It's been nearly two years since a Tauranga mother has seen her children, but last night 1News was there when Sammie Yee Chen was reunited with her kids.
She'd travelled to Malaysia in December 2019 to renew her passport and to finalise her residency, but Covid-19 stymied her plans to return.
And, tragically, in July this year her husband was killed in a car crash. Her children, aged six and eight, were in the car when their dad died.
Family friend Wes Archer contacted 1News in August after becoming frustrated with Immigration New Zealand and the lack of progress to get the grieving mother home.
Now she's back in New Zealand and couldn't be happier.
When asked what she was most looking forward to, she said, "I'll just spend some time with my kids".
They'd made a special 'welcome home' sign for their mum, who had completed two weeks in a quarantine facility in Christchurch.
But they were forced to wait even longer as her flight to Rotorua was diverted to Tauranga due to fog.
Yee Chen squealed with joy after seeing her children for the first time in 22 months.
SHARE ME