A Melbourne-based Indian man has been granted permanent residency on a priority basis after tragedy struck his family.
Twenty-eight-year-old Mahal Singh*, who first arrived as an international student, had been waiting for a visa approval under the Skilled Migration visa category 190.
Mr Singh’s younger brother died of a medical condition in Melbourne earlier this month.
Given the tragic personal conditions, a request for ‘special consideration’ was made to the Department of Home Affairs.
The visa authorities responded within one day with a positive outcome to the application.
Mr Singh’s migration consultant Jujhar Bajwa told SBS Punjabi that it is one of the rare cases where the department has intervened to accommodate a plea on the grounds of exceptional circumstances.
“He was granted permanent residency on Tuesday 14 August after an appeal was made to the department a day before on 13 August. This doesn’t happen under normal circumstances,” says Mr Bajwa.
“The department has been very kind to have this early consideration that now allows him to travel to India to escort his younger brother's body from Melbourne to back home."
Mr Bajwa says that under the routine process, the approvals in 190 visa category may take anywhere between six months to one year.
"It could take up to one year but it is fairly up to the discretion of the case officer and the documents submitted with the department," he said.
Mr Singh was on a Bridging Visa C, which would have allowed him to travel to India, but under this visa, he may not have been able to return to Australia until the 190 visa was granted.
In a written response, the Department of Home Affairs made it clear that the application had only been fast-tracked to accommodate his personal conditions.
It stated, "Whilst it is not our usual practice to prioritise cases, the unusual circumstances and sensitive nature of the client's predicament has resulted in an early review of this particular case."
In 2016, a ‘special consideration’ was also made by the department in case of who needed a visa to return to Australia after escorting his father's body home to India.
*Not his real name
