The owners of a restaurant in St Heliers which had a turnover of $1.6 million last year and employs 26 staff have been denied residency because the business does not add significant benefit to New Zealand, Immigration say.

Brian from New Lynn

La Vista owners Nataliya Shchetkova and her husband Alex Derecha fear their family will now be forced to sell up and leave when their visa expires in six months. The couple came to New Zealand in 2013 with their three children, to buy a fine dining restaurant. Shchetkova gave birth to twins a few months later.The Ukrainian citizens first came to New Zealand on a Long Term Business Visa after an eight-month wait for approval. Conditions of the LTBV were that they supply a detailed plan of the business they would buy and operate. It must be worth at least $500,000, must turn a profit and employ at least three fulltime workers. Shchetkova submitted a detailed business plan to take over a 140-seat French restaurant but due to the long wait for the visa, it had sold by the time she arrived in New Zealand. She instead bought La Vista, a 46-seat Spanish restaurant, for $700,000. It has since expanded and now seats 70. Shchetkova and her husband have worked without a day off for two years to make the business a success.They employ 26 staff, 17 of whom are on fulltime contracts. The business had about 12 when they took over. La Vista's turnover for the year ended 2018 was $1.6 million and is expected to reach $1.75m for the year ended 2019.
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