A 98-year-old woman who has called Australia home for the past 12 years has been threatened with deportation to India, a country where she has no one that she can call her own, SBS News reports.
Originally from the western Indian state of Goa, Esmeralda Rosario arrived in Australia on a tourist visa in 2007. She received an indefinite bridging visa a year later after her family applied for her aged-parent visa.
But their 12-year-long wait ended in a disappointment in November 2019, when Ms Rosario’s visa application was refused on grounds that her care would “result in a significant cost to the Australian community,” The Daily Telegraph reported.
Her family was informed that the nonagenarian had failed her compulsory medical examination after the medical officer found that she had “severe functional impairment.”
The “heartbroken” family has filed an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal seeking reversal of the decision. The first hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.
SBS Punjabi contacted Ms Rosario’s granddaughter-in-law Samantha D’ Silva after the hearing, but she declined to comment.
The family members have set-up an online petition on Change.org in the hope of gathering support for Ms Rosario, which has amassed nearly a thousand signatures.
“My Grandmother has been denied residence after waiting for 12 years, at 99 years of age.
“She has been denied residence based on her age, and is now at risk of being deported back, where she will have to live the rest of her days without her loved ones by her side,” the petition reads.
Ms Rosario is among thousands of applicants waiting for a permanent parent visa- a limbo that can last up to 30 years due to long queues and capping.
Migration agent Nitin Garg said, “The pathway has the right intention but is completely ineffective.”
“Elderly people who have applied for this visa have to wait for a staggering 30 years or perhaps more for their visa grants. And there are only 1,500 spots available,” said Mr Garg.
FULL STORY
98-year-old grandmother faces deportation to India after living in Australia for 12 years (SBS)