Florence Allen, an 80-year-old woman of Indian origin, got a shock when her Aged Parent Visa was rejected by the Australian Immigration Minister’s Office. The reason given to Allen was that she has a disabled dependent child. Allen and her 50-year old daughter Sheryil, who has autism, have been told that they will have to leave the country by Oct. 3.
Allen moved to Melbourne with her daughter in 2012 after the demise of her husband. Some of her other family members live in Australia. However, after spending five years in the foreign country, the mother-daughter duo is now facing an uncertain future.
Allen expressed her grief with the developments and told ABC News: “It’s not her fault she has a disability and she can’t suffer because of that.” Said added that she cannot take care of her daughter alone if deported to India.
After Allen’s Aged Parent Visa got rejected, her family applied to the Immigration Minister’s Office for special consideration. They received a letter from the Immigration office last week, which stated that her matter was personally considered by the assistant manager who decided it best not to intervene.
The letter stated: “…the provision of the health care or community services would be likely to: result in a significant cost to the Australian community,” the publication reported.
Allen’s second daughter Jacqui Vanderholt, who has been living in Australia since 1991, also expressed her anguish over the issue, saying that the family has no intention to claim any welfare for her mother and sister. She added that the family has put Sheryil in a day center on their own expense and that the family would continue to look after her.
Vanderholt even started an online petition to request Minister Peter Dutton to cancel the deportation. Her petition has got around 30,000 signatures so far.
A spokesperson from the minister’s office told the publication that Sheryil’s case was comprehensively assessed by the department.