foodie,” wrote Marthie Buitenhuis, his wife. “We also feel that this situation is treated very lightly while it should be abundantly clear to the officials involved with our case that the situation is urgent.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A chef in New Zealand says the country won\u2019t let him become a resident because of his weight. The immigration battle brews Albertus Buitenhuis, who is originally from South Africa, says he\u2019s worked in New Zealand for six years, but was denied residency by the country\u2019s immigration office because of weight-related medical problems. “I am […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t