HELP Needed: Application of Contributory Parent Visa 143 - Down Syndrome dependant

[Essue]

I am originally from Malaysia, and both myself and my sister are already Australia PR.
I'm applying Australia Contributory Parent Visa 143 for my mother (68 years old) and brother (down syndrome, 41 years old).
We are coming to the last stage of the application (i.e submitted AoS, health report and police check report).
The application now is being commented by Medical Officer of Commonwealth as does not meet the health requirement for my brother (who is having down syndrome).

Now we are given the extension of time till 9 Mar 2012 to reply or withdraw our application. To reply means we will have to get a specialist for down syndrome to provide more information on my brother's condition. However you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find someone specialising in down syndrome in Malaysia or Singapore who's willing to see adult down syndrome cases.

Anyone has any idea what should we do from now on?

Essue

[bigal]

Your case doesn't sound very promising, I would send an email to Chris Bowen the immigration minister and also contact your local federal MP to ask for advice.
Good Luck

[Gollywobbler]

I am originally from Malaysia, and both myself and my sister are already Australia PR.
I'm applying Australia Contributory Parent Visa 143 for my mother (68 years old) and brother (down syndrome, 41 years old).
We are coming to the last stage of the application (i.e submitted AoS, health report and police check report).
The application now is being commented by Medical Officer of Commonwealth as does not meet the health requirement for my brother (who is having down syndrome).

Now we are given the extension of time till 9 Mar 2012 to reply or withdraw our application. To reply means we will have to get a specialist for down syndrome to provide more information on my brother's condition. However you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find someone specialising in down syndrome in Malaysia or Singapore who's willing to see adult down syndrome cases.

Anyone has any idea what should we do from now on?

Essue

Hello Essue

I am so very sorry to hear about the problem that you have encountered.

Because time is so very short, I recommend strongly that you should contact George Lombard in Sydney without a moment's delay:

http://austimmigration.com.au/site/?q=node/1

George has masses and masses of experience of the cases where a medical problem is threatening a visa refusal, so he is by far the best person to help you. The absence of suitable specialist medical experts in Malaysia does not matter: George would be able to insist that DIAC give him more time to assemble the information that the MOC wants and he can get suitable medical experts in Australia to provide opinions about your brother's condition.

That said, if your brother is severely disabled by Down Syndrome then the chances are that it will not be possible to get a Contributory Parent visa at present. That might change in the future, following a high-profile Public Inquiry that was held during 2009/10:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_...lity/index.htm

In the Enabling Australia Report, that the JSCM produced at the end of the Public Inquiry, they recommended strongly that Australia's Immigration law should be changed so that people like your brother will not be excluded from being able to migrate to Australia in future years. As one of the people who made a formal Submission to the Public Inquiry, my fervent wish is that the relevant Law will be changed completely within the next 5 years or so.

However, there isn't time to expect you to absorb all of the information that can be learned from a detailed study of everything that happened both before and during the Public Inquiry. George Lombard understands all the issues in great detail so the quickest thing is to get him to help you without delay.

Incidentally, I was born in Batu Gajah and we lived in Ipoh during most of my childhood. Whereabouts in Malaysia are your mother and brother, please?

Cheers

Gill

[Essue]

Dear Bigal,
Thanks for your suggestion! I am in the process of drafting the letter to the minister.
Essue

[Essue]

Dear Gill,
Thanks so much for recommending George. I have sent an email to George and hopefully he is willing to help us.
We have also written in our reply to Parent Visa Centre some points to support this visa to be granted:
1. our financial background (me and my sister have 3 properties still under mortgage in Adelaide, so my mum and brother will definitely have a place to stay)
2. Despite having Down syndrome, my brother is otherwise healthy with NO other serious medical conditions that could be common in down syndrome sufferrers e.g. congenital heart disease, alzheimers, seizure disorders etc. His only symptom is mental retardation.
3. For Contributory Parent Visa 143, we would have no access to social security payment for 10 years, and we have already paid $14k of AOS. Also the fact that we are going to pay a amount of $60k-$70k for the visa to be granted anyway.
4. My brother is already 41 years old, the average life expectancy of people with down syndrome is around 55 years.
5. We are prepared to get full private health insurance cover for both my mum and brother....

I sincerely hope the above points are good enough for them to reconsider this case in a positive way...

It's a pleasant surprise that you lived in Malaysia for quite sometime before :)
We are from Johor and currently my mum and bro are living in Johor Bahru, which is about 1.5hrs away from Singapore :)


Essue

[Gollywobbler]

Dear Bigal,
Thanks for your suggestion! I am in the process of drafting the letter to the minister.
Essue

Hi Essue

Do not waste your time on drafting letters to the Minister. He has no legal power to intervene at this stage. The Migration Act REQUIRES the Minister to accept the Opinion of the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, so even if the Minister wanted to help you he would not be able to do anything at the moment.

It is possible to make an eventual application for Ministerial Intervention but that can only be done under S351 of the Migration Act. It is only possible to use S351 AFTER the applicant has first made an unsuccessful Appeal to the Migration Review Tribunal.

So please don't waste your time with any of this. Please contact George Lombard instead, honey.

Cheers

Gill

[Essue]

Thanks Gill. Awaiting email reply from George now. Will call him if I don't hear anything this afternoon.

[barbaitch]

Good luck, Essue! If anyone can help you and your family, both Gill (Gollywobbler) and George Lombard can! Have faith and do exactly what Gill advises.

Honestly, PIA, isn't it time we all banded together and started a 'Gill for Dame!' petition? We need 100,000 signatures, as far as I know; surely we PIO/PIA members number far more than that to present to the UK Parliament?!! (If Beverley Hughes can be made a Baroness (Eeeek!@#$%&!!!!) then, surely to God, our own selfless, migration-advice-seeking people's champion Gollywobbler is most definitely a deserving candidate....!

I'm not much of a leader, but I'll cheerfully bring up the rear of such a worthy campaign!!

Don't give up, Essue!!

[Essue]

Thanks! It's indeed a very stressful time for me and my families but we are not ready to give up yet!

[Essue]

Hi Gill,
I have drafted the letter but haven't sent it to DIAC. From George's reply I gathered that I can't be too optimistic...
I wished I knew that it could come to this 2 years ago before we lodged our application. It is very devastating to find out that they may not be able to move here, when we pretty much have settled most things back in Malaysia to enable the move :(

Essue