A transgender Brazilian content creator says she was left humiliated after Immigration New Zealand cancelled her travel authority while she waited to board a connecting flight to Auckland.
Anna Laura Amaral Pimentel Pereira, 27, was travelling from Rio de Janeiro through Santiago to visit her uncle in New Zealand when she was called for an immigration interview before boarding.
Pereira says she had a valid NZeTA, an invitation from her uncle and enough money to support herself during the trip. Immigration New Zealand says officers were not satisfied she met the requirements to travel under visa-waiver rules.
Pereira Says The Trip Was To Visit Family
Pereira said the journey was a last-minute family visit after she and her uncle, Igor Amaral Pimentel, had been missing each other.
She planned to stay at his home and said the pair had organised an itinerary for her visit. During her stopover in Chile, she printed supporting documents before heading to the boarding gate.
Pereira said she was then asked to complete a phone interview with immigration officials. She was questioned about the purpose of her trip, her work, her finances and her plans in New Zealand.
Although she works as an adult content creator in Brazil, Pereira said she had no intention of working while in New Zealand.
She said she co-operated with the interview but was ultimately prevented from boarding.
‘I Felt Humiliated’
Pereira said the experience left her feeling “intimidated, disrespected, ashamed, and, above all, humiliated”.
She said the most difficult part was being left alone in Santiago without understanding why she had been stopped.
Her uncle also expressed frustration, saying the visit would have been the first time a family member from Brazil had come to see him during his 11 years in New Zealand.
Pereira said she does not want to assume the decision was motivated by transphobia, but she wants a clearer explanation and an apology for the way the situation was handled.
Immigration New Zealand Defends The Decision
Immigration New Zealand’s Auckland border operations director Briar Pelling confirmed Pereira was prevented from boarding.
INZ says she was referred for further questioning because of the last-minute booking and publicly available information about her online profile.
According to INZ, Pereira did not provide evidence during the interview showing she had enough money to support herself and was unable to give sufficient detail about her travel plans.
The agency also said officers had concerns about the accuracy and completeness of information about her employment and online work.
Pereira disputes that characterisation and says she had sufficient funds and genuine plans to visit her uncle.
An NZeTA Does Not Guarantee Entry
Under New Zealand’s visa-waiver system, an NZeTA allows eligible travellers to travel towards New Zealand but does not guarantee that they will be allowed to enter.
Visitors must still satisfy immigration officials that they are genuine tourists, have enough money to support themselves and intend to leave at the end of their stay.
Visa-waiver travellers may be asked to provide proof of funds, accommodation and onward travel before boarding or when they arrive in New Zealand.
INZ says Pereira’s NZeTA was withdrawn and her visa-waiver status suspended after a senior border officer reviewed the case.
Questions Remain Over How The Case Was Handled
The central dispute is not whether Immigration New Zealand has the power to question or stop travellers. It does.
The unanswered question is whether Pereira was given a fair opportunity to demonstrate that she met the requirements and whether concerns about her online work were handled appropriately.
For LGBTQ+ travellers, the case may also raise concerns about how transgender people and sex workers are treated during border screening, particularly when officials rely partly on information found online.
There is currently no evidence showing that Pereira was stopped because she is transgender, and she herself has said she does not want to make that assumption.
What is clear is that her planned family visit ended at a boarding gate in Santiago, with two very different accounts of why.
