New Zealand bars British man's 'fat' wife

[Psephos]

Source: Telegraph (UK)

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 initially being rejected for being overweight and a potential burden on the health care system.

His wife, Rowan, 33, a photographer, has been battling for months to shed the pounds so they can be reunited and live Down Under but has so far been unable to overcome New Zealand’s weight regulations. Mr Trezise, who moved to Auckland in September after shedding two inches from his waist on a crash diet, 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 under New Zealand regulations. Mr Trezise, a submarine cable specialist and a former soldier, said: "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." The couple, who both lived in Barry, Wales, were all set for a new life after Mr Trezise was headhunted by New Zealand’s Telecom.

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Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/17/wfat117.xml

[muntrv]

1. Reminds me of several fox snooze blowhards talking about waging war against

fat people in America.

[SheilaT]

2. So why don't they get a start

on the change in lifestyle while still in Wales? One can ride a bike anywhere, get outdoors anywhere. Why do they need to be in NZ to do that?

[AndyTiedye]

3. She Has Been Trying To