A family who have faced a near 10-year battle to secure permanent residency has been dealt another blow in their pursuit for certainty.
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Thirty-three-year-old Shyam* and wife Gita*, 30, have lived in Launceston since moving to Australia in 2012 on temporary visas.
Now, their three-year-old son Shiva* who was born at the Launceston General Hospital in 2018, holds the most temporary visa available to migrants because his father's application was cancelled, is not entitled to Medicare, and faces the prospect of not being allowed back into Australia.
His bridging visa E means Shyam and Gita have to reapply for him every four months so he does not become "unlawful".
Shyam and Gita's bridging visa A means they are able to live temporarily in Australia for up to four years before they must leave the country and reapply.
Shyam has had two applications for more permanent visas refused because the businesses sponsoring him were deemed not financially capable of adding another staff member, and a Tasmanian government nomination for him to be granted greater visa security lapsed in June 2020 after a three month expiration date passed.
When he was approved for the state government nomination, COVID was ravaging Australia and international travel was off the cards, so the fact he had to leave the country to apply for his new visa was off the cards - and the Immigration Department was aware.
In correspondence to Shyam a spokesperson for federal Immigration Minister Alexander Hawke said they "appreciated" the difficulty of travel because of COVID.
Shyam, Gita and Shiva said they are now stuck in an impossible situation with only two real options: leave behind their home, community and belongings and risk their son not being allowed back into Australia, or none of them being allowed to return while the pandemic continues.
And while they pain over having to make the difficult decision, their son Shiva is unable to access public healthcare, they have no capacity to find him child care, and Shyam grows wearier about the situation with every passing visa document.
Shyam said in an ideal world section 48 of the Migration Act would be repealed, and he and his family would be able to reapply for permanent residency from their home in Launceston so they could move into the next phase of their life in Australia.
"We are hoping to buy a house next year or open a business next year if I can sort this out. I can employ two or three people. I have been here for almost 10 years," he said.
We have spent an important time of our life [in Launceston]. We don't want to have to go back to Nepal and start over. We have more of an attachment here than in Nepal.
- Shyam
Shyam said when he first moved to Launceston from Nepal there were only about 15 Nepalese people in the community. That number has grown to somewhere in the vicinity of 1500 and is well known as a vibrant part of Northern Tasmania.
Gita said the almost two-years waiting because of the pandemic has been hard to swallow.
"We've lost almost two years doing nothing but wait," she said.
Sometimes I think we'll just go back to Nepal and stay there and not come back to Australia.
- Gita
The Immigration Minister and federal Social Services Minister Anne Ruston were contacted for comment but had not responded by the deadline.
The Home Affairs Department COVID-19 website says "if you are a bridging visa A holder and you depart Australia, your bridging visa A will cease. If you want to return to Australia in the future, you will need to apply for another visa to allow you to return".