The family of a father who has suffered three strokes in recent years refused to board a deportation flight from Britain after he fell ill at the airport.
Sangarapillai Balachandran - a Sri Lankan Tamil with Australian citizenship - suffers from high blood pressure and has had three strokes in the past six years.
The 61-year-old who has been in the UK since 2007, was expected to be flown to Australia with his wife, son and two daughters on Monday after his work visa expired.
Before the flight on Monday his son, Pranavan, told SBS News: “I’m not surprised that it’s come to this. I think for them this is a very unique case, and they weren’t sure how to handle it, so they went through the normal procedure of doing whatever it takes to put people on flights.”
The Home Office said Mr Balachandran had received an independent medical assessment and had been deemed fit to fly on Monday.
But a final medical check found Mr Balachandran’s blood pressure to be dangerously high. He and his family refused to board the plane, despite being told they may face forced removal in the near future.
The Home Office told SBS News: "We understand the family no longer wish to depart voluntarily. The family has no valid leave to remain in the UK and the Home Office will consider the next steps."
The family were put in a hotel for the night.
Family held up in a hotel awaiting a flight
In February, Mr Balachandran and his family took voluntary departure from the UK but were taken off the flight because he was unwell.
The aborted attempt in February was the second time in three months that the family had agreed to go back to Australia. In December 2017, the family did not make it as far as the airport after noticing their father's symptoms.
Mr Balachandran first came to work in the UK from Australia as an engineer for a company in 2007. After his work permit visa expired in November 2012, he was subsequently granted a Tier 1 (Highly Skilled) Migrant visa valid until March 2013.
After Mr Balachandran's work visa expired, the family applied for indefinite leave to remain, which was initially denied by the Home Office in June 2013.
The family then lost an appeal in April 2015 on the grounds that there was "no reason why they should not go back to Australia" and the decision to remove them was upheld.
Pranavan, his mother Shanthy, 53, and his sisters Karthika, 30, and Sinthuja, 28, are also Australian citizens and were due to fly on Monday.
The family, whose case was highlighted by The Guardian on Saturday, have been holed up in a hotel near Heathrow Airport since September 28, awaiting the flight.
Mr Pranavan told SBS News: "In an ideal world, this would never have happened. The Home Office would have seen we contribute to society. We’re not asylum seekers, we’re not looking for welfare or any support."
"If we’d been allowed to work we could have been able to contribute and my Dad wouldn’t have had these strokes."
- with AAP
