A ten-year-old boy has for the third time been refused an Australian visitor visa – because he doesn’t have a job in India.
The Department of Home Affairs found Harmanpreet Singh doesn’t have any ’employment or financial incentives’ that will ensure he would return home.
The child first applied for the visa last year and again on May 3, but both times was refused because the department believed he was at risk of overstaying.
The boy’s father and stepmother, who both live in Melbourne, had hoped it would be third time lucky and he would visit them during his school holidays, but he was again refused on May 28.
Harmanpreet Singh (pictured), 10, has for the third time been refused an Australian visitor visa – because he doesn’t have a job in India
‘It has been three years since I have seen my son. We applied for his visa thrice and they have refused the application with the same reason,’ his father Harinder Singh told SBS.
Harmanpreet’s biological mother died in a car crash in India six years ago before his father moved to Australia.
Mr Singh and his new wife have since been granted Australian bridging visas, but were unsuccessful in their permanent residency applications.
In one of the refusal letters, the visa officer said the applicant had ‘not demonstrated sufficiently strong financial, personal, employment or other commitments in your home country that would be an incentive for you to return after your visit’.
The boy’s father and stepmother (together on left), who both live in Melbourne , had hoped it would be third time lucky and he would visit them during his school holidays
Harmanpreet’s (pictured) biological mother died in a car crash in India six years ago before his father moved to Australia
Mr Singh wrote to Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton earlier this year with a raft of documents which he thought would prove his son would only be in Australia temporarily.
‘But all that was not enough and the visa officer again cited a lack of employment and financial incentives… What other evidence could we provide to prove that he would return to India?’, he told the publication.
Mr Singh said he provided the department with his mother’s guardianship certificate of the boy and a letter from his son’s school.
‘We didn’t know that government and the system could be so harsh that they would split a family like that,’ he said.
Mr Singh wrote to Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton earlier this year with a raft of documents which he thought would prove his son would only be in Australia temporarily
The Department of Home Affairs told Daily Mail Australia all non-citizens wishing to visit the country must follow standard criteria before being granted a visa.
‘As part of assessing whether an applicant genuinely intends to stay temporarily in Australia, decision makers must consider their circumstances, including any personal, employment, financial or other circumstances that would serve as incentives to return to their home country,’ the department spokesperson said.
‘Applicants are only required to demonstrate circumstances that are relevant to their situation.
‘Standard correspondence is sent to all Australian visa applicants however only those circumstances relevant to the applicant’s particular individual application are taken into account when a decision is made.’