In Australia, critically ill woman’s brother denied visa three times
In Australia, 57-year-old Anna Rochford, who has a severe form of avascular necrosis, has been denied a sponsored visa for her brother Clinton Barrett from India three times in a year. The woman can no longer travel because of her illness and wants to see her brother one last time, ABC News Australia reports.
Avascular necrosis causes bone tissue to die. Rochford has been unable to walk for 10 years, weighs 36 kilograms, and her doctor believes the disease has significantly shortened her life expectancy. According to the woman, the pain is constant and extremely severe.
Only close relative
As children, Anna and Clinton were separated after their mother’s death and sent to different orphanages in India. They reconnected when Rochford was a teenager and then learned that they were two of five children in the family. Their three other siblings died.
Rochford previously visited her brother in India every year, but her condition no longer allows her to travel. She and her husband Paul said they were prepared to pay all of Barrett’s expenses for the trip to Australia, provide a financial guarantee and medical documents.
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Migration department’s position
Decisions by Australia’s Department of Home Affairs reviewed by ABC state that the applicant did not provide sufficient information about his own financial situation. The department said that without such information, it could not be satisfied that his financial circumstances would encourage him to return home after the planned stay.
The department took into account the support from the Rochfords and the humanitarian grounds for the trip, but said this was insufficient to confirm an intention to visit Australia temporarily. Rochford also provided documents on her brother’s ties to India: he has a wife and son there, stable employment and community obligations.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said it does not comment on individual cases. According to the spokesperson, all applicants must demonstrate an intention to visit Australia temporarily, have sufficient funds or access to them for the duration of the trip, and comply with visa conditions.
