Firefighter still battling for residency

Stuff reports:

Nelson man Steve Webster and his family have been fighting for seven years to gain permanent residency after moving to New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 2012. 
The plight of Webster gained national attention after he was photographed helping fight the Pigeon Valley forest fire in Nelson in February.
Nelson MP Nick Smith presented the petition, which has gained more than 62,000 signatures, to Parliament on Tuesday.

In April, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway granted the family 24-month work visas, but said he was not prepared to grant permanent residence to them. 

If only he was a convicted drug dealer. Then residency would be no problems.