New Zealand VS Fatties

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dsw1

Veteran XV
South African chef 'too fat' to live in New Zealand

Authorities in New Zealand have told a South African chef he is too fat to be allowed to live in the country.

Immigration officials said Albert Buitenhuis, who weighs 130kg (286 pounds), did not have "an acceptable standard of health".

He now faces expulsion despite shedding 30kg since he moved to the city of Christchurch six years ago.

New Zealand has one of the highest obesity rates in the developed world, with nearly 30% of people overweight.

Mr Buitenhuis and his wife, Marthie, moved from South Africa to Christchurch in 2007. At the time, the chef weighed 160kg.

Until now, their annual work visas had been renewed with "very little problem", his wife said.

"We applied year after year and there were no issues," she said.

"They never mentioned Albert's weight or his health once and he was a lot heavier then."

But in early May, the couple was told their work visas had been declined because of Mr Buitenhuis's weight.

"The irony is that at the moment he weighs less than when we first arrived in New Zealand and also less than in his first medical, which was accepted by [immigration authorities]," his wife said.

The couple has appealed to New Zealand's immigration minister, citing the chef's recent weight loss.

An immigration spokesman said Mr Buitenhuis's application had been rejected because his obesity put him at "significant risk" of complications including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

"It is important that all migrants have an acceptable standard of health to minimise costs and demands on New Zealand's health services," he said.
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BBC News - South African chef 'too fat' to live in New Zealand

Looks like half of TW won't be able to work in New Zeland now.
 
True story - being morbidly obese, or having significant health problems is a huge hurdle to getting residency in New Zealand.
 
coombz said:
it's ok to be fat as fuck if u were born here tho

gfg
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heaven forbid the govt. is perceived as alienating the maori natives.

i think the argument was that this dude's fatness was a drain on a healthcare system that he doesn't pay into via taxes... not sure how the kiwis have their tax system set up though.

maybe the guy's an asshole and this was the only thing they could catch him out on?
 
well if you're counting it purely by BMI, then that does kinda discriminate against people who are genuinely short/wide builds (or... big frames for their size).

Ever seen a skinny Maori? They're just built that way. Weight versus height is a very simplistic way to evaluate someone's health/fitness/whatever.
 
I support countries right to be choosy about their immigrants, dont want other countries to dump their unwanted populations on you do you?
 
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