A pregnant New Zealander who needs hospital care in India desperately wants to come home, but Immigration NZ (INZ) is refusing to grant a visa to her Indian husband - who is also her support person - to travel with her.

Lisa Anne Muir, 37, has been married to Rahul Sharma, 28, since 2018, but INZ does not believe their relationship is genuine and stable.

INZ’s acting general manager for border and visa operations, Michael Carley, confirmed a visitor visa application from Sharma was declined in February last year.

“The then Associate Minister of Immigration was approached about this outcome. He declined to intervene,” Carley said.

Rahul Sharma and Lisa Muir are fighting to return to NZ. Photo / Supplied

Sharma had also made a residence application under the partnership category and Carley said this was under assessment.

Muir, who is almost seven months pregnant, has been in India since July 2021 and said she is having “mental health episodes”.

“I have been coming in and out of hospital (in India) and my husband is the one looking after me. We really need to return to New Zealand for my mental health treatment, and my pregnancy is also not safe in India,” Muir said.

To support her and pay for her medical care, Muir claimed Sharma had to sell his property in India.

The couple first met in 2017 in New Zealand while Sharma was here on a student visa. They married a year later in June 2018.

One year into the marriage, Sharma confessed to being unfaithful and said he had sexual relations with two different women.

Rahul Sharma and Lisa Muir have been living in India since 2021. Photo / Supplied

But in documents seen by the Herald, INZ said it was aware of three other incidents with one resulting in a police complaint and another with his Uber driving licence revoked.

In 2018, a complainant alleged Sharma had offered money to her in exchange for sex and then a year later another made a police complaint that he had non-consensual sex with her, and he was trespassed from the woman’s address.

Sharma said there was no basis for the complaints, and police had found him innocent.

Then in 2020, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency informed police that Sharma’s endorsement licence had been revoked due to a complaint relating to inappropriate comments allegedly made towards a passenger while he was operating as an Uber driver.

“There have been four incidents with four different parties over the span of three years,” INZ said.

“We are not currently satisfied that in returning to the same environment you would intend to maintain the exclusive nature of your relationship.

“The psychologist notes ... indicated that at least one of the incidents was opportunistic.”

The INZ report also noted that it had concerns that Sharma may have entered the relationship with Muir to facilitate a visa pathway.

Sharma denied being guilty to any of the above complaints, saying they were not based on any evidence, and insisted their marriage and relationship were genuine.

“I just want to bring my wife home, she has lost more than 40kg and needs urgent medical care and I feel she could even die if she does not get help,” he said.

Sharma said Muir has had two previous miscarriages and they were worried about her current pregnancy.

He said Muir is struggling to cope with the weather in India and her mental state is so bad that she sometimes forgets her own name.

Carley said INZ has been in communication with Sharma and is keeping him fully informed of his application.

“We are unable to comment further,” he said.