Mr Glover (89) has been married to Aurora (67), a Filipino citizen, for four years.
His first wife died 14 years ago and he met Aurora in Alexandra, through friends.
"We get on good and it's not a marriage of convenience: I've had to provide evidence of that for Immigration. Can you imagine how embarrassing it is to have to get letters from friends and neighbours to prove we were living together at my home, and it was a legitimate marriage?" he said.
His wife has diabetes and an application for a residence visa had been denied in the past because of her health.
Mrs Glover's mother died several months ago and she recently returned to the Philippines to sort out her estate.
While there, her condition worsened and she is now on dialysis.
The dialysis costs her $150 a week in the Philippines but would cost about $1000 a week in this country, as a non-New Zealand resident, so at this stage, it seemed the couple would have to remain apart as the cost of treatment here was prohibitive, Mr Glover said.
He has already spent about $25,000 in lawyers' fees and medical expenses to try to acquire a residency visa for his wife, and said he seemed to have made no progress.
"When a Kiwi marries a foreigner, that person should become a Kiwi, to my way of thinking."
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) operations support branch manager Michael Carley said health requirements for non-New Zealand citizens included ensuring they were unlikely to impose significant costs or demands on our health services.
"Mrs Glover was declined a residence visa because she was not considered to have an acceptable standard of health and could not be considered for a medical waiver. She has a condition listed as a disqualifying condition, 'needing dialysis treatment, or an INZ medical assessor has indicated that such treatment will be required within four years'." Because of this, Immigration could not consider a medical waiver, Mr Carley said.
"Unless Mrs Glover's condition changes so that she no longer has a disqualifying condition, she is unlikely to satisfy the health requirement of having an acceptable standard of health and will not be able to gain residency as she is likely to impose significant cost or demands on New Zealand's health services."
Mrs Glover was in Manila, where she had renewed her passport which expired last year. Immigration would issue a work visa, valid for six months, which would allow her to re-enter New Zealand, Mr Carley said.
Her present residence visa application was lodged in February and was being considered by Immigration.
If that application was declined, she could appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, and any application for a further temporary visa would be considered on its merits, Mr Carley said.
Mr Glover said he had worked for 30 years for the Government, in the Post Office, had served in the air force and fought for his country.
"Everyone I talk to about this, around here, says this is not a fair go.
"I talk to Aurora on the phone every day and she's sad about us not being together. It's stressful for her and that doesn't help her health. She's shed a lot of tears over this."
He said New Zealand's immigration policies discriminated against the elderly.
Even if Mrs Glover were granted residency, she would have to wait 10 years to get the pension.
"I'll be 99 before she's eligible, and until then I'd have to support her on a single person's pension."
Mrs Glover had worked while living in New Zealand and paid taxes on her wages, about $12,000, and also paid GST on goods she bought.
"In return, shouldn't she be entitled to get some of that back, through the health service?"
Her employer, Kevin Ryan, of Alexandra New World, had supplied a character reference in support of both her application for residency and a work permit.
"Aurora has been part of our permanent workforce and it came as a surprise to us that she had difficulties with immigration, particularly as she was married to Ian, a local resident and well-known customer," he said.
Mr Glover keeps in good health and had considered going to the Philippines to join his wife but was unsure how he would cope living overseas.
The couple would prefer to live together in this country.
