26-year-old Jaspal Singh is a worried man.
His father, Gurdayal Singh collapsed at the arrival gate of Melbourne Airport when he arrived on Monday morning. As the only son of his parents, he wants to take his dead father, back to India, for funeral. However, he fears that if he exits Australia, he may not be able to return to Australia. His wife is currently pregnant and their 11 month old son is undergoing treatment at the Royal Children's Hospital.
COMPLICATED VISA STATUS
Jaspal Singh is currently on a bridging visa which does not allow him to return if he leaves the country. He arrived in Australia as a student, got married and later divorced his first wife. He then married his current wife and is currently in the process of extending his visa.
Jaspal Singh's wife Mandeep Kaur, who is pregnant with their second child, told ABC that the family was incredibly distressed. "I am 12 weeks pregnant, I have an 11-month-old baby and my baby is suffering from kidney problems and I'm going to regular appointments with the doctor, and I can't stay overseas with the baby. We're all very upset, all the family, me, my mother-in-law, Jaspal."
WHAT DOES THE LAWYER SAY?
The lawyer for this case shared with the ABC that the family was "devastated".
"Jaspal is between a rock and a hard place. On one hand his family is telling him that he needs to go back to India, he's obliged as the only son in Australia to be with his mother. But on the other hand, if Jaspal leaves Australia, he's going to be leaving a pregnant wife, who has suffered a miscarriage recently, and a young son who has suffered from kidney complications and is being referred to the Royal Children's Hospital, indefinitely, with no guarantee that he will be allowed to come back to Australia."
The family has appealed to the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to intervene in this urgent matter.
According to ABC, A spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said it was now looking into the problem.
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