By Preetinder Grewal | SBS Punjabi |Australia |
Many children who are born and raised in Australia have the opportunity to become Australian citizens on their 10th birthdays. But their non-citizen parents may not be that lucky with many struggling to live and work due to their visa limitations.
Now a petition has been lodged with the Australian parliament to support their cause, which has so far gathered nearly 11,000 signatures.
SBS Punjabi has spoken to at least four families who have signed this petition demanding more favourable visa options from the government after their children became Australian citizens.
The petitioners claim that their lives are ‘in limbo’ with many having no travel and work rights.
Sydney-based HS Bajwa is on a bridging visa ever since he says he encountered issues with his previous visa in 2017.
The family is still in process of trying to reinstate their visa but in the meantime, their daughter has acquired Australian citizenship as she was born and raised here for at least 10 years.
Mr Bajwa, who has spent over 15 years of his life in Australia, says he is now extremely worried about his family’s future.
“There is no going back for me as I’ve spent so many years of my youth to build a better life. I’ve done nothing wrong in my migration journey. I was only the victim of some unfortunate circumstances,” he told SBS Punjabi.
Mr Bajwa says he believes that better visa options would facilitate them and their Australian citizen children to live a “better life”.
Melbourne-based Dimple Kaur has also signed the petition in the hope that Department would provide more certainty to those who have “compelling and compassionate” circumstances.
Her situation echoes that of the others. She has a 10-year-old daughter who recently attained an Australian passport. Meanwhile, her husband and her are on a temporary visa that doesn’t allow them to work or travel.
“Our life is completely upside down. We are going through depression and mental health issues. But there is no solution so far. We have almost lost hope to get our visa status regularised given the legal impediments,” she said.
Read the full story here.
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