Dr. Monika Patel, a resident of Glen Waverly, Melbourne has started a petition on to urge Immigration Minister Hon Peter Dutton MP to grant a long stay visa for her ailing 78-year-old mother.
In the petition, the daughter has urged the minister to consider her family’s circumstances and allow her mother to stay in Australia for long periods, who otherwise is being compelled to live alone in India due to Australia’s visa laws.
Monika, in the petition, writes, “Our 78 year old mother has been refused a permanent contributory visa because of her medical condition. She was diagnosed with Kidney Disease on blood tests and is well at the moment but the decision maker (Immigration Dept) refused the application on the basis that they did not believe the applicant satisfied Regulation 864.223 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) stating that as and when if the Kidney disease worsens she may need regular dialysis which is a cost to the government and taxpayers.”
Monika has stated in the petition that her family is willing to pay $40,000 for a Contributory visa.
“We are willing to finance all our mums needs and do not want to depend on Medicare. We have had private cover for her from Day 1 in Australia and are happy and willing to bear all her expenses,” she writes.
“All we want is for our mum to stay with us for good,” she adds.
The current visa (subclass 600) allows parents to live with family for only 12 months and after that they have to spend at least 6 months out of Australia.
Many parents are old and frail and most of the members of the Indian community in Australia say that traveling every year is a very expensive.
Cost is not the only factor. Back home, parents of children living abroad, often live alone. They seldom have anyone around to give them personal attention or care. Safety is another concern.
Monika points out these factors in her petition. “They often are socially isolated and vulnerable to crime and also face a risk to their lives. There have been many such incidents where seniors have been easy targets,” her says.
Monika is a doctor by profession and she, along with her brother (who too is doctor) are settled in Australia.
She fears that if her mother isn’t granted permanent or a long stay visa, one of them will have to return to the country where she lives, leaving their own families and profession in Australia. It might also uproot their families.
She has urged fellow citizens to sign her petition stating that ageing parents should be given long stay visas to allow them to be able to spend time with their children and grandchildren.
“The DIAC should introduce a 10 year multiple entry visa with a 3-5 years continuous stay and maybe a compulsory period of 2 weeks out of the country which can help the migrants and their parents. This is a great way of reuniting the parents with their family,” reads the .
