Anti-gay pastor Steven Anderson has yet to apply for a visa to New Zealand and is unlikely to obtain one if he does.
express can exclusively reveal that anti-gay pastor Steven Anderson is yet to even apply for a visa to come to New Zealand, despite his social media posts indicating that he would be making the trip to Auckland and Christchurch.
The American hate preacher was last week banned from entry to Australia on the basis of his extremist views which include calling for the mass murder of homosexuals and celebrating the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida in which 49 people lost their lives.
Anderson who had previously given a sermon in which he said the execution of every gay person would result in an end to AIDS, saying “If a man also lies with mankind, as he lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death.”
“Their blood shall be upon them. And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS. It’s curable, right there. Because if you executed the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant.”
Following his ban from entering Australia, Anderson took to Facebook to announce that he was planning to go to Christchurch and Auckland instead.
However, that now appears to be highly improbable. Speaking to express, Michael Carley from Immigration New Zealand has told express that “Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has not received any application for entry to New Zealand from Mr Anderson.”
Carley says that if Anderson has been banned from any other nation, a special directive would have to be issued by the Minister/Associate Minister of Immigration or “an INZ staff member who has the appropriate delegations.”
“Under section 15(1)(e) of the Immigration Act, any person who has previously been excluded or deported from another country can’t be granted a visa or entry permission unless a special direction is issued,” Carley says.
Given Anderson has been banned from a total of 33 countries for his hate preaching, it is unlikely any visa would be given serious consideration.
Response From Immigration New Zealand:
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has not received any application for entry to New Zealand from Mr Anderson.
Under section 15(1)(e) of the Immigration Act, any person who has previously been excluded or deported from another country can’t be granted a visa or entry permission unless a special direction is issued.
A special direction allows an exception to be given to an ‘excluded person’. A decision on approving a special direction can be made by the Minister of Immigration, the Associate Minister of Immigration, or an INZ staff member who has the appropriate delegations.
